Russia Tightens Exit Rules for Minors Traveling Abroad
For travel abroad, all underage Russian citizens will now need their own foreign passport, according to a statement from the Migration Service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
«Birth certificates have been excluded from the list of documents with which underage Russian citizens could cross the state border,» the agency said in a Telegram message.
The changes took effect on January 20. Parents planning trips with children should arrange to obtain the document in advance. This will require:
the child«s birth certificate;
the parent»s passport;
a photograph of the child;
a completed application form.
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 a domestic Russian passport remains. Travel with a Russian internal passport is possible to Abkhazia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and South Ossetia.
The changes are necessary for the safety of the children themselves. This will help prevent their illegal removal abroad in cases where there are disputes between parents—for instance, when one parent is a foreigner or when there is no consent from the other parent, explained Regina Gilmanova, a professor in the Department of Family and Housing Law at the O.E. Kutafin Moscow State Law University, in a conversation with TASS.
If you haven«t yet decided where to go on vacation, it»s worth noting that travel to some countries will become easier. Russia will expand air travel to popular resorts.
