Question Regarding Visas/Customs with International Travel

[Ro_Laren]

This September I will be travelling to Russia to spend 10 months studying Russian at St. Petersburg State University. I have been talking to the University administrative personnel via e-mail regarding the logistics of their program. While the program is a 10 month Preparatory Enrollment Program they seem to be very flexible in their dates and they told me that students will be entering the program any time between September 1 to October 15. As a result I do not know exactly when the program will end. This makes me scared because I don’t know what to do about purchasing a return ticket. I have heard of some people not getting through customs on a one-way ticket because customs was afraid they would never leave the country (Russia has problems with illegal immigration just like America does). I don’t want to purchase a ticket that is too early because that could mean I won’t be able to complete the program (there is a test at the end that you have to pass to enter the university). I don’t want to purchase a ticket too late because according to the Russian student visa you have to leave the country a couple days after the last day of class.

I have been having a hard time communicating with the school. They don’t seem to want to give me any definite dates for the program. I told them about my worries over customs and getting a visa and they said the following:

“According to our information, normally return ticket is not required for getting visa. Also at the customs you will have no problem.”

This obviously doesn’t seem to be very comforting. Do you think I should e-mail the Russian embassy in Washington D.C. for clarification or could that be opening up a can of worms?

BTW, I have been trying to do all of my communication in e-mail vs. over the phone so I can get everything in writing.

 

[trampledamage]

I would e-mail the Russian embassy - they should be used to dealing with travel enquires.

 

[TheSeeker]

^Good advice.

 

[Sky]

Is it possible for you to buy a so-called open ticket so that you have a return ticket (they see you're planning to leave and have paid for it) but the date is not fixed yet?

On the other hand, during my trips to Russia I've always had to write down the exact number of days I'm spending there on my visa application. This might be different for a student visa though; I've only ever applied for the tourist one. Maybe you can put the latest possible ending date of the course + a few days there.. but as others said, it's best to ask the embassy.

 

[Ro_Laren]

^ I was actually going to use my frequent flier miles (American Airlines). I have never heard of using miles to get an open ticket.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

1. Welcome to life in Russia. The answer you received is actually exactly what I'd expect. And may very well be wrong.

2. Last I checked, you could still buy a round trip ticket with an open return date. This will not only save you money, but will also provide you with a paid return fare, which customs will be able to see in your ticket. This is the sort of ticket I purchased when I went to live in Russia for a year. But last I checked, the airlines still did these.

Although admittedly, the last time I checked was before 911...so who knows.

If you can no longer purchase a RT ticket with an open ended return date or you absolutely MUST use your miles...I would wait until the school is able to give you a firm begin classes date.

Seriously - when it comes to Russia (the Embassy, the school, anywhere!), it's like dealing with the American IRS. You can call 3 different times and get 3 different answers. And no one you talk to will have heard of each other. And all of them will tell you they are right and the other guys were wrong.

Do not expect anyone in Russia to be of much help. If I was you, I'd take care of myself. You may as well learn THAT lesson early - it's the best advice I can give you.

 

[Sky]

Do not expect anyone in Russia to be of much help. If I was you, I'd take care of myself. You may as well learn THAT lesson early - it's the best advice I can give you.

I have to wholeheartedly agree with PKTG, at least if we're talking about government and officials. You'll probably run into very very friendly and hospitable people, though.

 

[Holdfast]

This thread has been around over 7 hours, and still no Yakov Smirnoff type gag? This board has gone to the dogs.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Do not expect anyone in Russia to be of much help. If I was you, I'd take care of myself. You may as well learn THAT lesson early - it's the best advice I can give you.

I have to wholeheartedly agree with PKTG, at least if we're talking about government and officials. You'll probably run into very very friendly and hospitable people, though.

I agree that the regular people are often very friendly and hospitable. However, they really cannot do much to help you, because the way most Russians navigate their own system is essentially through buying into the corruption inherent in that system and making it work for them. Want to get out of military service? Pay off your father-in-laws cousin twice removed's wife...who is a clerk in that office and who can fix it so you don't have to serve. Cop stops you for 'driving with a dirty car' (yes, I'm serious - they can stop you for this)? Slide the cop a wad of rubles, and off you go - no having to spend 3 days standing on lines all over Moscow, trying to get it sorted out. You know what I mean? For the average Russian, it's all about who you know and what you can pay them. The ONLY way they get through their own system is to grease the right wheels with the right amount of cash or 'in-kind services' (you fix my military service issue and my cousin Ivan will put you at the head of the line for the next car that rolls off the line or whatever).

But that 'system' is not really open to foreigners. So we foreigners are left trying to negotiate the vast wasteland of Russian bureaucracy, completely unaided. And dealing with vast numbers of people who (and this is the really important part) simply DO NOT CARE if you successfully navigate that system or not.

That's the reason for my advice. Ro Lauren may as well get used to the idea right here and now that NO ONE she will deal with - in the government, at the university, or anywhere else where bureaucracy might be present, will care one little bit about what happens to her. Complaining will net her a shrug of the shoulders, at best. But no real help. Remember here, that you are dealing with a very fatalistic culture. Nowhere in the world has a society more strongly embraced the saying "Life's a bitch, and then you die" than in Russia. Which is probably why, when you open a bottle of vodka there, you drink until it's gone. Because no one is promised any tomorrow. Let alone any GOOD tomorrow.

So anything 'customer service' oriented? Fergetaboutit.

Think of Russia as one big Department of Motor Vehicles (where no one speaks English), and plan accordingly.

You need, therefore, to plan to take care of yourself as much as possible, and leave as little as possible to chance. This is my number one piece of advice about living and working in Russia. And I say this as someone who routinely backpacks around Europe with a Eurail pass and very few hotel reservations made before I leave the US. Russia = completely different animal. Plan to take care of yourself. And triple check every single plan which contains a key element involving ANYONE in any 'official' capacity doing what they said they were going to do. Because they may well 'forget'. In fact, ASSUME they will forget. And not even care that they forgot.

NEVER assume anyone will help you. And never assume anyone will make it easy on you because you are a foreigner and don't know how to get through the system. Their view? You are spoiled and have had it too damn soft for too damn long - you deserve to suffer a bit, like the rest of humanity.

That is why I'd recommend getting a return ticket with an open ended return. Even if you have to pay for it. Because you never know. One customs agent might let you through. Another might not. And the actual LAW has very little bearing on what he will or will not do, or what he will or will not allow.

That is where Americans make their chief mistake, when dealing with Russia. We assume laws and rules MEAN something and will be applied equitably, when in fact, they do not mean much at all and will not be enforced in any manner other than 'arbitrarily, as that agent sees fit that moment'.

Silly Americans. We are so naive.

 

[Ro_Laren]

^ Yeah, I have been to Russia three times already, but it has always been with various organizations so I never had to work out the logistics myself. As I mentioned I will be using frequent flier miles. I will probably contact American Airlines to see if you can use miles to get an open ended ticket. I am also thinking of e-mailing the U.S. Consulate General office in St. Petersburg (where I will be studying) and see what they think.

 

[trampledamage]

Contacting the US Consulate in St Petersburg sounds like a very good idea - they'll know how to work things for you.

I hope you have a good time!