How to book an appointment at the Italian visa centre?

Your registration decides where you file: VMS in Moscow takes only Moscow and the region, VMS in St Petersburg the city and a list of neighbouring regions, everyone else goes to Almaviva in their own city. At VMS a slot appears only after the full form is completed; Almaviva needs just your name, passport number, phone and email.

Moscow and St Petersburg rarely have a booking problem: in January 2025 a member booked her parents on Friday for Monday and the visas came two weeks later. In the regions slots get snapped up: check daily after the 15th, cancelled slots appear and vanish at once, while next month's dates stay up for a couple of days after they open.

Since autumn 2023 an Almaviva booking is confirmed only after the service fee is paid (about 3,850 roubles per applicant, according to messages from that time), to cut out bots and intermediaries; cancel more than 48 hours ahead and the fee is refunded. Changing the date means cancelling and booking again.

Timing: the Moscow consulate and Almaviva process in order of filing, and since spring 2024 members waited 45 to 60 days and longer; only the St Petersburg consulate works to your departure date. The chat advice: catch a slot before buying tickets and file 2 to 2.5 months ahead, for the May holidays as early as February.

Almaviva has at times accepted walk-ins for an extra fee ("service without appointment" - by phone they say it does not exist), and in 2022 the Spanish visa centre ran a live queue. Every applicant needs their own booking, even a baby - otherwise the child's documents are not accepted.