Due to a change in the requirements for visas to Russia, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not currently assigning new missionaries who require visas to serve missions there.

In a statement issued Monday, (July 14, 2008) the church’s Missionary Department said:

“A recent change in Russian immigration law now requires foreigners on humanitarian visas (including missionaries) to leave Russia every three months to renew their visas.

The Church is working to find an alternative solution to the 90-day renewal requirement. Until an appropriate alternative is identified, new missionary assignments to Russia will be limited to those nationalities not needing visas.

Missionaries currently serving in Russia are not being withdrawn, and the missions are fully staffed. Missionaries needing Russian visas who had not yet left for Russia have been reassigned.”

Like all non-native missionaries serving in Russia’s eight LDS missions, Ben Wade, a returned missionary from the Russia Samara Mission, was required to leave Russia once a year to renew his visa.

“We would fly to Moscow or St. Petersburg and then take a train to Tallinn, Estonia,” Wade said. “We would spend about four hours there and then go back.”

The trip, which took two or three days, was required once a year for all the non-native missionaries to renew their visas. The cost of the trip was more than just monetary, as groups of missionaries were routinely pulled out of their areas.

Renewing visas has gotten increasingly complicated, Wade said.

Effective Oct. 4, 2007, non-Russian citizens are required to return to their native country every 90 days to renew their visas, according to www.russianvisa.org, a Web site which assists travelers in obtaining Russian visas.

The change in Russian immigration law has also led to a change of plans for some missionaries.

“Last week, 30 missionaries were reassigned to places like Texas,” said Josh Apple, a Russian teacher at the MTC. “They got the call on Tuesday and left the next day.”

The missionaries were given limited time to go shopping and make other arrangements for their new assignments.

Russian language teachers at the MTC have also been affected by the change.

“Everyone still has jobs, but they can’t hire more people,” Apple said.

Editor's note: This story has been edited and revised with further information.

Copyright Brigham Young University 10 Jul 2008