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What
to do in case of emergency in Russia
Customs
Update: New
customs regulations: no more hassles, now you can bring in
and out up to $3000 US cash without
declaring it at all, if you have up to $10000 US, you just need
to fill in the declaration form and then show it when you leave
Russia. If you have more than $10000 we would recommend you to
put it on a card or in travelers cheques... See more detailed
information below.
Emergency: LOST YOUR PASSPORT AND YOUR RUSSIAN VISA
What to do: It's better
to be very careful and not to lose the passport with a visa,
but if that
happened, you should do the following procedure:
1. Go to any police station around the area where your passport
was lost and get a special paper, which says that your passport
was indeed lost (it's called "spravka" in Russian).
It is very important to get the spravka, otherwise, you won't
be able
to have the new visa issued.
2. Make sure you still have your plane ticket with the date of
return. If you don't, book a new flight and get the printed
confirmation
of booking. You can do it in any airline's office.
3. Make some passport size photos on a special matte paper -
available in any photo places. The photos made in photomachines
at the metro
stations won't work.
4. Go to your embassy to get a new passport (you should contact
the embassy just after you lost the passport to start processing).
See the list of foreign embassies in Moscow and
in St. Petersburg.
5. Try to find a copy of your lost visa or at least of the invitation
letter.
6. Take all the documents and papers listed above (the spravka
from police, your plane ticket, photos, new passport, copy of
your lost
visa (if you have one)) and take it to the office of the travel
agency that issued your visa support. Usually, it's the same
office
where you had to make your visa registration. You will be fined
about $150 US by immigration officials and, if everything will
go
allright, you'll be given a new visa in a few days (about a week).
Emergency:
RUSSIAN CUSTOMS TRIES TO RIP YOU OFF
What to do: These things
were happening some time ago, and everybody was talking about
it. Recently, Russian parlament introduced a new law, so you
can forget
about these problems.
According to the new regulations you can bring in Russia up to
$3000 US in cash (or equivalent) without declaring it at all
(that
is, you can go through the green corridor when you arrive and
not fill in the customs declaration form). If you have between
$3000
and
$10000
in cash, you should fill in the customs declaration form, declare
this money when you come in and come out of Russia.
Also, there are now customs information desks in Sheremetyevo
2 international airport, so in case you have any questions, they
can be resolved on the spot.
Emergency:
GOT INTO
POLICE CUSTODY
What to do: Normally, you won't
get into trouble with the police unless you commited a small infringement
or a crime. You should know your rights and calmly show the policemen
that
you
know them. Be polite and try to explain that you would like to
resovle the situation to everybody's satisfaction. Unfortunately,
policemen often accept bribes.
If you want to show to police that you know the laws, you may refer
to them directly, so it's better to know at least the reference
number. For example, here
you can read about the basic laws concerning visa registration.
According to Russian laws (Administrative Codex, Federal Law #195-FZ,
issued on 30 Dec 2001), the police might take somebody to a police
station for not longer than 3 hours in case they suspect that this
person comitted a crime or an infringement and would like to check
his personality or/and to give this person a fine. The police do
not have a right to detain somebody for longer than 3 hours,
unless there's a difficulty in learning who the detained
person is (for example, he doesn't have a passport and doesn't
answer
any questions) or in case it is proved that he comitted a crime
for which he should be detained. In that case the person can be
detained for not longer than 1 day.
A person can be arrested (detained for a long period, but not longer
than 15 days) in extreme cases, but only after the judge's decree.
Here's a list of some common infringements and penalties:
• Not having a visa registration 72 hours after arrival
(Regulating law: Adminitstrative codex, Federal law #195-FZ, Article
18.8. Penalty: detainment for not longer than 3 hours, a fine 1000R
($30 US) with a possibility of being sent out of Russia (though,
little, because it can be ordered by a judge only).
• Demosntratively disturbing the public order (that's
when you shout offensive words to the others, or make sex in front
of everybody, or tell the policeman to fuck off, or piss on the
street in front of everybody etc.). Regulating law: Adminitstrative
codex, Article 20.1. Penalty: a fine from 500 to 1500 R ($15 to
$50), in some really bad cases detainment (arrest) for up to 15
days.
• Drinking vodka in public places (or something else
where there's more than 12% of alcohol). Regulating law: Administrative
codex, Article 20.20. Penalty: a fine from 200 to 500 R ($7 to $15).
• Being heavily drunk in public places (and harassing
everybody). Regulating law: Administrative codex, Article 20.21.
Penalty: a fine from 100 to 500 R ($3 to $15) or detainment (arrest)
for up to 15 days.
•
Carrying marijuana or hashish.
Regulating law: Russian Government Decree #231 (effective 6
May 2004), Criminal Codex articles 228, 229, Administrative Code
article 6.8. Russian Government Decree #231 came into effect on
6 May 2004, which regulates the amount of drugs or psychotropic
instances for personal use.
The law allows a certain amount of substances (used in medicines,
drugs, etc.) which are allowed for personal use.
Now, if a person is carrying a "personal" dose of a drug
(up to 2 grams of marijuana, up to 0.5 grams of hashish) and this amount is believed by the police officer to be for personal
use, the person can not be criminally prosecuted. Maximum penalty
in this case is a fine 500 to 1000 Rubles.
If a person is carrying 10 or more "personal doses" of
a drug or a psychotropic substance (equals 20 or more grams of
marijuana, or more than 5 grams of hashish) he/she will be criminally
prosecuted, the maximum penalty is 7 years in prison.
It is forbidden to bring in any drugs or psychotropic substances
in Russia.
If you are interested whether you can bring in a medical supplement
which contains some substance you believe may be restricted in
Russia, you should check with the Decree #231 if the amount is
acceptable.
Also, note, that Russian police and officials often do not know
the laws very well, so you may spend a few months in prison before
they find out that they are not right.
Emergency:
LOST A CREDIT CARD
What to do: Contact the company
-- issuer of your card to put it into stop list and contact your
bank to ask them to issue a new card.
Important telephone numbers:
AMEX offices in Moscow: (095) 933-6636 (from 9.00 to 17.00), and
in St. Petersburg (812) 329-6060 (from 9.00 till 17.00).
Amex, Visa, MasterCard, Diners', JCB cards center in Moscow: (095)
956-3556 (24 hours a day), and 755-9001.
Emergency:
CAN'T FIND WHERE TO LIVE
What to do:
You need to find a hotel that is big enough to have free
space all the time. First, try all the hotels listed in Accommodation
section of our city guides. If there are no vacant rooms, ask them
if they can recommend anything.
If it doesn't help, get yourself any yellowpages directory and
look for Hotels in there. Also, try to get some English-language
newspapers,
like Moscow Times in Moscow or St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg
and see theadverts there.
If that didn't work and it's already the nighttime, you can go to
a club that has a dark chill out room and to sleep there (leave
your luggage at a railway station locker beforehand). If you don't
feel like sleeping, you can also go to a 24 hour internet cafe (there's
one in almost every city)..
"Crisis Line" in Moscow: I just learned about
a special organisation in Moscow that is aimed at helping foreigners
in case they have an emergency. I talked to a person who works
there, and she told me they are a group of enthusiasts (foreigners,
who live in Russia since a long time), and many of them have experience
in counseling and psychological help. Their services are free,
and they can be of help in a situation when a person may need a
medical or psychological help, problems with work, visa, etc.
You should dial (095) 244-3449 (Moscow phone number), which is a number of a
paging company (the operators speak English), and leave your message and contact
phone number for the abonent "CRISIS LINE". They should call you back
shortly (in about 1 hour).
Have
a situation?
Just
post a message in our Talk Lounge Russia
Forums and we will get
back to you.
Comment
(posted 3/01/03): "Customs
Regulations---- Your infomation is wrong. There is no $1500 declaration
free limit for foreigners; this $1500 limit is ONLY for Russian citizens.
Russian law changed 1st October 2001. I foreigner cannot even take
$1 out of Russia unless it was declared upon entry. This rule is
being enforced at SVO airport in Moscow. "
Answer: The information about customs regulations
is contradictory. Some sources say that you should declare if you
carry more than $1500, some say you should declare every dollar.
The safest thing to do is to declare every dollar (as we advise
above), and keep the declaration paper with you when you leave.
If you didn't do it and are about to leave, find some kind of ATM
cheque to be able to prove with something where you've got the money
from. Or you can buy travelers cheques, you don't have to declare
them. Or you can make a Western Union transfer. Many options...
Comment (posted 19/01/03): "I am travelling
to Russia in two months but am worried about being stopped at customs
because I have epilepsy and have to carry tablets with me for the
duration of the trip. What should I do? I have my presriptions and
doctors letters but they are in English...do I need to try to get
them translated?"
Answer: I personally think there shouldn't be any
problems, however, if you want to make sure everything goes ok.
The customs rules state that it's ok if a person takes in medicines
for personal use.
If you want to make sure, I would recommend you to get a list of
medicines that are forbidden in Russia from the Russian embassy
in the country you're in.
Question (posted 28/01/03): "Regarding currency
carried in and out of Russia: This cash and travellers check stuff
seems to confuse me. For declaring at entry - do I have to declare
everything, no matter it is cash or TC. And when leaving - again
in form of cash or TC? Are declarations confined to cash only?"
Answer: You don't have to declare travel cheques.
The most important thing to remember is that you should declare
the same or less amount of CASH currency when you leave the country,
as what you had when you were entering the country.
Comment (posted 4/04/04): "Hi, since 15/3/2003 there
is no such rule anymore about 1500 USD (or cash in foreign currency)
for foreigners, no need to fill in the customs declaration. It's
now applicable only for sums over 10 000 USD."
Answer: It is true, but for the first few months
it's better to be safe, besides, they still ask at the border if
the sum is more than $1500.
The best advice is to look at the customs information before going
through customs. In major Russian airports it is in English also.
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