Requirements for travelling to Khabarovsk Russia

[Falcon61]

I am planning on visiting Irina in Khabarovsk Russia this summer.
I know I have to get an invitation from her to visit.
That will not be a problem.
Irina has said that I will need to stop in Moscow to get a migration card before travelling to Khabarovsk.
Is it required to do this in Moscow or can it also be done in Khabarovsk.
If anyone could explain the sequence of steps I must complete in order to visit her.
I would appreciate it.
Also is it cheaper to travel on a weekday or a weekend.
Thanks
Andy

[lordtiberius]

Good luck!

[BillyB]

I know I have to get an invitation from her to visit.

Not really, most companies who provide your travel visa will be able to get you an invitation. GotoRussia.com is one of them.

Irina has said that I will need to stop in Moscow to get a migration card before travelling to Khabarovsk.

I've never had to do that when traveling past Moscow. Done it twice. Passport control let me onto the next flight as long as I had a valid visa. Maybe something changed in the past few years? Putin may be trying to monitor where foreigners are going?

Is it required to do this in Moscow or can it also be done in Khabarovsk.

You do have to register your visa in Khabarovsk. The hotel you stay in may do it for free or for a fee. If you're not staying in a hotel, you may be able to go to one or go to a police station to get it registered for a fee.

If anyone could explain the sequence of steps I must complete in order to visit her.

Get your visa first
Get airplane tickets
Get your hotel/apartment
Meet lady at airport. Give her hug and kiss on cheek.
If she doesn't meet you at airport, look for mafia taxi to take you to hotel.
First few days in Khabarovsk, register your visa
Win lady's heart
Go home thrilled or crying
If you didn't register your visa, you may be stopped at airport.

Also is it cheaper to travel on a weekday or a weekend.

In America, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are usually cheapest to fly out and back. Play around with the dates to see what's cheapest but keep in mind, just because one ticket price is cheaper than another, it doesn't mean it's cheapest. These days airlines can charge $100+ for luggage. Most of the time it's free with one stow away and one carry on on international flights.


Welcome to the forum Andy. Do lots of reading here. We can save you time, money and heartache.

[Anotherkiwi]

Irina has said that I will need to stop in Moscow to get a migration card before travelling to Khabarovsk.
Is it required to do this in Moscow or can it also be done in Khabarovsk.

Andy, if you follow the route I suggested in an earlier post (Lexington-Chicago-Beijing/Seoul/Tokyo-Khabarovsk), you won't be going within 5,000 miles of Moscow!  The migration cards are handed out by the flight attendants before you land in Russia (exactly the same as for any other country), and you don't need to go to Moscow to get one.

Also is it cheaper to travel on a weekday or a weekend.

Midweek is likely to be cheaper within the USA, as BillyB wrote above, but it almost certainly won't make any difference on your international flights.  You're more likely to find a special price during some airline promotion period (which may only be a couple of days) - talk to a travel agent, as they have far more contacts than you (no matter how familiar you are with airline websites), then possibly try to get an airline to match or better what they've found.  You may be pleasantly surprised.

[Falcon61]

New question.
Irina wants me to stay more than a month in Khabarovsk.
If we got married in Russia.
How would US Immigration treat that.
Would they recognize the marriage legally.
Or would we still have to go the whole fiancé visa, and get married again in the US.

[Larry1]

New question.
Irina wants me to stay more than a month in Khabarovsk.
If we got married in Russia.
How would US Immigration treat that.
Would they recognize the marriage legally.
Or would we still have to go the whole fiancé visa, and get married again in the US.

The US gov. will recognize the marriage but you won't be able to go the fiancee visa route. There is another type of visa for spouses.

[BillyB]

If we got married in Russia.
How would US Immigration treat that.

Keep all records of your emails and phone records. It sounds like you plan on marrying on a first visit. Immigration/Homeland Security may look at your stuff more closely to make sure it's not a sham marriage.

Would they recognize the marriage legally.
Or would we still have to go the whole fiancé visa, and get married again in the US.

You won't have to get married again. Maybe someone here who has taken the path you want to take can walk you through it.

[Bruce lee]

I am planning on visiting Irina in Khabarovsk Russia this summer.
I know I have to get an invitation from her to visit.
That will not be a problem.
Irina has said that I will need to stop in Moscow to get a migration card before travelling to Khabarovsk.
Is it required to do this in Moscow or can it also be done in Khabarovsk.
If anyone could explain the sequence of steps I must complete in order to visit her.
I would appreciate it.
Also is it cheaper to travel on a weekday or a weekend.
Thanks
Andy

Regards the visa - use an agent if possible it will be simpler

Judging by your post you’re planning on flying into Moscow first – normally you will be given the migration card to fill in during the flight – if not there are migration cards near passport control. Fill in accordingly – will ask you where you’re staying etc.. You keep one half, don’t lose it and present when you leave.

If you are flying into SVO the internal departures terminal is located within the same building, a short walk past cafes, shops etc – if you have spare time, eat there before checking through to the internal departures area which is the exact opposite to the international terminal at SVO – they let people through approx  4 hours before flights and it is a smaller and congested area.

When you arrive at Khabarovsk – you’ll just walk into the airport and straight through – if your lady is waiting you will have to take a taxi as the airport is situated in the outer part of the city.

The city is fairly limited – we’ve been there in winter and spent longer in summer – plenty of nice bars in the centre – the Prague bar was really cool (I forget the full name)

When you leave you’ll notice that Khabarovsk airport is annoyingly Soviet – you check in – have to walk up flights of stairs (with your bags)  to the departures lounge, then when boarding you have to walk down another set of steps to get to the plane – not a well thought out design!

[Bruce lee]

New question.
Irina wants me to stay more than a month in Khabarovsk.
If we got married in Russia.
How would US Immigration treat that.
Would they recognize the marriage legally.
Or would we still have to go the whole fiancé visa, and get married again in the US.

FWIW – I’d probably concentrate on getting there first and seeing how you guys actually get on in person before concerning yourself with talk of marriage – in the timeline of your current position, its way off!!!

[Wayne]

If you get the invitation letter from your woman, you can get a double entry private visit visa for 90 days for the same price. If you are a US citizen, you need to use a certain visa service unless you can apply in person at the Russian Embassy.
 
There are 5 or 6 airports near Moscow. Get your international and domestic flights at the same airport. Try DME.