Russian Visas

[Sleepydormouse]

Just got my booklet for my Baltic Cruise 6/11/17 -- Wow! Disney really makes it sound like you aren't allowed to use a private tour company. I know other people on the boards have done it, but it says "guests who wish to sight-see independently or outside of Disney Cruise Line's Port Adventures must obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home. But we aren't getting an individual Russian Tourist Visa with our private tour company, we are getting visa waivers, right? An actual Tourist Visa requires a visit to the Russian Embassy within the US, as I understand it. Am I missing something? I have a private tour booked with Tours By Locals and they say they will send me my "tour tickets." Really panicking now. Visitrussia.com says that tourists are free to use any authorized tour company, not just the cruise line.

 

[Chirple]

Just got my booklet for my Baltic Cruise 6/11/17 -- Wow! Disney really makes it sound like you aren't allowed to use a private tour company. I know other people on the boards have done it, but it says "guests who wish to sight-see independently or outside of Disney Cruise Line's Port Adventures must obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home. But we aren't getting an individual Russian Tourist Visa with our private tour company, we are getting visa waivers, right? An actual Tourist Visa requires a visit to the Russian Embassy within the US, as I understand it. Am I missing something? I have a private tour booked with Tours By Locals and they say they will send me my "tour tickets." Really panicking now. Visitrussia.com says that tourists are free to use any authorized tour company, not just the cruise line.

We used a different tour company in St. Petersburg, but you are correct. We had to show our tour tickets and passports when we got off the ship. Russian immigration put what we thought was a temporary paper visa inside of our passports. That paper had to be returned when we returned to the port and went through immigration again.

 

[MUN]

Just got my booklet for my Baltic Cruise 6/11/17 -- Wow! Disney really makes it sound like you aren't allowed to use a private tour company. I know other people on the boards have done it, but it says "guests who wish to sight-see independently or outside of Disney Cruise Line's Port Adventures must obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home. But we aren't getting an individual Russian Tourist Visa with our private tour company, we are getting visa waivers, right? An actual Tourist Visa requires a visit to the Russian Embassy within the US, as I understand it. Am I missing something? I have a private tour booked with Tours By Locals and they say they will send me my "tour tickets." Really panicking now. Visitrussia.com says that tourists are free to use any authorized tour company, not just the cruise line.

There used to be a member on disboards that went by the moniker "Disney Fantasy". I suggest you search his posts. He had a detailed report about a similar cruise he took last year. He used an independent operator in St. Pete, and I think he discussed that a tourist visa wasn't necessary. I believe he's a British citizen; however, I would think Brits and Yanks would be covered by the same Russian rules.

MUN

 

[Chirple]

There used to be a member on disboards that went by the moniker "Disney Fantasy". I suggest you search his posts. He had a detailed report about a similar cruise he took last year. He used an independent operator in St. Pete, and I think he discussed that a tourist visa wasn't necessary. I believe he's a British citizen; however, I would think Brits and Yanks would be covered by the same Russian rules.

MUN

It was Anastasia Travels, which is the tour company we used based on his recommendation. What I described above is the process.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Has anyone gone to St. Petersburg with an American or Canadian passport who was born in Russia? I'm thinking about kids who were adopted from Russia. The passport would identify them as being born in Russia, even though they have a new citizenship.

I ask, because our Russian-Canadian neighbours had to fight to keep their teenaged son from being conscripted when they went back for a visit to Russia. My son was born there, but is a Canadian citizen now. I am scared for him to try crossing a Russian border, although a cruise including St. Petersburg would be nice, I bet.

 

[dcassetta]

Just got my booklet for my Baltic Cruise 6/11/17 -- Wow! Disney really makes it sound like you aren't allowed to use a private tour company. I know other people on the boards have done it, but it says "guests who wish to sight-see independently or outside of Disney Cruise Line's Port Adventures must obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home. But we aren't getting an individual Russian Tourist Visa with our private tour company, we are getting visa waivers, right? An actual Tourist Visa requires a visit to the Russian Embassy within the US, as I understand it. Am I missing something? I have a private tour booked with Tours By Locals and they say they will send me my "tour tickets." Really panicking now. Visitrussia.com says that tourists are free to use any authorized tour company, not just the cruise line.

It is not necessary to obtain a visa on your own as long as you are using an authorized tour company. If your guide has indicated that your shore excursion is visa-free, then you will be fine to debark. Make sure you have your tickets, and that your passport is valid for at least 6 months after the date of your tour. At no time should you be separated from your tour guide.

 

[dcassetta]

Has anyone gone to St. Petersburg with an American or Canadian passport who was born in Russia? I'm thinking about kids who were adopted from Russia. The passport would identify them as being born in Russia, even though they have a new citizenship.

I ask, because our Russian-Canadian neighbours had to fight to keep their teenaged son from being conscripted when they went back for a visit to Russia. My son was born there, but is a Canadian citizen now. I am scared for him to try crossing a Russian border, although a cruise including St. Petersburg would be nice, I bet.

It is my understanding that Russia considers all children born in Russia as Russian citizens until they are 18 and formally renounce their Russian citizenship, even if their adoptive parents have gained them citizenship elsewhere. Yes, the Russian government can conscript a Russian-born man from the ages of 18-27. Because of this policy the Canadian, or American, embassy may not be of much help in a situation where a Russian-born child or young adult is detained.

 

[JoieNsk]

Has anyone gone to St. Petersburg with an American or Canadian passport who was born in Russia?

My daughter has two passports - Russian one and American one. We booked a private tour in St Petersburg with Alla Tour this June, and they told us that by Russian laws she should be using her Russian passport to enter the country as a Russian citizen.

We never took the cruise to Russia before but we visited Russia with her several times as her biological father lives in Russia. Russian passport control never cared about her American passport whenever we were entering Russia. But on the way back to US we had to show her American passport to prove that she may legally enter US without visa.

Again - my daughter has two citizenships, both American and Russian.

I would assume if the child born in Russia still has Russian citizenship, the parents would need to get Russian passport for the child in addition to the American one. Otherwise - yes, they might have problems crossing the border.

But if the child - even born in Russia - doesn't have Russian citizenship anymore it doesn't matter if the child was born in Russia or not.

 

[FigmentSpark]

My son is only 14 and we never renewed his Russian passport, but I didn't know you could renounce citizenship at 18. I'll have to look into that. Thanks. I think, for now, we'll give that cruise a pass.

 

[New England Mickey]

My mother who was born in Russia had gone there on an American passport. Im not sure if the same applies if she wasn't born in Russia.

 

[quickcat]

It is my understanding that Russia considers all children born in Russia as Russian citizens until they are 18 and formally renounce their Russian citizenship, even if their adoptive parents have gained them citizenship elsewhere. Yes, the Russian government can conscript a Russian-born man from the ages of 18-27. Because of this policy the Canadian, or American, embassy may not be of much help in a situation where a Russian-born child or young adult is detained.

We have adopted from Russia and believe this is correct. Even if the US doesn't consider them having dual citizenship, Russia does.
I would not try to enter Russia without a visa, make sure your ducks are in a row -that's a scary place to try to get out of if you don't have all the correct paperwork they're looking for.

 

[FigmentSpark]

So far, I've just told my son that he won't be able to go there until he's too old to do army time. I will look into renouncing his Russian citizenship, though.

 

[bumbershoot]

So far, I've just told my son that he won't be able to go there until he's too old to do army time. I will look into renouncing his Russian citizenship, though.

I wonder if your adoption agency might have more info for you?

 

[FigmentSpark]

It's been many years since the adoption, so I don't really have contact with them. Also, I'm not even sure they do Russian adoptions anymore. Remember a few years back, Russia cut a lot of countries off for various reasons. But thanks. I think I'll just have to contact the Russian embassy.

 

[aggiedog]

For the OP, if you have the paperwork from the tour company, you will be fine. That is, in effect, your visa. You'll go thru passport control at the port, show them your passport and that paperwork, and meet your guide on the other side. Very easy. We did the DCL Baltic cruise 2 years ago, and used TJ Travel for our day there. It went smoothly, and we had a great day.

If you wanted to wander SPB on your own, without a guide, you would need a visa. With either a DCL excursion, or any other reputable SPB company, you will be fine.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's been many years since the adoption, so I don't really have contact with them. Also, I'm not even sure they do Russian adoptions anymore. Remember a few years back, Russia cut a lot of countries off for various reasons. But thanks. I think I'll just have to contact the Russian embassy.

They might still know. I might reach out anyway. And yes I remember when Russia cut the US off. Anyway, I suggest the agency because they might have gotten lots of updates and stories from families, and might have ideas. I remember when we were looking heavily into international adoption reading that there were cases when you could get a new US birth certificate that eliminated some issues. I wonder if that's a possibility at this late date (or if it ever was). Just thoughts.

 

[linetbo]

We did a private tour with Anastasia Travel last year and it was the best tour in my cruise. They send me the visa by email.

 

[FigmentSpark]

They might still know. I might reach out anyway. And yes I remember when Russia cut the US off. Anyway, I suggest the agency because they might have gotten lots of updates and stories from families, and might have ideas. I remember when we were looking heavily into international adoption reading that there were cases when you could get a new US birth certificate that eliminated some issues. I wonder if that's a possibility at this late date (or if it ever was). Just thoughts.

I know that there was a U.S. law that the moment an adopted child entered the U.S., s/he was given citizenship. It wasn't like that in Canada. We waited nearly 2 years for my son's citizenship. So it's possible a U.S. birth cert could have been issued, depending on the laws, but I doubt that's the case in Canada. But, yeah, they would certainly be more up on the laws than I would be.

Maybe if we went on the cruise, but he stayed on board... but then, it would suck to be that close and my son couldn't go on a tour of such a beautiful city as St. Petersberg.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

US citizens: You don't need a visa if you take a ship's tour or if you do a private tour with a tour company that secures the visas for you. You must stay on the tour though, no deviating.

As for whether ship's tours are favored, they may be.

The biggest issue with St. Petersburg is long lines for going through immigration because they're pretty thorough and don't just glance at the paperwork. A tour company will tell you what to have ready to present when you reach the immigration official. So it might matter when you are able to disembark. I had one visit with DCL which was no issue at all. My private tour group just gathered in the atrium and walked off as soon as the ship was cleared. We were the first persons through immigration.

Second visit was on RCL. They announced that all persons on private tours would be held in the dining room until given permission to disembark and they would be called to disembark based on the time of their tour. That was a mess because 1) the private tours were pretty much more than half the ship, and the dining room didn't have chairs for everyone and 2) people freaked out thinking they were disembarking ALL ships tours first and they'd be in line for hours. That didn't happen, still didn't spend a huge amount of time in line. Heard from crew members that things were worse when they tried to go ashore later with long lines and waits to go through immigration.

Anyway, do not let a cruise line tell you that unless you go into St. Petersburg with THEIR tours, you are in violation of the visa requirement. The private tour companies will arrange the visa for you and it is just as good as DCL's visa.