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criselle,

The huge fee for the Letter of Invitation should be your very first clue that this is nothing more than a SCAM.

First of all in any country the immigrations authorities are going to be looking for either a family relationship, long-term friendship or employer/employee relationship between the writer of the Letter of Invitation and the invitee. If they can't find that relationship or if they suspect that the letter is either false or omits any vital information, not only will it result in the visa being denied, but it can also lead to serious criminal charges.

Don't walk away from this, RUN as fast as you can.... you're being set up as a victim here!

What makes you think that the employment situation in Russia is going to be any better than it is in Hong Kong in the first place? If anything, given your lack of qualifications for any profession, it is going to be considerably worse. I'd rethink the whole idea if I were you.

Cheers,
James, Expat-blog Experts Team

Hello cris,
I am Leah currently working here at moscow.
I hope you don't mind if I advice you not continue to apply here because of the crisis.
Now it is really difficult to find job,lots of pinay came from hongkong are jobless.
This is just a friendly advice..

criselle wrote:

found out i need to pay 2700 USD for the "INVITATION LETTER

DON"T - IT'S A SCAM.
You pay the cash, and never hear another word from them.

Thank you so much for the advice.A friend of mine got received an invitation letter from an agency there and she will go to the russian consulate not knowing what is in that letter and she already sent 2500 USD to this said agency.She encouraged me to apply to this agency,and now i know this is a scam...
Now i would have to think of other countries to apply to and should not costs that much.

Thank you all.

Report this "agency" ASAP to the authorities if possible so they cant harm other people.
If your friend send her money through a bank, maybe she can try to stop the procedure, but then she must act very fast!

She still has to pay her remaining balance to that agency and unfortunately,she is really unstoppable about it despite of what i have told her.
About reporting then,i think its better if i go to russian embassy here personally to formally inform them about this scam.

Thank you for your concern
Cris

Yes, this is a good start.
I feel sorry for your friend knowing that she will loose a lot of money and get nothing in return.
Anyway, its her decision.

Hi criselle,

You should warn your friend that she is quite likely to get charged with immigrations fraud if she tries to obtain a visa with an Invitation Letter that she has bought. Embassies take this kind of thing quite seriously. It is a criminal offense to impose a fee for a Letter of Invitation and using a false one is also a criminal offense. If she insists on going through with this she could find herself in jail. If she hasn't paid the full price, then she should not pay the rest. She has already lost what she has paid so far, ask her if it is worth going to jail for just to find out that she has been scammed.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

James,
As her concern friend,i already did what i could to warn her,to protect her and explain her everything.I have told her all the advices i got from this topic. It seems she does not believe anything because of her friend who is already in Russia proved that the agency is real.I really wanna stop her from paying the agency and going to the Russian consulate but she has really decided and very strong about her decision.There's nothing more i can say or do that can change her mind.

Hi There

Good day to you! I live in Russia since sept 2013 and to my knowledge plz do not pay any advance fees certainly not 2700 USD. My employer paid only 500 Rubles thats only 10 USD for an invitation letter. It is a scam stay away from those people who ask for such ridiculous amount of money

I am a member of ½ûÂþÌìÌà here. Feel free to contact me should you need any more information.

Plz remember dont pay any one any advance money .

Reach me on my skyp if u want?

totara7

Cheers

VInny