Changes to the Russian Visa.

I read that there will be changes announced in the New Year.

Has anyone heard anything?

Hi, Jackie,

I think it's probably the short-term relaxation of the requirement for a tourist visa for those attending World Cup football matches in various cities, including St Petersburg.

But as I understand it you have instead to obtain a Fan ID, issued when you apply for your match tickets. So it'll have no bearing on those visiting on a cruise which simply coincides with the World Cup.

Can I presume you are aware of the Russian tourist visa requirements for Brits, including visiting one of only 2 (?) consulates in the UK for biometrics, a real pain in the ***.

More importantly, can I presume that you are aware that cruisers arriving at St Petersburg on a port-of-call can do so visa-free, provided that :

- they overnite on the ship

- their visit is under 72 hours

- they go ashore only on excursions arranged by the ship or by one of the approved local tour operators.

Cruise lines are keen to tell you that if you want to go ashore unaccompanied you must have a visa but that if you go on a ship's tour you don't need a visa. They're not so keen for you to know that a pre-booked excursion with an approved local tour operator has exactly the same visa-free status.

Google Alla Tours, TJ Travel, Best Guides, SPB Tours, Red Oktober, Anastasia, and there' a dozen more, & all have excellent reputations. You do have to book in advance in order for them to register you with immigration, but you don't pay with order or even quote credit card details - you pay during your tour, by card or in cash (not sure which currencies cos those rules changed recently.

Your booking confirmation e-mail gets you through immigration without a visa.

But it's only good for the day & approx. time of your tour. So if you book only a one-day tour you can't use that booking to get you through immigration on Day 2, or even for he evening of Day 1.

Browse St Petersburg threads on this forum for more detail.

JB :)

Thanks.

I have actually pre booked my tours with the ship ( last time we went with SPB, but wanted to do an inside visit to Peterhof, which was advertised by the ship)

I was wondering if I could fit in an evening theatre performance , so wondered if I could book independently, but I guess it’s another tour!

I also wanted to avoid the football crowds, so thought it best to have an organised tour that left fairly early- last year I read that the independent tours were not allowed to pick up until the ship’s tours had left.

I have also read that at least one cruise line is telling their passengers that they have to obtain their own football tickets and visa , so the person posting thought they would have to obtain a visa themselves, but from what you say that will also be linked to the football ticket.

Many thanks.

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I've also read that the pax on the ship's tours now get priority exit from the ship before the pax on private tours.

I've also read that the pax on the ship's tours now get priority exit from the ship before the pax on private tours.

That was a ploy used by some cruise lines, to get their excursionists into the immigration line ahead of the independents.

But, like you, I've heard that this is now official port policy following a change of port administration (and probably some palm-greasing :rolleyes:)

Jackie - no, without a tourist visa you can't go off the ship independently for the theatre, ballet, etc.

And local operators' policy was (probably still is) that they don't book you for evening activities unless you book a day-time tour with them.

But I'm guessing you can book an evening function with your ship - what did you have in mind?

JB :)

Well the ballet will send my husband to sleep, so maybe folk dancing, but I seem to remember that they came on to Eclipse in 2015, so that maybe a waste of money. I can’t recall seeing a ship’s tour.

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Thanks.

I have actually pre booked my tours with the ship ( last time we went with SPB, but wanted to do an inside visit to Peterhof, which was advertised by the ship)

I was wondering if I could fit in an evening theatre performance , so wondered if I could book independently, but I guess it’s another tour!

I also wanted to avoid the football crowds, so thought it best to have an organised tour that left fairly early- last year I read that the independent tours were not allowed to pick up until the ship’s tours had left.

I have also read that at least one cruise line is telling their passengers that they have to obtain their own football tickets and visa , so the person posting thought they would have to obtain a visa themselves, but from what you say that will also be linked to the football ticket.

Many thanks.

 

 

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Those who have tickets do not need a visa. It is not clear how this would be treated for cruise passengers. Logically they shouldn't need a tour or a visa though for a two day stopover this might only be for the day of the match. All that to say logic and Russian customs don't always go together so do your research but even the best laid plans can go astray.

Those who have tickets do not need a visa. ... Logically they shouldn't need a tour or a visa though for a two day stopover this might only be for the day of the match..

This is not entirely true: those who have tickets AND a FAN-ID (a separate document you apply for once you obtain your tickets or ticket confirmation) do not need a visa.

According to FIFA,

Such fans will be able to enter and remain in the country during the period that starts ten (10) days before the first match and ends ten (10) days after the last match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

So, logically, any cruise passenger with a valid FAN-ID will be able to disembark visa-free at any date falling into the above range and do pretty much whatever they want (within the boundaries of law and subject to certain time constraints - after all, you wouldn't want to miss your ship, right?)

This is not entirely true: those who have tickets AND a FAN-ID (a separate document you apply for once you obtain your tickets or ticket confirmation) do not need a visa.

According to FIFA,

Such fans will be able to enter and remain in the country during the period that starts ten (10) days before the first match and ends ten (10) days after the last match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

So, logically, any cruise passenger with a valid FAN-ID will be able to disembark visa-free at any date falling into the above range and do pretty much whatever they want (within the boundaries of law and subject to certain time constraints - after all, you wouldn't want to miss your ship, right?)

Yes you are correct but this FAN-ID is a formality. Notice the rule says enter and remain in the country. A 3 day stop in St. Petersburg would in effect require 3 entries. This is where I wonder if you would have a problem. In other words do they cancel the FAN-ID on entry or is it good for multiple entries?

The Russian Visa changed some time last year - perhaps you were reading something relating to new year 2017. You do need a Russian visa if on a river cruise, (which we are later this year) and if you are staying in hotel(s).

There is a lot said on the Trip Advisor forums about visa relaxation for world cup time. You can check there, but, from what I have read, I think you need a match ticket as well and I doubt it would work from a cruise ship so you can just wander round st. Petersburg. I am no expert, but suggest you look up the official website with the details rather than just make assumptions.

Yes you are correct but this FAN-ID is a formality. Notice the rule says enter and remain in the country. A 3 day stop in St. Petersburg would in effect require 3 entries.

To quote somewhat verbose http://www.fan-id.ru,

"Foreign citizens arriving in the Russian Federation as 2018 FIFA World Cup™ spectators can use their FAN IDs for multiple visa-free entry into and exit from the Russian Federation upon presentation of valid identification documents that are recognized as such by the Russian Federation. "

So, in effect it is less of a formality and more of a multiple-entry visa valid between June 4 and Aug 25. It also comes quite cheap: the cheapest Cat 3 group match ticket will set you back about a hundred dollars and change.

But I do agree with tring: there are several official sites that are well worth checking out:

http://www.fifa.com for tickets and schedules

http://www.fan-id.ru for fanID and FAQ

http://www.tickets.transport2018.com for tickets and schedules for free trains between host cities

http://www.russia.travel for suggestions of things to do.

Actually, I think a lot of people here might find their "around me" feature useful:

https://russia.travel/map-tourism/?findme

Oooooops! Sorry, my bad - fanID will be good to travel between June 4 to JULY 25 (not August, as I stated above).

Again, my apologies.

I agree with napoxoguk. If you have a ticket to any World Cup match, you can then apply for and receive a FAN ID. Once you have a FAN ID, you should be able to enter Russia during the event as many times as you like. I never saw anything saying that you were not allowed to arrive by cruise ship. In fact, this is exactly what we plan to do this June (and actually will be attending a World Cup match!).