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American Passports

Moderated by: ronin1

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ronin1
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Joined:	Saturday January 21st, 2006
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Posted: Thursday March 2nd, 2006 05:29 am

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Passports

For those that have never traveled abroad, a passport is a good ideal to get. One doesn’t have to spend extra money on those passport services. Most large post offices can process the simple forms for you. Cost is ~$85. You will need at least 2 passport pictures of yourself. If you plan on going to Russian soon, you might as well get a few extra photos for the Russian visa request. For details see the below links:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

http://www.usps.com/passport/

Ronin

P.S. If you have a passport that you expect to be valid for less than six months when you arrive in Russia, plan on renewing it.

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Last edited on Friday April 7th, 2006 04:31 am by ronin1

Quest
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Joined:	Thursday September 7th, 2006
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Posted: Friday September 15th, 2006 11:39 pm

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In Russia, most hotels and regional government offices will require to "hold your passport" for one to several days while they process you through the system.

Hotels will need your passport and travel visa to check you in and in some instances they will keep it overnight. I prefered to check in early at each new location so I could get my passport back before evening.

The regional tourist offices (they are apparently usually located in the same building as the KGB in remote areas

) will want to see your travel visa and your passport to welcome you officially into their area and a nominal fee is charged for this service. Again your passport is kept for a period of time while officials review everything to make sure all is in order.

My point is that I was paranoid about giving anyone my passport - but give it up you must. I photocopied 4 sets of my Russian travel visa and my Canadian passport to use IF my passport or travel visa went astray.

One copy was with my travel documents - another copy was in the lining of my suitcase(s) and the last copies were in the hidden pockets inside my backpack and moneybelt.

Paranoid you say? Getting stuck in Siberia in a small village with no "documents" was not a pleasant situation - but a photocopy sufficed until an original could be produced! No documents = no travel!

Having made the trip to Russia 4 times never caused any grief coming back home through Canadian customs. On my last trip to Russia; however, I had a week long holiday/honeymoon in Turkey via cheap excursion fares from Moscow. The Turkish government gave my passport a nice stamp to remember my visit! This time coming back into Canada I got to visit the "special room" and my bags, personal items in my backpack and even myself were searched very carefully! I was politely told that even a middle-aged executive like myself who married a RW and went to Turkey for a honeymoon would get the full inspection coming home to Canada! Canadian customs found every photocopy of my travel documents hid inside my suitcase and backpack!

Be prepared to give up your passport and Russian Travel Visa at various times during your travels in Russia - but be prepared for Murphy's law and have some copies made just in case.

Happy Travels.

ronin1
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Posted: Saturday September 16th, 2006 05:49 am

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Quest,
Be prepared to give up your passport and Russian Travel Visa at various times during your travels in Russia - but be prepared for Murphy's law and have some copies made just in case.

Good point. I was going to bring up this topic in a later post and you beat me to the punch.

What you said is absolutely true. Having copies is cheap insurance. Being a stranger in a strange land may be a great thrill for a while, but it will get old fast if your stuck there. Having a guaranteed back door allows the traveler to have piece of mind when one is parted from their passport.

Ronin

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