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St Petersburg and child with dual American/Russian citizenship


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Was talking to a friend today, who has a 12 yo daughter adopted from Russia to the US. The daughter has dual citizenship as per Russian law, and the adoption agency recommends they keep her Russian passport valid as Russia's request.

 

She would like to go on a Baltic cruise and felt like a stop in Russia would be a good and easy introduction to Russia for the daughter. That said, she also read somewhere that the daughter would need to use both passports. Due to some of the capricious customs and border guard decisions they were subjected to during their several adoption trips, and the current state of Russian adoptions to the US, she is leery of bringing her daughter.

 

I'm just throwing this out to see if anyone has traveled with a Russian adopted child to Russia as a cruise excursion. It's a fairly specific situation, but with so many people on the board I thought I'd give it a try.

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I cannot answer your question specifically but I found this on the US Consulate General's site in St Petersburg...

 

Dual Nationality and Travel to Russia

 

Persons in Russia are subject to Russian laws and procedures. Persons who are citizens of both the United States and Russia should be aware that, while U.S. immigration law requires Americans to use U.S. passports when entering or leaving the United States, Russian law likewise requires Russian citizens to use Russian passports to enter and depart Russia.

 

There have been several instances in which U.S. citizens who also have Russian citizenship have entered Russia using their Russian passports, but then could not leave as planned because their Russian passports had expired during their stay in Russia, or because they lost their Russian passports. Since these travelers had not obtained Russian entry/exit visas in their U.S. passports, Russian authorities did not permit them to depart using their U.S. passports.

 

It can take several months to obtain a new Russian passport in order to satisfy Russian requirements for departure. Dual citizens who plan to enter Russia using their Russian passports should make sure that their Russian passports will be valid for their entire stay in Russia.

 

The link for the website is listed next. http://stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov/dual-nationality.html

 

I would make sure that there is at least six months left on all passports at the end of the planned visit.

 

Hope this helps!

Carrie

Edited by cml4958
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  • 6 months later...

I was in your friend's shoes last year. Our son (11 yrs) had an expired Russian passport and we had also heard that you needed to travel to Russian using the Russian passport. I posted about it here and on Disboards and found someone who had been the year before and had no problem with her child traveling on her US passport. We checked with the tour group we were using in Russia and they said it wouldn't be a problem -- and it wasn't. No delays on entering Russia.

 

I would move ahead with the trip.

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Was talking to a friend today, who has a 12 yo daughter adopted from Russia to the US. The daughter has dual citizenship as per Russian law, and the adoption agency recommends they keep her Russian passport valid as Russia's request.

 

She would like to go on a Baltic cruise and felt like a stop in Russia would be a good and easy introduction to Russia for the daughter. That said, she also read somewhere that the daughter would need to use both passports. Due to some of the capricious customs and border guard decisions they were subjected to during their several adoption trips, and the current state of Russian adoptions to the US, she is leery of bringing her daughter.

 

I'm just throwing this out to see if anyone has traveled with a Russian adopted child to Russia as a cruise excursion. It's a fairly specific situation, but with so many people on the board I thought I'd give it a try.

 

I was in your friend's shoes last year. Our son (11 yrs) had an expired Russian passport and we had also heard that you needed to travel to Russian using the Russian passport. I posted about it here and on Disboards and found someone who had been the year before and had no problem with her child traveling on her US passport. We checked with the tour group we were using in Russia and they said it wouldn't be a problem -- and it wasn't. No delays on entering Russia.

 

I would move ahead with the trip.

Yes, what Ekat states is true as long as the child is entering Russia via cruise ship - it is an entirely different story if the child is entering by air, train, or car, or is booked on a Russian river cruise rather than a Baltic sea cruise with only a port visit in St. Petersburg (the dual passport issues would apply for arrival by air, train, car & river but not by Baltic sea). Unfortunately, the rules for dual citizenship on the consulate's website are very confusing.

 

The child need only bring her US passport and all will be fine to clear Russian immigration (both entry and departure) at the cruise terminal in St. Petersburg (I assume that is where the cruise ship will dock).

Edited by dogs4fun
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I have never traveled to the baltic and I'm really excited. The only thing I have being reading about visa to enter Russia. If we are in a cruise ship do we need a visa if we are US citizens? Also do you think I will have any issues if I was born in Ukraine? I'm not a Ukranian citizen, I'm actually Cuban and America but my US passport states that I was born in Ukraine? Do I need a Visa?

 

Any information will be helpful

 

Thanks

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I have never traveled to the baltic and I'm really excited. The only thing I have being reading about visa to enter Russia. If we are in a cruise ship do we need a visa if we are US citizens? Also do you think I will have any issues if I was born in Ukraine? I'm not a Ukranian citizen, I'm actually Cuban and America but my US passport states that I was born in Ukraine? Do I need a Visa?

 

Any information will be helpful

 

Thanks

 

If you have been reading, you should see there are several options:

o getting a visa from a Russian consulate and traveling independently around St. Petersburg

o signing up with your ship's tours and letting the company providing this service deal with the paperwork for visa-free entry. No independent touring allowed.

o directly contacting several of the well regarded tour companies and hiring their services (or creating a small group or joining an existing small group). This method also means you will not apply for

a Russian visa; as an ocean cruiser you can enter the port visa free. Again, no independent touring allowed.

 

Option three is the most popular with the participants on this board.

 

As you're aware, your visit may present unique problems since your US passport shows a birthplace in the Ukraine. (Yes, the Ukraine has been independent since 1991, but I'm guessing you were born before that date.) Right now the chance of getting a useful answer is small since you've buried your question in a thread about a child with dual Russian/US citizenship. I suggest you write a new post and title it in a way that draws attention to your unique passport situation.

 

Were you a military or State Department dependent (or other NGO dependent)? I ask because you may be able to get some useful information from the military or from the State Department.

 

At the top of the list of threads for Northern Europe, on the left side, you'll see a button marked new posts. Click on that and write a post with a title that's specific to your situation. Good luck.

Edited by Pet Nit Noy
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