RWBlog

Here is a question which is of interested (as it turned out) to many, so I decided to devote a post to it.

I would like clarification or confirmation of what paperwork  is needed upon arriving in Russia. I have been told that I only need an arrival card/form which is retained by immigration or customs and then I am free to go.

I don’t need any other form to be filled in or stamped etc. (apart from my visa of course).

For registration I only need my passport, visa and letter of invitation - nothing else.

This information came from a reliable source (the Russian Consul in NZ) but I would like to get confirmation from outside if possible.

Comments:

1)

You will need only your half of the Migration card(the other half is
retained by passport control) which the airline gave to you 1 hour or more
before arrival, your passport and your custom’s declaration which was also
given to you by your airline before arrival. If you do not receive the
customs declaration, they are available in the luggage claim areas. There
are no pens so bring your own.

Your hotel will register your visa with only your migration card and
passport.

If you are using a visa service and not staying in the hotel you received
your invitation the new enforcement efforts by immigration officials should
be a serious concern.

2)

I didn’t know about the arrival card, wasn’t given one (I was asleep) and wasn’t asked for one at the airport. Also I wasn’t asked for any customs declaration and just showed my passport and visa to customs, had my bags xrayed and then I was free.  As usual immigration over there would not admit that they had made a mistake, didn’t want to know about me after I was in the country and
certainly didn’t want to help fix the problem  but I was able to get it fixed eventually - for a price. They just said that it was not possible to come into Russia without an arrival card or customs declaration so I was
an illegal alien.

Even though it was their mistake for not doing their job properly I was left to sort it out. I was told that unpleasant things would happen to me if my problem was detected so I just payed up and took it like a man.

I will not say where I went as my host who helped to fix my problem wants to stay alive.

3)

It is not “their” problem if “they” failed to give you some necessary
documentation. It is YOUR responsibility to do whatever the law requires
where ever you are going. Period.

This is a universal process world wide.

Ignorance is truly not an excuse.  The cards are available and you are
required to fill them out and submit them.  You were VERY lucky they didn’t
lock you up.

4)

The worst place to get advice is a consulate, they are often unaware of
policies back home and probably the worst in giving out false information is
the consulates in Australia. Maybe NZ is better, I don’t know.

Getting past passport control without a migration card is quite unusual, but
much more unusual would be the need for fear from your friend. He probably
was exaggerating to generate greater feeling of gratefulness on your part.

There are signs in English all over the arrival area of the airport about
the customs declaration and  migration card, so it would also have been
difficult to have not noticed them. The customs declaration is easily
bypassed however since most airports seldom even man the Red line for
declared items, 90% just take the Green line and there is no one to even
take a declaration form. Leaving does not require the form unless you had
something to declare that you wanted to take back out, it is for your own
protection to prove you brought it in for personal use and are removing it
from the country.

Although there has been no change in the laws recently, there has been a new
effort to enforce the current laws which have been only partially adhered to
by visitors. Immigration is getting more aggressive in expecting visitors to
obey the laws regarding invitations and registration. Many people use visa
services to get visas and for invitations, in fact in many countries they
are required for applications unless you personally visit the consulate to
drop off applications and pick up passports.

My good friend is going to immigration court tomorrow, where I will act as
interpreter. He knows conversational Russian but not the legal terms used in
a hearing. The immigration officials found that he used a visa service to
get a 90 day business visa in the US and had not really been invited to by a
Russian company who was assuming responsibility for his stay, accommodations
and registration. We all know that is the most common and fastest way to get
a business or tourist visa but it is illegal. He is being charged with 2
counts of immigration law violation for using the visa service that the
consulate closest to his home recommends and even requires to be used for
mail in applications. He spent almost $600. It turns out that the company
creating and issuing the invitations is not even in the city they claim to
be, and the visa service has gotten the visa invitations for 6,000 Americans
currently in Russia. The investigators acknowledge the consulate, visa
service and fictitious company all were in on it. Millions of dollars were
gained this way by one of the largest visa services in the world.  I asked
one the immigration investigators why go after somewhat innocent visitors
who are going by the recommendations of the consulate. He replied that they
had no jurisdiction over consulates or out of country visa services. He said
they intend to dry up the customer base for illegal invitations with the
only means they had, to go after the visitor who broke immigration law. My
friend has a new apartment here and a long term girlfriend so being
deported, and suffering a possible 5 year ban from entering Russia is not a
happy situation for him. He does concede that he knew that visa invitations
are only valid when used to visit and be sponsored by the issuer. That means
only hotels which visitors are booking into and are actually staying are the
only ones that allow the visa to be valid. For tourist visas, the law has
been clear for years; only authorized tour operators and international
hotels can provide visa invitations legally. And business visas are only
valid when sponsored by and meeting with the company that issued the
invitation. Nothing new there but few people adhered to the law so it was
surprising to find out there are enforcing it now.
Personally I am sad to see what is happening to my good friend, he tries to
be a good resident and go by the laws but just got caught by believing the
consulate and the visa service. At the same time I don’t mind seeing the
visa services taken to tasks, they often operate illegally and are not
honest with their customers. If you absolutely need to use a service, for
example because you can’t hand carry your application into a consulate, make
sure your invitation was sent directly to you from your hotel that you are
going to stay in. Supply that direct invitation to the visa service, don’t
let them use one of their own or charge you for one. If a business invites
you make sure it is one you have legitimate reasons to visit it and be
sponsored by it. Otherwise you are in violation of the law. I am sure my
friend is going to sue the visa service, which has 20 offices in the US, for
fraud and take it up with law enforcement officials in the US. He is not the
type to accept their greed determining his fate.  Be aware, any visa service
outside Russia promising to provide invitations for business or tourist
visas is doing so illegally and the immigration officials are aware of it.

When we both went to the immigration enforcement office there were dozens of
foreigners with the same problem, some women were crying over their lost and
expensive vacation and others were just frightened. I must say the
investigators did not lie, they knew the law and were quite well versed in
it, and used a strict interpretation and made no exaggerated claims to
frighten anyone, in fact they were relatively friendly and frank in
admitting that although violators, the visitors were also victims of a large
scam.
Adhere to the laws and no one will bother you here. In fact most people have
a great time and want to come back often.

5)

Interesting to hear about the problem with business visas used for extended
tourism. I visited Russia over a dozen times on such business visas, and I
had problems with only one. When I went to register the visa, the authorities said they did not recognize the sponsor company, and they would not honour the letter requesting support. They turned me away, saying it was my own problem, offering no assistance, other than to return immediately to Moscow and deal with it there, where the company was alleged to exist. I did find a way around it (for a fee) but I was uncomfortable about it, until departed from Russia.

Had the same situation occurred today, I would likely be in a similar mess
as your friend. I have had numerous inconveniences regarding visa registrations over the years, and whether rules have significantly changed or have been unevenly enforced, in the end, I was the one inconvenienced.

For this reason, I always retain all receipts, transport tickets, hotel papers, and any other useful documents. I have had to “prove” where I had been in order to achieve registrations.

I have not been to Russia for some time now, and I am planning to go to St.
Petersburg soon. I have received advice on getting an invitation from a hostel there, who will also register the visa. Concerning the paper trail, it is indeed the responsibility of the traveller to obtain the immigration card and customs declaration, and to fill them in prior to arrival. It does seem rather odd that anyone could get past the incoming passport control without a migration card, and it is a serious responsibility to keep track of ones own documents.

I recommend carrying a copy of the passport, visa and migrant card, and even the customs declaration, should the originals become lost. Although that may help facilitate resolving the problems, it will not be an instant solution.(Nor free of costs.) I have quite often wished Russia would make the process easier, but so far, it has only become more complex. But as someone else said, the travellers responsibilities are somewhat universal. Ignorance, whether innocent or contrived, will not be an acceptable excuse.

6)

You do not need to prove anything to get registered, it I done automatically
by your hostel/hotel when you arrive. As long as you check into and reside
in your hostel/hotel you are covered and it is free to their guest. In this
way the law was changed, the sponsor is the one required to register you not
you yourself. The exception of responsibility is when a person is not hosted
by their sponsor, that is where the violation occurs. For example  someone
posted in the recent thread how to get an invitation from a hotel but not
stay there. That is illegal and would be subject to penalties. I never
encounter that situation because my clients are regular tourists who get
their visa support from the hotel they are staying in. Most of my clients
are referred to me by 2 hotels I work with, only legal tourists would obtain
a guide through a hotel. They never even know that they needed to be
registered, it is automatic at the time of check-in and requires no action
on their part. For regular tourists the laws did change several years ago
making the sponsor more responsible and the visitor less, unless the visitor
violates the rules. The hotel is also responsible for reporting to the visa
and migration service of your departure from Russia within 48 hours of your
leaving. The hotel automatically reports you as having departed at the end
of their sponsorship period.

Carrying a photocopy of your passport is a good idea, it helps the US
consulate identify you if you lose your passport. A photocopy however is not
valid identification in any way when in a foreign country. You need to carry
your original passport with you. If you lose your passport, the old rule was
that you had 48 hours to leave the country, now the visitor is denied exit
until they obtain a new passport. One of the reasons for the change in
policies is that most passport were recovered or found(often passports are
reported stolen when in fact they were left in hotel rooms, in stores or
restaurants) and the consulate receives them within a few days yet under the
old rule, the traveler would have been unable to collect it because they
would be out of the country. It is a good idea also to registered with your
consulate as being in a foreign country so they know how to reach you. I had
a client last year, on a around the world trip, who’s mother suddenly had
become extremely ill and the consulate was able to reach her with the news
because she had registered at the consulate and had advised them of her
whereabouts.