Daughter traveling to Russia with wife this summer

[roykirk]

Hi Everyone -

Our oldest daughter is making her first trip to Russia with my wife this summer to visit family.  She'll be 4 years old by then.  My question concerns any special visa/passport considerations.  My wife holds a valid green card (in her married name) and Russian passport (issued in her maiden name).  Her passport lists our daughter as her child.  I think there's also a photo of our daughter in there too, but she was quite young at the time.  Our daughter will be traveling with a U.S. passport.

My main question has to do with any required tourist visa for my daughter.  My wife claims she was told that it won't be required since she's listed in her passport as her daughter.  Not that I don't trust my wife's research, but I wanted to double check here to see if that's true.      Any other general tips would be appreciated.  If the visa isn't an issue, my only remaining concern is the fact that my wife's married name isn't noted in her passport and the photo of our daughter contained in it was taken when she was about a year old.  She doesn't look remotely the same now. 

[mendeleyev]

Whatever you decide, the RF requires that you enter/exit using the same passport. The law actually states that is she is still a citizen or a dual citizen then she must use her Russian passport for entry and exit. That however is not the practice every traveler observes. I think that a call or visit to the closest Russian consulate or Embassy might be wise.

[Faux Pas]

I'd second Mendy's advice on contacting both the U.S. and Russian consulate. If your daughter does need a visa (I suspect she will) when she is trying to enter will be too late.

Your wife can travel as she always has on her Russian PP. She'll only show her GC as she returns. Your daughter on the other hand will cause problems if documentation isn't in order, more specifically, as both customs/PP control require it

[Muzh]

Don't forget your affidavit giving your permission of your daughter traveling with her mother. Passport control HERE may or may not ask for it. Better be safe than sorry because if they ask, they will not allow her out of the country.

[viking]

My wife travels to Belarus using her Bela passport which is in her maiden name. She shows her GC at the Bela airport ( returning home) to show she has entry here and then again at our Immigration control. Never a problem. I cannot speak to the RF issue with your child, but to get a RF visa is easy so why not? Once over there more data can be gathered as to what you need to do the next time around.

[roykirk]

Thanks everyone.  My wife has actually made one trip already, so I know she'll be fine as far as her entry and exit.  It's just our daughter that I'm unsure of.  Getting a tourist visa in our daughter's passport would certainly cover all of our bases, but my wife doesn't want to jump through those hoops if we don't have to.  I'm going to have her call the Russian Consulate again to confirm what she thinks she was told.

[JayH]

Don't forget your affidavit giving your permission of your daughter traveling with her mother. Passport control HERE may or may not ask for it. Better be safe than sorry because if they ask, they will not allow her out of the country.

Roy-I would do this is a matter of course.It is good advice to cover any potential eventuality that would cause a lot of stress if confronted with a problem.
I would place little credence on any verbal advice from any embassy or consulate-- that will be worth the paper it is not written on !!

Added-- she is your biological daughter-correct? She has US passport-Correct?  Have her travel on her own documents- means get appropriate visa-- plus  as Muzh suggested-- that way you cover all the bases!!

[Manny]

If your daughter is in her mothers Russian passport and is a RF citizen, she can enter Russia on that. Our daughter visits with my wife the same way.

They wont issue a visa to a Russian citizen in a foreign passport.

Your wife's married name in America is not an issue in Russia, as that is not her name there. It matters not if your daughter has your surname if she is on her passport. Often, there is no photo for the children in the passport either.

Bottom line is if your daughter is listed in her mothers passport as an RF citizen, that is all she needs to enter Russia.

[roykirk]

Thanks, Manny.  I had been leaning towards getting the visa for my daughter just as a safety net, but we obviously can't do that if they won't even issue it to her if they consider her a Russian citizen.