A Moscow sole proprietorship promises "guaranteed departure" to Europe, the US, and Asia backed by 5,000 claimed success stories. Sounds good. But one client lost 70,000+ rubles after the agency convinced him to cancel a valid Greek visa before it failed his French application. Scamadviser flags the site as low-trust. Infoscam ran a full investigation and called it a scam. Let's look at the actual paperwork.
Services: Schengen visa processing, US and UK visa assistance, residence permit consultations, second citizenship guidance, foreign bank account opening, international passport expediting, business invitation letters, driver's license exchange, document translation.
Legal entity: IP (sole proprietor) Volkov Dmitry Andreevich
Legal address: Vladimir, ul. Yubileyaya, 9, office 104 (not Moscow)
Working office: Moscow, ul. Bolshaya Polyanka 42s1, office 411
Founded: Claims 2015 on the website. Legal registration date: March 1, 2017. That's a two-year gap.
Phone: +7 499 938-48-95
Email: [email protected]
Website: dmitriivisa.news
Telegram: @dmitrii_visanews (80,173 subscribers as of Feb 2026)
VK: vk.com/dmitriivisa.news (3,813 followers)
YouTube: @dmitrii_visanews (746 subscribers, 207 videos)
Pricing examples: Germany visa from 5,000-14,500 RUB. Kazakhstan bank account from 20,000 RUB. Paraguay residency: $10,000 (VNJ) + $8,000 (permanent) + $7,000 (citizenship). Passport expediting from 35,000 RUB.
Key fact: The legal address is in Vladimir, Russia, not Moscow where the agency operates. And the Moscow office on Bolshaya Polyanka shares its floor with a separate visa center called "Kalipera" (LLC KTS). Neither party explains this arrangement publicly.
Based on 1.25/5 from aggregated data: anti-scam platforms, client complaints, legal entity check, and social proof.
The person behind this project is Volkov Dmitry Andreevich. He operates as an IP (individual entrepreneur) under Russian law. Here's what the public registry shows:
The Moscow working address (Bolshaya Polyanka 42s1, office 411) is also listed as the location of "Kalipera" (LLC KTS), a separate visa center. Whether Dmitrii Visa News subleases space from them, shares staff, or has no formal connection isn't stated anywhere. Both companies operate from the same suite.
The domain dmitriivisa.news: SSL certificate was valid until March 5, 2026. The server runs on REG.RU (IP 31.31.198.64) using 1C-Bitrix CMS. Current WHOIS data shows limited registrant info due to privacy settings. Check live data here: WHOIS for dmitriivisa.news. Web archive history: Wayback Machine.
In 2025, Volkov filed a lawsuit in Moscow City Court (Case No. 3-573/2025) against Telegram FZ-LLC, claiming copyright infringement over texts he published. The case confirms he's a real, identifiable individual who uses the legal system when it suits him. No arbitration debt-recovery cases found against the business. No Central Bank warnings or criminal cases found in public records.
No special licenses were found. Under Russian law, visa consulting does not require a mandatory license. But that also means clients have no licensing body to complain to if something goes wrong. Contact their team directly for details on any professional memberships or certifications they hold.
| Area | Risk | What we found | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | high | No public price list on the website. Specific numbers only come up in individual consultations. Clients report the final bill landing 30-100% above what they were quoted initially. Germany visa advertised from 5,000 RUB; in practice, total costs run higher once fees are added. | Budget at least 40% more than any verbal quote. Get a full written breakdown before signing anything. |
| Contract | high | The company uses formal contracts and issues receipts, which is the baseline. But "guaranteed departure" language in marketing material conflicts with what any written contract can actually promise. Clients report their understanding of the "30% refund insurance" didn't match how the company applied it. | Read every clause about what triggers a refund and who decides whether the conditions were met. Don't sign based on verbal assurances. |
| Timelines | medium | Marketing states 1-2 week processing for many visa types. A client on Vashe-mnenie.com reported waiting 2.5 months despite being told it would be 1.5. No written timeline commitments with penalties appear in standard agreements. | Get a written date commitment with explicit consequences if that date is missed. "We'll try our best" is not a timeline. |
| Application risks | high | Multiple client reports mention fake business invitations submitted to French consulate that failed verification checks. Separately, clients say they were advised to cancel existing valid Schengen visas before applying for a "better" visa through the agency. Those applications then failed, leaving clients with ruined visa histories. | Never cancel a valid visa at anyone's verbal suggestion. Ask to see any supporting document (including business invitations) before it's submitted on your behalf. |
| Refunds | high | The company advertises a 30% refund insurance for visa denials. In practice, Otzovik client "Petr Orlov" (April 2023) reported losing over 70,000 rubles with no return. IRecommend.ru includes a review specifically about the agency refusing to refund money after a failed application. | Assume the refund will not come unless you have it in writing with specific conditions and an enforcement mechanism. |
| ✅ | Legally registered since March 1, 2017. IP Volkov Dmitry Andreevich is an active entry in the Russian Federal Tax Service registry (INN 332903898957). Not a ghost company. |
| ✅ | Works on formal contracts with bank receipts. The company states it processes payments to a business bank account with paperwork. That's a basic standard, but plenty of Russian visa brokers don't even do that. |
| ✅ | Telegram channel with 80,173 subscribers. Real audience reach that takes consistent effort to build. The channel posts regularly on visa rules, country updates, and immigration news. That's actual value for subscribers. |
| ✅ | 207 YouTube videos with substantive content. Guides on Spanish taxes for digital nomads, how to travel to Europe in 2026, country-by-country banking guides. A real content operation, not just a lead-capture page. |
| ✅ | Court action in 2025 confirms real identity. Volkov filed suit against Telegram FZ-LLC (Case No. 3-573/2025) over copyright infringement. He's identifiable, uses his real name, and is willing to appear in Russian courts. |
| ⚠️ | "Since 2015" claim doesn't match the 2017 registration date. The business existed legally for at most nine years, not eleven. A two-year discrepancy in claimed experience is a small but specific lie. |
| ⚠️ | Moscow office shared with another visa center. The Bolshaya Polyanka 42s1 office is also home to "Kalipera" (LLC KTS). The nature of this relationship isn't disclosed. Could be a sublease. Could be something closer. |
| ⚠️ | "Guaranteed departure" is marketing, not law. Consulates make their own decisions. No private agency can guarantee a visa. Using that phrase in advertising is either a misunderstanding of how consulates work or a deliberate lure. |
| ⚠️ | No price list published anywhere on the website. Every quote requires contacting the team. That makes comparison nearly impossible before you're already in a conversation with a sales consultant. |
| ❌ | Scamadviser: low trust rating. The domain dmitriivisa.news receives a low trust score on Scamadviser. This is one data point, not a verdict, but it lines up with other findings. |
| ❌ | Infoscam: full scam investigation published November 29, 2024. The site infoscam.ru ran an investigation titled "The whole truth about Dmitrii Visa News" with a negative verdict. They also published a follow-up video breakdown. |
| ❌ | Client "Petr Orlov" lost 70,000+ rubles (Otzovik, April 2023). The agency convinced him to cancel a valid Greek Schengen visa to apply for a French business visa. The consulate called, the application failed, the history was damaged, and no refund came. This is a specific, named, dated report with a money amount. |
| ❌ | Reports of fake business invitations submitted to consulates. IRecommend.ru includes accounts of the agency submitting business invitation letters that failed consulate verification. Using a fraudulent supporting document in a visa application can result in a multi-year ban. |
| ❌ | Yandex Maps: 5.0 from 119 reviews, zero visible criticism. Real service businesses accumulate some unhappy customers. A perfect score with no negative feedback from 119 people is a pattern consistent with review management, not genuine service quality. |
| ❌ | Otzovikon rating: 1.75 out of 5. The platform otzovikon.com shows a 1.75/5 score with suspicion noted about inflated positive reviews on other platforms. |
The highlighted column is the company under review. best worst mixed
| Parameter | Dmitrii Visa News ★ | Licensed immigration law firm | DIY (self-apply at consulate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service fee | Not published. Verbal quotes only. Hidden additions reported. no transparency | Higher base rate, but typically itemized and written upfront. clear scope | Zero service fee. Government visa fees only. cheapest |
| Timelines | Advertised: 1-2 weeks. Client reports: up to 2.5 months. No penalty for delays. unreliable | Realistic written estimates. Attorneys track deadlines professionally. | Standard consulate processing time. No added waiting from an intermediary. |
| Guarantees | Claims "100% guaranteed departure." No private agency can legally guarantee a consulate decision. misleading | No false guarantees. Honest about consulate autonomy. honest | No guarantees. You're responsible for your own application. |
| Refund policy | Advertises 30% insurance. Multiple clients report it was denied. disputed | Contractual, varies by firm. Usually clearly defined. mixed | N/A. Government fees are generally non-refundable regardless. |
| Published prices | Not available. Requires contacting sales. no | Usually yes, at least a range. yes | Yes. Embassy fee schedules are public. yes |
| Credentials | None listed. No attorney licenses, no professional memberships shown. none shown | Licensed attorneys, verifiable bar memberships. verifiable | N/A. You're your own representative. |
It's a real registered business (IP Volkov Dmitry Andreevich, registered March 1, 2017), not a ghost company. But "real business" and "trustworthy" aren't the same thing. Scamadviser gives the site a low trust score. Infoscam published a full negative investigation in November 2024. And multiple named clients describe losing money they couldn't recover. High risk is the correct label here.
Volkov Dmitry Andreevich is the registered owner. He operates as an individual entrepreneur (IP) under Russian law. INN: 332903898957. ОГРНИП: 317332800006626. You can verify the registration at egrul.nalog.ru using either number. The legal address is in Vladimir, Russia, though the actual working office is in Moscow on Bolshaya Polyanka.
The company covers Schengen visa processing for Europe (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria), US and UK visa consultations, residence permit guidance, second citizenship programs (Paraguay is specifically mentioned), foreign bank account opening (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and others), international passport expediting, and document translation. The service list is unusually wide for a sole proprietorship, which raises questions about depth versus breadth.
The worst documented complaints fall into two categories. First: the agency allegedly submitted fake or unverifiable business invitations to French consulate on behalf of clients, causing denials. Second: the agency reportedly told clients to cancel valid Schengen visas before applying for a new one through the agency, the new application failed, and clients were left with a damaged visa history and no refund. One specific client (Petr Orlov, Otzovik, April 2023) named a loss of over 70,000 rubles in that second scenario.
The company advertises a 30% refund if your visa is denied. In practice, client reviews on Otzovik.com and IRecommend.ru report the refund was refused when they tried to claim it. No public examples of successfully paid refund claims were found. Before paying, ask to see the exact contract language governing the insurance and what dispute resolution process is available.
Go to egrul.nalog.ru and search for INN 332903898957 or ОГРНИП 317332800006626. You should see IP Volkov Dmitry Andreevich listed as active with a registration date of March 1, 2017. That's the extent of verifiable public data. No license registry exists for Russian visa consultants.
The main independent review platforms covering this company are Otzovik.com and IRecommend.ru. You can also submit your experience to Proverj.com, where this investigation's source data lives. Migration.us.com publishes verified review aggregations for companies in the immigration space.
I've been working in the immigration space since 2011, first as an immigrant myself and then building a network of 50+ offices serving Russian-speaking communities across the US. I've watched hundreds of agencies operate in this market. Dmitrii Visa News fits a pattern I recognize immediately.
On the positive side: Volkov is a real person. His business is registered, he files lawsuits under his real name, and the Telegram channel with 80,000 subscribers represents genuine content work. There are real clients who got their Spanish visas or Kazakh bank cards through this agency. That matters. Not every client walks away unhappy.
But what concerns me here is the specific complaint pattern. It's not just "my visa was denied." Denials happen to everyone, including licensed attorneys. What stands out is the cluster: fake supporting documents, advice to cancel valid visas before reapplying, and then no refund when things fall apart. That's a sequence of decisions that benefits the agency at the client's expense.
The "guaranteed departure" phrase is the tell. I've never once in 15 years seen a legitimate immigration professional use that language. Every experienced person in this field knows that consulate officers are autonomous. Nobody guarantees their decisions. When an agency says otherwise, they're either reckless or they're selling you something.
And the Yandex Maps score? 5.0 from 119 reviews with no visible critical comments. I've run businesses. You collect unhappy clients. Always. A perfect score without a single complaint in 119 reviews is a sign that someone is managing the score, not that every client left satisfied.
My bottom line: if you're thinking about using this service for something that matters, like your first Schengen application or an existing visa you don't want to jeopardize, the risk isn't worth it. If you do decide to proceed, get every promise in writing before you transfer a single ruble. And don't touch your current visa status based on verbal advice from anyone at that company.
Agency promises don't survive consulate interviews. Read what real clients experienced with Dmitrii Visa News before you hand over your passport and your money.
Read real reviews about Dmitrii Visa News