Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from St. Petersburg. We recommend making airline reservations as soon as possible upon one's having been accepted into the program. We recommend that you purchase aticket going direct from a European City rather than routing yourself through Moscow, which can often be complicated and costly since there is always an airport transfer involved.

A visa is needed for travel to Russia. Its cost is comprised of the official host- issued, Foreign Ministry-processed invitation and registration (which is included in the tuition), and the Russian Embassy or Consulate visa-processing charge in the US (which is paid for separately by participants to the Russian Consulate and costs at present time, $100 for two-week processing).

Participants are responsible for obtaining visas for themselves after SLS provides them with their invitation. Russian Visas in the US are issued by the Consular Division of the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (1-202-939-8907; 1-202-939-8913); and Russian Consulates in New York (1-212-348-0926), San Francisco (1-415-928-6876), and Seattle (1-206-728-1910). For more information, visit the Russian Consulates in the US web page: http://www.russianembassy.org. For specific instructions on how to apply for the visa, check the program documents page for the current year.

Please note: your US passport must be current and valid, and expire no earlier than six months after the date of your departure from Russia.