Changing planes in Moscow - Visa?

[Vespasia]

I'm looking at flights to Prague and the cheapest fares are on Aeroflot with 3-6 hour layovers in Moscow.

According to the Russian consulate website:

"Transit Visas: Travelers intending to transit through Russia en route to a third country must have a Russian transit visa. Even travelers who are simply changing planes in Moscow or another international airport in Russia for an onward destination will be asked to present a transit visa issued by a Russian Embassy or Consulate. Russian authorities may refuse to allow a U.S. citizen who does not have a transit visa to continue with his or her travel, obliging the person to immediately return to the point of embarkation at the traveler’s own expense."

Google tells me that people never bother with this. However, with tensions between the US and Russia the way they are I feel like I should be more careful. Does anyone have experience with this?

[alleinesein]

A Russian Transit Visa can run between $178-$318 depending on the turn around time. That does not include any fees for expediting. Travisa Outsourcing does the processing for Russian Visas.

Unless the saving on the plane ticket is $500+ it isnt worth it b/c what you save will be eaten up by visa fees.

[Vespasia]

May 14, 2014 11:50:18 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

A Russian Transit Visa can run between $178-$318 depending on the turn around time. That does not include any fees for expediting. Travisa Outsourcing does the processing for Russian Visas.

Unless the saving on the plane ticket is $500+ it isnt worth it b/c what you save will be eaten up by visa fees.

I'd save about $130 so no, that's not happening.

[alleinesein]

May 14, 2014 11:59:39 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

May 14, 2014 11:50:18 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

A Russian Transit Visa can run between $178-$318 depending on the turn around time. That does not include any fees for expediting. Travisa Outsourcing does the processing for Russian Visas.

Unless the saving on the plane ticket is $500+ it isnt worth it b/c what you save will be eaten up by visa fees.

I'd save about $130 so no, that's not happening.

Yeah...that would be not worth it! Besides...the ticket is on Aeroflop...I mean Aeroflot!  I know BA has flights to Prague out of LHR but it could be a bit expensive b/c of taxes.

[emilyinchile]

I'm a pretty breezy traveler, but I would never ever decide disregard a consulate's rules about visas because Google told me other people had gotten away with it. That just sounds like setting yourself up for a massive problem in any country. As you've realized, the cost and hassle of getting a Russian visa as a US citizen isn't worth it for this anyway, but just in general, play by the rules when it comes to visas!

[GilliC]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the airline is partially responsible for ensuring you have the necessary documents to travel to your destination, because if you don't they often have to foot the bill to fly you back home.

Most airlines use IATA to determine document requirements, because gate agents can't be expected to understand all the visa regulations. So if IATA says you need a transit visa, the airline might deny you boarding if you don't have one.

On the plus side, you can use the IATA website to get a quick overview of visa (including transit visas) requirements without having to dig up individual embassy/consulate websites.
www.iatatravelcentre.com/CZ-Czech-Republic-passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

[Vespasia]

May 14, 2014 14:01:36 GMT -5 GilliC said:

On the plus side, you can use the IATA website to get a quick overview of visa (including transit visas) requirements without having to dig up individual embassy/consulate websites.
www.iatatravelcentre.com/CZ-Czech-Republic-passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

That website was helpful, yet left me more confused:

"Passengers transiting only are exempt from holding a visa when:

If in transit to/from Belarus; or if the airport of arrival is different from the airport of departure within the same Russian city, then a Russian (transit) visa is required."

So it sounds like you only need one if you change airports? 

[GilliC]

May 14, 2014 14:23:17 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

May 14, 2014 14:01:36 GMT -5 GilliC said:

On the plus side, you can use the IATA website to get a quick overview of visa (including transit visas) requirements without having to dig up individual embassy/consulate websites.
www.iatatravelcentre.com/CZ-Czech-Republic-passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

That website was helpful, yet left me more confused:

"Passengers transiting only are exempt from holding a visa when:

If in transit to/from Belarus; or if the airport of arrival is different from the airport of departure within the same Russian city, then a Russian (transit) visa is required."

So it sounds like you only need one if you change airports? 

It is worded strangely. But it starts with "Visa Required."

I read it as: you don't need a transit visa if you're traveling to/from Belarus. But if you have to switch airports during your transit to/from Belarus, you will still need a visa.

ETA - I think I read it wrong. I knew there was one that was easier to use than the actual IATA website, but I couldn't remember where it was. Turns out it's on the Star Alliance website:
www.staralliance.com/en/services/visa-and-health/

Russian Fed. (RU)


TWOV (Transit Without Visa):

Visa required, except for Holders of onward tickets for a max.
 transit time of 24 hours.

- TWOV not applicable if transit is to/from Belarus.

- There are no transit facilities available at Khabarovsk
 (KHV), Krasnodar (KRR), Yuzhno Sakhalinsk (UUS) and

Vladivostok (VVO). Passengers are required to clear
 Immigration and Customs.

- If in transit to/from Belarus; or if the airport of arrival
 is different from the airport of departure within the same

Russian city, then a Russian (transit) visa is required.

So as long as you're not flying to Belarus, switching airports, they say you don't need a transit visa. Now that I think of it, this aligns more with what I've seen, because there are definitely a few people around here who've transited Moscow to get to the Middle East or Asia.

[Vespasia]

After reading the Aeroflot reviews I'm just going to say fuck it and pay more. This is way too much hassle.


I blame Putin.

Thanks for the help GilliC and alleinesein

[GilliC]

Yeah, as long as you don't leave the transit area, you can transit Moscow without a visa.

From the website of the embassy here:

Travelers have the right to pass through the territory of Russian Federation without a transit visa in the following cases:

if travelers make an international air flight and a transfer in a Russian airport provided and they have due documents to enter the country of destination and an air flight ticket with an indicated date of flight from the Russian transfer airport within 24 hours upon arrival (but for emergency landing). A transit visa is not required if travelers remain in the transit zone of the airport in order to catch an onward or connecting flight within 24 hours of arrival;

But yeah, it's still Aeroflot.  :?

[Vespasia]

May 14, 2014 15:04:00 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Yeah, as long as you don't leave the transit area, you can transit Moscow without a visa.

From the website of the embassy here:

Travelers have the right to pass through the territory of Russian Federation without a transit visa in the following cases:

if travelers make an international air flight and a transfer in a Russian airport provided and they have due documents to enter the country of destination and an air flight ticket with an indicated date of flight from the Russian transfer airport within 24 hours upon arrival (but for emergency landing). A transit visa is not required if travelers remain in the transit zone of the airport in order to catch an onward or connecting flight within 24 hours of arrival;

But yeah, it's still Aeroflot.  :?

LOL. I'll keep this in mind if tickets keep going up. My other option is LOT and their reviews aren't any better. The airlines I like are at least $300 more and I'm on a budget. 

[GilliC]

May 14, 2014 15:28:48 GMT -5 neeps said:

Aeroflot international is hella better than any US based carrier. What blows about flying Aeroflot is flying with a plane full of Russians. Planes, food and service are all usually pretty good. The passengers are doing their best imitations of The Hangover movies, but only after they've stored their 15 pieces of carry-on luggage in every nook and cranny of the plane.

So my belief that the moment I set foot on an Aeroflot plane, it will fall out of the sky, are unfounded? That's good to know!

They pop up on flight searches to Asia, but I've always avoided them. ...And now I'm imagining the chaos that would ensue flying Aeroflot to China. Between the two cultures, I bet they'd fill the overhead bins after only a dozen passengers had embarked!

[alleinesein]

May 14, 2014 15:08:56 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

May 14, 2014 15:04:00 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Yeah, as long as you don't leave the transit area, you can transit Moscow without a visa.

From the website of the embassy here:

But yeah, it's still Aeroflot.  :?

LOL. I'll keep this in mind if tickets keep going up. My other option is LOT and their reviews aren't any better. The airlines I like are at least $300 more and I'm on a budget. 

Have you priced out flying into another European city and taking the train into Prague? 

What US city are you flying out of?  LOT leads me to believe that you are flying through O'Hare.

[Vespasia]

May 14, 2014 17:24:33 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

What US city are you flying out of?  LOT leads me to believe that you are flying through O'Hare.

I'm in Maryland. I'm actually looking at flights from NY since it's really not hard to get there. DC and even Boston would work too. 

[alleinesein]

May 14, 2014 17:58:32 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

May 14, 2014 17:24:33 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

What US city are you flying out of?  LOT leads me to believe that you are flying through O'Hare.

I'm in Maryland. I'm actually looking at flights from NY since it's really not hard to get there. DC and even Boston would work too. 

Price out flying into Dresden, Germany.  Its 2 hours by train to Prague.  Airberlin usually runs decent specials out of the east coast.

[Vespasia]

I'll check it out, thanks. The person I am traveling with was considering flying into Germany (coming from a different city than I) but it didn't save her enough.

[Deleted]

If your layover is less than 24 hours and you have an outward ticket, you're exempt from a transit visa. (per consulate website). There's a lot of confusing information out there about it.

We're flying New York > Bangkok on Aeroflot with a 22 hour layover (spending the night in Moscow and hopefully doing a quickie tour). We ended up saving about 1,200 on airfare for the two of us compared to the best non-Aeroflot fare I could find - pretty crazy. We'll see how it works out...

[wise_rita]

May 14, 2014 13:26:55 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

I'm a pretty breezy traveler, but I would never ever decide disregard a consulate's rules about visas because Google told me other people had gotten away with it transit through fucking Russia. That just sounds like setting yourself up for a massive problem in any country. As you've realized, the cost and hassle of getting a Russian visa as a US citizen isn't worth it for this anyway, but just in general, play by the rules when it comes to visas!