Russian Visa Error

[Sculler]

Hello all,

I wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the Visa section. This is a situation that happened on my last trip to Russia over New Year's.

I moved to the UK last Fall for a one year job. Before I left I did all the paperwork for a one year Russian business visa so I could visit my fiancee whenever I had the opportunity. However, because it took a while to verify the need for an HIV test (still required for the Seattle Consulate) and to get the test results, I wasn't able to get the visa before I left. So I had to mail in my passport and application documents from the UK and pay the extra money to get it done next day because I didn't have the time for them to take the standard 2 working weeks to process it. When I got it back I reviewed it and it looked fine. When I arrived at SVO in late December, the Customs official pointed out to me that the visa didn't indicate my sex. This may seem like a minor issue, but apparently it invalidated the visa. So she gave my passport to her supervisor and I was told to sit down in the customs area. After a while an official came over and explained that since the visa was no good, another one would be issued by the airline (I flew in from London on Aeroflot). A couple of hours later, I got my passport back with a new visa and was pushed into the baggage area to continue my journey.

The thing about this that had me perplexed was that for the last couple of years That I have been travelling to Russia (this was my 3rd trip) I had been reading how important it was to make sure all the info on the visa was correct and to get it corrected before getting to Russia or you may/will be denied entry. I checked my name and the dates to be sure they were corrected but overlooked that part of the visa. So the question I keep asking myself is at what point do they reject entry and send you back instead of issue a new visa? Not that I would recommend anyone to go with a visa with errors on it, but I wonder if it would be worth the hassle of dealing with the consulate to correct a visa if a new, corrected one could be obtained at the airport (provided you have the time - I arrived at 0600 and my train wasn't until 1700 that afternoon). Also, is it depended on the airline? What if I had flown in on Delta or BA, or some other non-Russian airline? Would I have gotten the same service? Has this happened to anyone else? Is this a common occurrence, or very rare? There was a woman waiting with me at the time. I think she was having a similar issue. Her husband/boyfriend was waiting for her in the baggage claim area while she waited for her corrected visa.

A problem this created is that when they issued my new visa they also stamped my migration card that had the old visa number on it. When I went to register, there was s discrepancy between my visa and the migration card (even though the visa says on it that it replaced the other visa number). So I had to write out an explanation, that my girlfriend translated, and submit that each time I had my visa registered. A small problem, but irritating, nonetheless.

1x

[Chicagoguy]

I once arrived in Moscow with a Visa marked just the way I wanted it. Good for 2 months.  8/9/02  -  10/9/02.    I arrived on Sept. 7

Unfortunately, neither me nor Delta picked up on the fact they they were using Russian dating. So my visa was really only good for Sept. 8,9,10

They put me back on the same plane I had arrived on.

I also had reservations to leave the same day to Omsk on an Aeroflot plane. Aeroflot refunded all my money and Delta gave me half back.

A Moscow friend was waiting for me outside of customs and they would not let me tell him what was happening or lend me a phone to call him. In Omsk the Mayor was waiting at the airport to greet me. I was not able to contact him either.

It was a disaster for me and I certainly share some of the blame.

They were not at all willing to find a way to help me.

[GoodOlBoy]

In Omsk the Mayor was waiting at the airport to greet me. I was not able to contact him either.

Chicago guy sorry to read about your troubles.

I've got a question.

Why was the Mayor of Omsk waiting for you?

Were you visiting his Daughter?  


GOB

[Chicagoguy]

No, I first went there on a sister city/trade delegation from Alsip, Ill. in 1992. Victor Schraeder was the mayor then and still is. We became friends along with others who live there. Some of my Omsk friends have moved to Chicago and some have visited twice in the past 6 months. I have been to Omsk 5 times but never to see women. My last visit was Jan. 2008.

[mendeleyev]

Sculler, someone was in the New Year spirit and you flew on Aeroflot.  Both contributed to your good luck. 


ChicagoGuy, Delta is susposed to check those dates so they should have reimbursed more than 1/2. Sorry to hear about that trouble.

Russia holds the airline responsible as it is the airline which will be required to haul you back home if a mistake is made. Had you arrived on the 8th instead of the 7th you probably could have had time to see/bribe someone into correcting the mistake you made. But since you arrived a day "early" they didn't bother and shipped you home.

I fly on Aeroflot non-stop from Los Angeles most of the time and they check very carefully prior to boarding.  Also I use a USA based Russian registered travel agency (East-West-Tours in Seattle) and they process both the tickets and the visa for me at the Seattle Consulate. They check dates before sending tickets and visas to my home.

A few years ago my visa and tickets were acquired by an employer and that always made me nervous knowing that some 27 year old American blonde secretary with a California license plate and airhead mentality was in charge of my fate. I always made myself a pain in the arse by looking over shoulders, insisting on double and triple checking myself, etc.  Saved my hide several times.

Because the state owns a big chunk of Aeroflot, Moscow customs will bend over backward to save Aeroflot from the expense, if there's room to bend in their system. But truth is, Aeroflot is good at checking, more than once usually, prior to boarding because someone could lose a job over the mistake.

[TwoBitBandit]

Ya know those baggage claim stickers they give you that have a sticky area exposed?  I stuck one of those in my pocket with my passport, and as Murphy's law would have it, it worked its way into my passport pages and promptly stuck itself to my Russian visa.

I tried to remove it carefully but I tore off some of the visa.  The part that got ripped off was part of the red number in the corner.  I didn't have much time to do much with it because I needed it to claim my baggage.

In retrospect, I should have left the adhesive part on the passport and negotiated with the baggage clerk to give me the luggage with a partial claim ticket after explaining the situation, then used a solvent (alcohol?) to try to remove the sticker safely.

In any event, on my departure from Russia I had a problem with the custom people.  Fortunately, I had a photocopy of the original visa.  After twenty minutes of my most polite negotiation (in Russian) and me explaining my fascination with the beauty of the Russian language, they decided to let me go home and warned me not to try to return on the same (multiple-entry) visa.  It could have turned out much worse, so I was happy with the result.  What were they going to do, after all?  Keep me in Russia like they did with Soviet citizens before the wall came down?