Calling all UK Russians!

[Wanderer]

Anyone know the realities of renewing a Russian Travelling Passport in UK? My gf's expires Dec this year and her new job needs her to be in Switzerland then on a business trip when she starts work....

Does the RU embassy do alternative travel docs of any sort?

Current passport is with HO too, for PSW visa app....

[asdfen]

why not just get a new passport through the embassy? Last I checked it takes ~ 90 days
and no I've never heared of an alternative travel document, I dont belive there is one

[Wanderer]

why not just get a new passport through the embassy? Last I checked it takes ~ 90 days
and no I've never heared of an alternative travel document, I dont belive there is one

We phoned the Russian Embassy and they said current apps are taking five months!

[mym]

Do they not take the usual russian palmgrease?

Good general advice with *any* passport renewal in any country is to make sure you start the process off at least 6 months before it's needed :(

[Wanderer]

Do they not take the usual russian palmgrease?

Good general advice with *any* passport renewal in any country is to make sure you start the process off at least 6 months before it's needed :(

Po blatu? No way!

We're thoroughly snookered on this one - RU embassy says don't apply if more than six months on passport, but will take five months Also she had to send passport to HO for PSW visa, leaving a one month window!

[ca.funke]

We're thoroughly snookered on this one - RU embassy says don't apply if more than six months on passport, but will take five months Also she had to send passport to HO for PSW visa, leaving a one month window!

Why "if more than six months on passport"?

Can't you have two valid (Russian) passports for 1 person concurrently?

Even in Germany you can have 2 and more (!) passports, if you give them one of the following reasons:

1. You need to frequently travel to Israel / some Arab countries. Only with two passports can you continually do this.
2. You go to lots of countries where visas are needed. (This would apply for Russia even more) As your passport is obviously frequently stuck with some embassies waiting for visas, you need the second one to be able to move in the meantime.

Both points seem rather valid to me, and in Germany I know this is honored.

NOTE: Declaring a passport as "lost" does not help, as the "lost" passport is declared void in the passport-checking systems. This would more likely than not get you stuck soon.

Good general advice with *any* passport renewal in any country is to make sure you start the process off at least 6 months before it's needed

Sorry - off actual topic, but still:

In Belgium the *normal* procedure takes 3 days.

For a hefty extra fee you can have the passport on the next business day, provided you apply before 16h00.

This applies to the municipalities inside Belgium. Via the embassies I have no clue.


EDIT: I took the above from my head, but >>looked it up again<< now. I was wrong, it's not as fast as I thought

• The usual timeframe is 5 days after the application has been collected from the municipality, which happens twice a week. (€ 71)
• The faster procedure is indeed for the next day, but has to be ordered before 15h00. (€ 240)

[Erik]

Anyone know the realities of renewing a Russian Travelling Passport in UK? My gf's expires Dec this year and her new job needs her to be in Switzerland then on a business trip when she starts work....

Does the RU embassy do alternative travel docs of any sort?

Current passport is with HO too, for PSW visa app....

There are several ways to renew one's Russian passport.
1) Through the embassy - but it is a pretty long process, it will take on average 4 months or so...

2) One can also apply through OVIR (or whatever it is called now) at one's place of residence in Russia. Most of us (Russians living abroad) in reality keep official residence in Russia too (by having "propiska" there). In case your gf still has propiska in Russia, she can apply for a new passport there (zagran pasport) or alternatively her parents can also do this on her behalf... They (her parents) might be required to have a power of attorney from your gf which she can also organise at the Russian embassy in London.
In case if your gf applies for a passport in Russia she might have it ready within a month or a little longer... I have done this once a few years ago..

3) Russian citizens working in Russia can have up to two passports (two zagran passports). However it is not easy for an average Russian (even a busy traveller) to prove that he/she really needs a second passport.

[Wanderer]

Cheers - good info!

Not the dreaded OVIR again tho - arrrgghh!

She's sure she still has her propiska there - is gonna check later when she phones home....

Cheers!

[Wanderer]

The hot news from Russia now if that the Zagran passports are now to be biometric so u need to be there in person. There is consequently a mad rush to get pre-biometric ones in - her dad is 'finding out'!

More news as it happens....