Visiting Russia - Visa Questions

Ah. Can one regain Russian citizenship even if one was not resident there in 1992?

Anyway, I would LOVE to go to Russia and many of the former SSRs. One reason is my fascination with the former USSR. For example, I'd like to go to Belarus and Transnistria sometime soon. Belarus would be a bit safer to go to, but more expensive. Transnistria doesn't require a pre-arranged visa, and is very cheap to enter, though unpredictable. The Central Asian republics are a bit out of the way.

Have you seen this, by the way? http://www.gadling.com/2012/06/02/video-teenager-flies-plane-into-red-square-during-cold-war/ It is about the 19-year old German kid who flew his little plane from Helsinki into Red Square.
 
My family left Russia in September 1989. I have a copy of my old GC, which clearly states "Resident Since 12/14/89". I'm going to the travel agency that provides visa services tomorrow, and bringing a thick pile of documents that should prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I came here in 1989 and do not have Russian citizenship.

Unfortunately, I expect to encounter a problem with getting a visa for my mother. Turns out that she purged her files and doesn't have copies of any documents that would support her claim of not having Russian citizenship. Again, the agent who's taking care of our visas has an "in" at the consulate, and the documents that I have explicitly mention my mother by name and have her exit visa number. My mother traveled to Russia in 2005 and is still using the same passport with the old visa sticker. I'm still holding on to hope that she'll be able to push the application through. If worst comes to worst, we'll have to postpone the trip to spring 2013 and request the verification process.

@cafeconleche:

I still remember the Mathias Rust incident. It was a huge blow to the supposedly impenetrable Soviet air defense systems and a lot of heads rolled as a result. My father happened to be driving by the Red Square shortly after Rust landed and saw the actual plane.
 
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cafeconleche said:
Why don't you just reclaim Russian citizenship? Isn't it useful?
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I've toyed around with that idea, but ultimately dismissed it. I don't plan on visiting Russia on a regular basis, so reclaiming citizenship isn't all that beneficial to me. Besides, I've heard horror stories of individuals reclaiming citizenship, traveling to Russia, and being drafted into the military upon their arrival. I don't know how much truth (if any at all) there is to those stories, but I'd rather avoid the hassle, even if there is a miniscule chance of incurring it.
 
Vorpal said:
I've heard horror stories of individuals reclaiming citizenship, traveling to Russia, and being drafted into the military upon their arrival. I don't know how much truth (if any at all) there is to those stories...
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How old are you? If you are 27 or older, you should not worry about the military service.
 
Vorpal said:
I've toyed around with that idea, but ultimately dismissed it. I don't plan on visiting Russia on a regular basis, so reclaiming citizenship isn't all that beneficial to me. Besides, I've heard horror stories of individuals reclaiming citizenship, traveling to Russia, and being drafted into the military upon their arrival. I don't know how much truth (if any at all) there is to those stories, but I'd rather avoid the hassle, even if there is a miniscule chance of incurring it.
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Vorpal, Russian citizens may be drafted at ages 18-28. If you are older, you should not be afraid of. Second, they have no right to recruit anyone who is a citizen of a foreign country, like the US. If they catch you somewhere in public transport and take to the military recruiting office, just show them US passport. I read the laws, because I am concerned about my son who might want to go to Russia to visit his dad and granddad.
 
Marusia_GC said:
Vorpal, Russian citizens may be drafted at ages 18-28. If you are older, you should not be afraid of. Second, they have no right to recruit anyone who is a citizen of a foreign country, like the US. If they catch you somewhere in public transport and take to the military recruiting office, just show them US passport. I read the laws, because I am concerned about my son who might want to go to Russia to visit his dad and granddad.
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That may not work if you use A Russian parport to enter Russia. Dual citizenship doe snot mean
teh country involved adknoeledge you to be a citizen of another country but still treat you only
as a citizen of this country. Otherwise many American citizens can also show a fotreign passport
to refuse selected service and draft in case draft is reinstated)
 
To add to this, will it really always work if you are taken in to be drafted and you prove you are a foreign citizen, and no long a Russian one? Isn't the rule of law really lax there, and sometimes illegal and draconian things are done?

Look at this new protest law, for example. A fine of $9000???
 
WBH said:
That may not work if you use A Russian parport to enter Russia. Dual citizenship doe snot mean
teh country involved adknoeledge you to be a citizen of another country but still treat you only
as a citizen of this country. Otherwise many American citizens can also show a fotreign passport
to refuse selected service and draft in case draft is reinstated)
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It works a little different way. You have to proof you are a resident (citizen or permanent resident - does not matter) of a foreign country. US passport can be used as a proof of that.
 
WBH said:
That may not work if you use A Russian passport to enter Russia. Dual citizenship does not mean
the country involved acknowledge you to be a citizen of another country but still treat you only
as a citizen of this country. Otherwise many American citizens can also show a foreign passport
to refuse selected service and draft in case draft is reinstated)
Click to expand...

No, no. I read the "Law of Military Duty for Everyone" ("Zakon o vseobschei voinskoi obyazannosti"). It clearly states that the citizens of foreign countries residing in Russia are exempted of military service. I doubt that when you enter Russia with a Russian passport, just at the Passport control they would wait for you to take to the Army! I was at the Military Registration Office (Voenkomat) with my son. We have provided paperwork that he is a permanent resident of the US, a full-time student, we even let them know our current address in the US. We provided first a letter from his high-school and then university, when he became a college student. We have done this so that nobody would bother my father, his granddad, who lives in Russia in the same apartment where we have been registered. I talked with the Head of the Department there, and he said that we should be OK, unless we fail to provide documents in time that would exempt him from military service (GC or US passport). When any letter regarding my son come to my dad, we immediately provide all necessary documentation. The hassle is that we need to notarize all the US documents, including translations into Russian, and legalize them by Apostille. To do this we must make an appointment with the State Commission Division, and drive to the the State Capital. After the papers are legalized, we send them by mail to Russia. That's not all. My dad in Russia needs to go the public notary, who charges for the translation of the Apostille (by the way, much more than we pay for the Apostille here!!!). Then he brings all the documents to the local Military Registration Department. But we have not been any problems so far, and I hope we would not have any problems in future if we decide to visit Russia. To be safe, you need to know laws and be prepared with all documents needed in hand. I hate all this bureaucratic procedure to the depth of my soul (any Russian would deeply understand me), but when we go to Russia for a visit, I have to keep all paperwork in a perfect order to avoid complications and have peace of mind. It takes time and efforts.
With American citizenship it is different - we say Oath of Allegiance and give up loyalty to the other countries, while if needed and required by the law must serve in the military. Even women.
 
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Marusia_GC said:
No, no. I read the "Law of Military Duty for Everyone" ("Zakon o vseobschei voinskoi obyazannosti"). It clearly states that the citizens of foreign countries residing in Russia are exempted of military service.
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The question is if you enter Russia with a Russian passport, will Russia treat you as a citizen of a foreign country later? At least that does not work in USA. One can not enter USA with a US pasport and then
claim he is exempt from jury duty selected service by presenting a non-US passport later inside USA.

I can acknoelegde that other countries may not have that kind of spirit to follow law strictly especially
if onced rule by a auothtarian party.

Another thing is: teh situation may be opposite: if you have both US and Russian citizenship, you will not be trusted
in Russia so that you will be denied even if you want to enlist yourself to serve in the Russia military.
 
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WBH said:
The question is if you enter Russia with a Russian passport, will Russia treat you as a citizen of a foreign country later?
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Yes, Russia treats it's citizens as Russian citizen and it does not matter what other passports they have. Once again - it's nothing to do with military draft. Russian citizens that are not Russian residents are exempt from draft.
 
A quick update on my situation: I met with the travel agent who'll be handling my visa application. She will arrange an in-person interview for my mother and I with the Russian consulate's visa department. We'll have to convince them that my mother immigrated to the U.S. prior to February 6, 1992 (apparently, this is when exit visas were abolished). Call me crazy, but I'd rather deal with the USCIS any day. I'll keep updating this thread as the situation develops.
 
voldemarv said:
Yes, Russia treats it's citizens as Russian citizen and it does not matter what other passports they have. Once again - it's nothing to do with military draft. Russian citizens that are not Russian residents are exempt from draft.
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What if such a person stay in Russia long enough to be a resident? He or she can pick up a permanent
job, marry a local, raise children. It is hard to define legally what a resident is
 
WBH said:
What if such a person stay in Russia long enough to be a resident? He or she can pick up a permanent
job, marry a local, raise children. It is hard to define legally what a resident is
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It is defined. You have to be there for more than 180 days in a year to be a resident. And if you want to stay there for long time and you are under 27 years - be prepared to go army for a year.
 
voldemarv said:
It is defined. You have to be there for more than 180 days in a year to be a resident. And if you want to stay there for long time and you are under 27 years - be prepared to go army for a year.
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For that to happen, there must be a Russian version of Selective Service so the military authorities have a name list. If a person has never registered, then how can the drafing authorities know where to draft a particular person? In the past when really large sacare wars are going on, the army simply rounded up
any young man on street and put him into a military uniform (still teh case in many war torn countries)
but not now in Russia or America for that matter.
 
WBH said:
For that to happen, there must be a Russian version of Selective Service so the military authorities have a name list.
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Not a problem. It's hard to survive in Russia without passport. I'm talking about internal passport not passport for travel. When you apply for internal passport you have to visit Army recruiting center to get "Pripisnoe swidetel'stwo" Bingo!
 
voldemarv said:
Not a problem. It's hard to survive in Russia without passport.
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That is what I read from one of many Tolstoy. Dostoyevsky etc but can't remmeber exactly which novel
explicitly refer to that.

voldemarv said:
Not a problem. It's hard to survive in Russia without passport. I'm talking about internal passport not passport for travel. When you apply for internal passport you have to visit Army recruiting center to get "Pripisnoe swidetel'stwo" Bingo!
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I think one can circumvent this problem by making an overseas trip outside Russia for every
179-day period if monet and time permits. This can enure you practically live there forever as a citizen
but never a legal resident.
 
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