Children Under 14 Need Passports for All Foreign Travel

The Civil Registry Office of Sverdlovsk Oblast has issued a warning: rules for children traveling abroad will change from January 20, 2026. Now, a birth certificate will not be considered a document with which children under 14 can cross the Russian border. For all trips, including visits to Abkhazia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and South Ossetia, a foreign passport will be required.

Children who have already traveled abroad on a birth certificate before January 20, 2026, will be able to return to Russia using this document. The restrictions will not apply to re-entry as part of an already commenced trip.

Parents planning trips with children should take care of obtaining the document in advance. For this, the following will be needed:

• child«s birth certificate;

• parent»s passport;

• child«s photograph;

• application form of the established format.

The processing time for a foreign passport usually ranges from one to three months, depending on the region and the workload of the migration service.

Meanwhile, for children over 14 and adult Russian citizens, the possibility of entering a number of countries with an internal passport remains. Travel with Russian documents is possible to Abkhazia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and South Ossetia.

It is important to remember that even with a foreign passport, it is recommended to take the original birth certificate on the trip. This document confirms the relationship between the child and the accompanying adult, especially if they have different surnames.

At the same time, in Yekaterinburg, passions have not subsided for several months over the red seal. The mark in the birth certificate will be required not only on airplanes — now the stamp of Russian citizenship is necessary when transporting children on trains if you buy a child a discounted ticket.