Immigration cards onboard

[sara bell]

Has anyone had experience with Oceania or specifically, Oceania Marina, having immigration cards onboard? Booking an outside tour provider in St. Petersburg.

Thank you!

[roaming_kiwi58]

We are booked on a September cruise on Nautica. We are doing shore excursions with TJ Travel in St Petersburg. A couple of weeks ago I had an email from TJ Travel advising that immigration in St Petersburg has changed and it is no longer necessary to fill in immigration cards for arrival. All you need is your tour ticket with your passport now.

[Paulchili]

Has anyone had experience with Oceania or specifically, Oceania Marina, having immigration cards onboard? Booking an outside tour provider in St. Petersburg.

Thank you!

 

I am not sure what you mean by an immigration card (US, NZ, Russian?). Surely you travel with a passport from some country.

If you are booking tours with a private tour operator in SPB, they will provide your Russian visas and all the documents you need to get off the ship.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Paulchili

[roaming_kiwi58]

I took the question to mean the immigration cards one has to fill in for arrival in many countries, particularly coming off a plane, but sometimes off ships too. So in this case, the official Russian immigration cards one used to have to fill in to accompany your passport when going through immigration. Certainly we had to complete them when we last visited Russia, arriving via plane in St Petersburg. Cruise passengers used to also have to complete them, but apparently that requirement changed recently. They used to be provided onboard on arrival in St Petersburg, not by your private tour company.

Edited July 29, 2014 by roaming_kiwi58

[Paulchili]

I took the question to mean the immigration cards one has to fill in for arrival in many countries, particularly coming off a plane, but sometimes off ships too. So in this case, the official Russian immigration cards one used to have to fill in to accompany your passport when going through immigration. Certainly we had to complete them when we last visited Russia, arriving via plane in St Petersburg. Cruise passengers used to also have to complete them, but apparently that requirement changed recently. They used to be provided onboard on arrival in St Petersburg, not by your private tour company.

 

I see what you mean.

I have visited SPB twice with a cruise ship - Oceania and Celebrity in 2006 & 2007. I do not remember filling out an immigration card either time.

Of course, it was a while ago and my memory "ain't what it used to be" :D

Maybe someone with a more recent experience can fill us in?

Edited July 29, 2014 by Paulchili

[sara bell]

I've booked a private tour with SPB tours in SPB for late August. In my disembarkation instructions they asked that we bring: Tour ticket, Passport, Immigration Card (they requested that we fill it out before going through Russian immigration), and my reservation confirmation. When I asked SPB tours (via email) where to get an immigration card, they replied that the cruise ship is required to provide them. My TA asked Oceania and they said the tour supplier would need to provide everything. Was wondering what other's experience has been. Thank you so much for all your help and responses!!!

[arima22]

I saw a statement on another thread that a cruise ship no longer had the cards, that the passenger was told they were no longer required to fill them out. So...I requested info from our tour operator for Aug. 23, SPB Tours. Here is their reply:

 

"It seems the immigration cards are now being filled out automatically when you scan your passport. The whole process still works the same (you get half of it in your passport which is returned when you disembark), but it's just much easier. So don't worry about the immigration cards anymore!"

[Hambagahle]

Could this be linked to a visa question? It is my understanding that if a cruise passenger is on a cruise-line sponsored/arranged sightseeing tour s/he does not need a visa for Russia. If, however, the passenger has arranged a private - ie non-cruise line - tour then s/he needs a Russian tourist visa. This was certainly the case for us when we went to St Petersburg. We had a private tour guide who did not want to get our visas for us (too much paperwork for which I ca hardly blame her) so we used a Swiss company to get our visas from the Russian Embassy in Bern. Hassle free but not cost free!

(We had to get them in Bern because we are Swiss. US nationals would get them from their regional Russian consulates I suppose!)

[arima22]

No, the immigration card is a separate issue from the visa requirement. You do need a visa or a tour ticket to get through Russian customs/immigration. But the immigration card used to be filled out on board your ship(provided by the ship usually), filled out by you, the passenger/tourist. Was a multipart form with one copy kept by customs. Now it is done through a passport scanning process- your immigration data is recorded on the Russian computer system through the scan vs. hard copy. So once you get through customs, you will have both your tour ticket/visa and the immigration form which is affixed to your passport. Then on the next day(s) visits, the immigration form that is in your passport is checked and should speed up your passing through customs.

[roothy123]

Glad to hear you don't need those things and that Russia has modernized. Last year we had to fill one out, and present a copy of the information Alla Tours gave us, and present our passport, and answer some questions! By the way, get up early in St. Petersburg. A LOT of people will go off the ship that day, and it will take a while to get them all off. Then there are lines to wait in at the terminal when you go through Russian passport check. All this takes time, so if you are to meet your tour group (independent, like SPB or Alla and the like) at 8 and you finish breakfast at 7:45, you are likely to be greeted by a line snaking around the ship, and other lines at the terminal. You will probably need at LEAST a half hour, I would guess, assuming you're leaving early morning, and on the first day you're in SPB. The next day will likely be less insane. Of course, the "get in line early" warning only applies to independent guests. If you're taking an Oceania excursion, just follow O's instructions as to meeting time in the lounge (or whatever).

 

Hambagahl - Last year no visa was required for U.S. citizens if you went on a group excursion with an outfit like SPB or Alla or denrus, as they are authorized to have a blanket visa for people on their excursions. American citizens were only required to have visas if they went off completely on their own - or perhaps with someone that the Russian government didn't recognize as an authorized tour company! I only mention this in case other Americans read this later and assume they need to get a visa to tour with a group like Alla. They don't, unless Russian laws have changed since last August.

Edited August 1, 2014 by roothy123