Immigration Expert: reviews & investigation
Immigration Expert (romanaes.ru) sells EU citizenship, Spanish residence permits, and Romanian passports starting at 3,200 euros. The sole-trader registration behind the business dates to March 2023. The website first appeared online in 2019. And clients on at least one review platform report being asked to wire advance payments to a personal bank card. That's enough to take a closer look.
Who is Immigration Expert and what do they actually offer
Brand name: Immigration Expert
Main website: romanaes.ru
Founded (claimed): 2014-2018 (conflicting across sources)
Legal entity (Russia): IP Kalashnik S.A., OGRNIP 321312300070862, registered March 24, 2023, Belgorod Region
Legal entity (Bulgaria): Global Nomad Visa EOOD, EIK 208088075, Nessebar
Services: EU citizenship (Romania, Bulgaria, Greece), residence permits (Spain, Bulgaria), visas (digital nomad, student, startup), property abroad
Pricing: from 3,200 euros (Digital Nomad Visa, Spain) to 7,800 euros (Bulgarian citizenship by descent)
Moscow office: No street address published
Spain office: Avenida Jijona 9, Alicante 03012
Romania office: ul Blanari 8, Bucharest
Contact: +7 (919) 226-42-05 / +34 633 468 644 / +40 (31) 229-70-96
Email: [email protected]
Key fact: The Russian sole-trader registration behind Immigration Expert is dated March 2023, yet the company actively markets itself as having over 10 years of experience "since 2014." The Web Archive's first snapshot of romanaes.ru is July 4, 2019. None of those dates align.
Trust Score: Immigration Expert (romanaes.ru)
Based on 1.85/5 from verified data points across registries, review platforms, and fraud databases
Who's behind Immigration Expert: checking the paperwork
Russia: IP Kalashnik S.A.
The Russian legal entity is a sole-trader registration (Individualny Predprinimatel) under the name Kalashnik Sergey Alexeyevich. The OGRNIP is 321312300070862 (15 digits, the correct format for an IP). But here's the problem: the same OGRNIP appears in some sources as "32312300070862" (14 digits), which is technically invalid. The INN shows three different values across sources: 56001144960, 312202552771, and 312202552772. The official site lists INN 312202552771. Registration date: March 24, 2023, Belgorod Region, not Moscow (where the "office" is supposedly located).
Bulgaria: Global Nomad Visa EOOD
Kalashnik is also the founder of Global Nomad Visa EOOD (EIK 208088075), registered in Nessebar, Bulgaria. This is the entity most likely used for EU-side operations. Neither the Russian IP nor the Bulgarian company has a published bar membership number or immigration law license number.
Spain and Romania: no verified entity
No legal entity named "Immigration Expert" or connected to Sergey Kalashnik was found in Spanish or Romanian company registries. The Alicante address (Avenida Jijona 9) maps to a residential building with ground-floor commercial units. The Bucharest address (ul Blanari 8) appears on the city's seismic hazard register. Neither confirms a functioning staffed office.
Domain and web history
The RDAP record for romanaes.ru returned no creation date. Web Archive confirms the first public snapshot on July 4, 2019. The site runs on Tilda Publishing with Cloudflare CDN and a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate. A WHOIS lookup shows the domain is active. A clone site, hermes-grup.ru, lists identical services and the same corporate email ([email protected]). Fraud database InvestorsStartPage.com notes that romanaes.ru shares an IP address (104.21.42.220) with a project flagged as fraudulent.
Licenses
No bar association membership number appears on romanaes.ru, in EGRYUL, or in the Bulgarian trade register. The company claims lawyers and attorneys are on the team, but contact their team directly for any documentation requests before signing anything.
Immigration Expert risk analysis: 5 things to know before you pay
| Area | Risk | What we found | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | medium | Published price list: 3,200 euros (Digital Nomad Visa, Spain) to 7,800 euros (Bulgarian citizenship by descent). Romanian citizenship listed at 6,500 euros plus a 300-euro advance. Prices appear on official materials but can't be verified against independent sources. | Get a written quote before any payment. Ask specifically which fees are service fees and which are government filing fees. They're very different if a refund comes into play. |
| Contract | high | Company uses a "contract de servicii" format and claims refund guarantees. Clients on otzovix.com report requests for advance payment to a personal card (individual Anoshka K.V., Sberbank) rather than the business account. Contract text is not publicly available for review. | Request the full contract before paying anything. Check whether liability covers the actual outcome (residency/citizenship) or just "information services." Those are legally very different. |
| Timelines | medium | Romanian citizenship by descent is listed as 1.5 to 2 years. Independent data puts the average government queue at 736 days. Some cases run past 11 years. Delays are largely outside any consultant's control. | Ask for written timeline commitments. If they guarantee speed, ask how. Government queues don't respond to legal pressure. Budget for a longer wait. |
| Credentials | high | No bar association number, no Baroul Bucuresti membership, no Spanish Colegio de Abogados registration found. The company states it works with lawyers, but no names or license numbers are published. Corporate email is a free mail.ru account ([email protected]). | Ask for the bar registration number of whoever files your documents. In Romania, lawyers must be listed in the Baroul database. Verify before signing. |
| Refunds | high | The company claims "up to 100%" refunds. The conditions for this claim are not publicly documented. "Up to" legally means anywhere from zero to 100%. Similar services typically refund only the consultancy fee, not government charges. | Get the refund terms in a separate signed annex to the contract. Specify: what triggers a refund, how long the process takes, and which fees are excluded. |
Immigration Expert: green lights, yellow warnings, and red flags
| ✅ | Founder is public and named. Sergey Kalashnik runs an active YouTube channel (@romanaes, 1,050 subscribers, 204 videos) and appears on camera in client testimonials and educational content. He's not hiding behind an anonymous brand. |
| ✅ | Registered business entity exists. IP Kalashnik S.A. (OGRNIP 321312300070862) is a real entry in the Russian EGRYUL registry. Global Nomad Visa EOOD (EIK 208088075) is registered in Bulgaria. Both are verifiable. |
| ✅ | Website active since at least 2019. The Web Archive first snapshot dates to July 4, 2019. That's over five years of consistent online presence, which rules out a fly-by-night setup. |
| ✅ | No court cases or criminal records found. Open source checks returned no civil suits against the company or criminal proceedings against the founder as of this review's date. |
| ⚠ | Brand confusion with "Romanesc." The brand "Immigration Expert" (romanaes.ru) and a separate service "Romanesc" (romanesc.ru) appear together in client discussions. The company says they're different organizations, but the overlap causes real confusion in reviews. |
| ⚠ | Residential and high-risk office addresses. The Alicante address (Avenida Jijona 9) is a residential building. The Bucharest address (ul Blanari 8) is on the city's seismic risk list. Neither has been confirmed as a staffed office by a third party. |
| ⚠ | Moscow office has no street address. The site says "our office is in Moscow" with no building number, floor, or business center name (which, honestly, raises questions about whether there's a physical office at all). |
| ⚠ | INN and OGRNIP numbers conflict across sources. The INN appears as 56001144960, 312202552771, and 312202552772 in different places. The OGRNIP appears in both a 14-digit and 15-digit version. These mismatches suggest sloppy documentation or deliberate obfuscation. |
| ❌ | Claims 10+ years of experience; IP registered in 2023. The company actively markets "over 10 years in EU immigration" and "since 2014." The sole-trader registration is dated March 24, 2023. The website first appeared in 2019. None of those dates support the "10 years" claim. |
| ❌ | No published bar license or lawyer registration numbers. Operating as immigration lawyers in Romania, Spain, or Russia requires bar membership. Romanaes.ru shows none. No names, no numbers, no registry links. |
| ❌ | Corporate email is a free consumer webmail address. The only published email for an international legal services company handling thousands of euros per client is [email protected], a free Russian webmail account. That's not a system error; it's a choice. |
| ❌ | Alleged PBN network of planted review sites. A VC.ru investigation (August 2025) named yuridicheskie-novosti.ru, migrant-wiki.ru, and otzyvy-o-romanaes.ru as websites apparently run to post positive reviews of Immigration Expert and negative content about competitors. Migrant-wiki.com shows a 5.0 rating based on a single review and carries a suspiciously promotional write-up of romanaes.ru. |
| ❌ | Reports of advance payments to a personal bank card. Otzovix.com carries a "Warning: Scammers!" article alleging that company representatives (names cited: Danil Rublev, Alexander Sidorov) request a 1,000-euro advance wired to a personal Sberbank card belonging to an individual named Anoshka Konstantin Vyacheslavovich rather than a business account. |
| ❌ | Clone website hermes-grup.ru uses the same contact details. The site hermes-grup.ru replicates Immigration Expert's services and lists the same corporate email ([email protected]). No relationship between the two brands is disclosed publicly. |
Immigration Expert vs. alternatives: what you actually get
The highlighted column is the company under review. best means the better value in that row; worst means the weaker option; mixed means it depends on your case.
| Parameter | Immigration Expert ★ | Licensed EU Immigration Firm | DIY (Embassy / Official Portal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 3,200 to 7,800 euros mid-range | 5,000 to 15,000+ euros expensive | State fees only: 50 to 500 euros cheapest |
| Timeline | Claims 1.5-2 years; actual government queue often 2+ years | Same government queues; no faster outcome | Same queues, but you manage all follow-up yourself most work |
| License verified | No published bar number not verified | Bar number on website, verifiable in registry verified | N/A |
| Physical office | Moscow (no address), Alicante (residential building), Bucharest (seismic risk zone) | Registered commercial address, in-person appointments available confirmed | Embassy or consulate in your country |
| Review history | Alleged PBN review sites; "scam" verdict on otzovix.com red flags | Reviews on neutral platforms (Trustpilot, Google) independent | N/A |
| Refund policy | Claims "up to 100%" but conditions undisclosed unclear | Varies by firm; typically partial refund of consultancy fee | State fees partially refundable per official rules transparent |
What to check before paying Immigration Expert anything
- Contract: Get the full "contract de servicii" text before any payment. Check whether the obligation is to provide a result (residency, citizenship) or just "information and consulting services." Courts treat those very differently if things go wrong.
- Payment destination: Any advance must go to a business bank account for IP Kalashnik S.A. or Global Nomad Visa EOOD, with a receipt. If a representative asks you to wire money to a personal card or phone number, stop the process immediately and document everything.
- License verification: Ask for the bar registration number of the lawyer who will file your documents. In Romania, check the Baroul Bucuresti database. In Spain, check the Consejo General de la Abogacia. A real lawyer won't hesitate to share this.
- Refund terms: "Up to 100%" means the upper limit, not the guaranteed amount. Ask for a separate annex specifying: which events trigger a refund, what percentage applies to which scenario, and how long the refund process takes.
- Timeline reality-check: Request the current official government processing time for your specific program. Romanian citizenship restoration queues have been running 2 to 11+ years depending on the consulate. No consultant controls that.
- Review cross-check: Before trusting any positive reviews you see, check whether they appear on yuridicheskie-novosti.ru, migrant-wiki.com, or otzyvy-o-romanaes.ru. These domains have been identified as potentially affiliated with the company. Look for reviews on platforms the company doesn't control: Trustpilot, BBB, or proverj.com.
- Stage-gate payments: Pay in stages tied to verified milestones: documents submitted, case accepted, outcome received. Paying the full fee upfront on a 2-year process gives you very little leverage if things stall.
- Alternative quotes: Get at least one quote from a firm with a verified bar number. Compare what's included and what's excluded. The price difference may not be as large as Immigration Expert's marketing implies.
Frequently asked questions about Immigration Expert
Is Immigration Expert (romanaes.ru) legit or a scam?
The company operates through real legal entities: IP Kalashnik S.A. in Russia and Global Nomad Visa EOOD in Bulgaria. The founder, Sergey Kalashnik, is publicly identified and runs active social media channels. That makes it something other than a pure scam operation.
But the risk is still high. The Russian IP registration dates to March 2023 while the company markets itself as having over 10 years of experience. No bar license numbers are published. Clients on otzovix.com report requests to pay advances to a personal bank card. And a VC.ru investigation identified a network of apparently planted review sites. We rate it 1.85 out of 5.
How much does Immigration Expert charge for Romanian citizenship?
Published materials list Romanian citizenship services at approximately 6,500 euros, with a 300-euro advance payment or a copy of a flight ticket as a first deposit. Bulgarian citizenship by descent is listed at 7,800 euros.
These figures come from the company's own marketing materials. Always get a written quote confirming the total fee breakdown before signing. Ask specifically which portion covers government filing fees (separate from and non-refundable alongside the consultancy fee).
Who is Sergey Kalashnik and how can I verify his credentials?
Sergey Kalashnik is the founder and public face of Immigration Expert. He operates as IP Kalashnik S.A. (OGRNIP 321312300070862, registered March 24, 2023) and founded Global Nomad Visa EOOD (EIK 208088075) in Bulgaria.
He claims 22 years of legal experience and 10 years in immigration specifically. No bar association number or lawyer registry entry has been found that confirms this. Contact their team directly to request documentation of his professional qualifications.
Does Immigration Expert have real offices in Spain and Romania?
The company lists Avenida Jijona 9, Alicante 03012 and ul Blanari 8, Bucharest. The Alicante address is a residential building with some commercial ground-floor units. The Bucharest address sits in a seismic risk zone. Neither address has a legal entity registered to Kalashnik's name in those countries. Whether a staffed office exists there has not been independently confirmed.
What happens if my EU citizenship or visa application is denied?
Immigration Expert claims refunds of "up to 100%" but hasn't published the specific conditions. Most EU immigration consultancy contracts limit compensation to the service fee paid and exclude government filing charges, translation costs, and notary fees. In many cases the consultancy fee is also only partially refunded, depending on how far into the process things got.
Get the refund conditions spelled out in writing before paying. If the contract only commits to "information and consulting services" with no outcome obligations, a refund after denial may be very difficult to enforce.
Are the positive reviews about Immigration Expert real?
Some positive reviews on the company's own website appear genuine (video testimonials from named clients). But a VC.ru investigation from August 2025 identified a network of sites, including yuridicheskie-novosti.ru, migrant-wiki.ru, and otzyvy-o-romanaes.ru, which appear to exist primarily to post favorable coverage of romanaes.ru. One site shows a 5.0 rating based on a single review with an unusually promotional write-up. Treat reviews on those platforms with caution.
For independent assessments, check Trustpilot and proverj.com.
Where can I leave a review about Immigration Expert?
You can leave a review on proverj.com, which actively collects client feedback on immigration services, or on migration.us.com, where this investigation was published. Trustpilot accepts reviews from clients in any country. Your account helps other people make informed decisions, especially if you've had a first-hand experience with the company.
Expert verdict: Immigration Expert (romanaes.ru)
I've been in the immigration business since 2011. I've seen the full spectrum: agencies that quietly do excellent work, and operations that dress up as law firms while collecting advances on personal bank cards. Immigration Expert sits in an uncomfortable middle zone, and that's actually the harder category to assess.
What concerns me first is the timeline arithmetic. You can't simultaneously claim "over 10 years of experience since 2014" and have a sole-trader registration dated March 2023. Those claims don't coexist honestly. The website went live in 2019, which gives you about 5 to 6 years of traceable history, not ten. That's a minor thing in isolation, but when combined with the other findings, it starts to form a pattern.
The personal card payment reports are the most serious red flag here. In my experience running 50+ offices, every payment goes through a business account, period. Not a colleague's card, not a personal account, not a phone transfer. Any service that routes client money through a named individual's bank card is either cutting corners on tax compliance or preparing an exit route if things go wrong. Either option is bad for you as a client.
What I also notice: no bar number. This matters. Representing clients before Romanian or Spanish immigration authorities carries legal responsibility. You need a licensed lawyer for that, and a licensed lawyer has a registration number you can verify in 60 seconds. The absence of that number on the site is not an oversight.
On the positive side: Kalashnik is publicly visible, the Bulgarian entity is real and checkable, the website has been running for years, and the YouTube channel shows substantive content about EU immigration programs. That's consistent with someone who actually knows the field. But knowing immigration and operating a legally compliant business are two different things.
My recommendation: if you're drawn to this service, don't pay anything until you have a signed contract with specific refund terms, a verified bar number for the lawyer handling your file, and a business account number for payment. If the representative you're speaking to can't provide those three things before the call ends, that tells you what you need to know.
Don't rely on the company's own marketing
Several positive reviews about Immigration Expert appear on sites that may be affiliated with the company itself. Real client accounts tell a different story. Read them before you commit thousands of euros.
Read real reviews about Immigration Expert