Travel with two foreign passports (for Russian citizens)

Just 6-7 years ago, having a second passport was a privilege for those who need it only for work. But on December 15, 2015, a law came out, according to which any citizen of the Russian Federation can now have two valid passports at the same time.

For avid travelers, the new law has opened even more doors in their travel world. After all, having a second passport allows not only to move from one country to another without any interruptions for issuing a new passport, but also to do so despite any conflict situations between the countries.

In what situations an additional passport may be necessary:

• When the old one runs out of blank pages, but has valid visas;
• When you need to travel to one country and your passport is in the embassy of another country;
• When you plan to visit a country that is not "friendly" to others. For example, in the presence of a stamp on the visit to Israel you may have problems with entry into the Emirates, or in the presence of a stamp on the visit of Northern Cyprus, Greece may deny you entry into their territory, etc;
• When it is required to issue visas for two different states at the same time;
• When you just want to have two foreign travel passports, and then figure out how to use them.

By law, the second passport may be issued to any citizen of Russia, except for those categories that are not entitled to registration of the first document (the "travel-deficit", the military, the convicts, etc.).

How to obtain a second passport?
It is easy! The process of issuance of the second passport does not differ from the process of the first one. The only difference is two indispensable points: the second passport must be biometric, and you must put a tick in front of the line "in addition to the existing one" in the application form (below I will tell why this point is obligatory). Earlier, when the second passport was issued to "the select few" only the validity periods of the first and the second document were the same. Now the validity period of the second passport does not depend on the first one.

So, let us return to the discussion of the process of obtaining a second passport. The easiest (and cheapest!) in my opinion method of filing documents is online through the portal of Gosusluzhba. In addition, you can apply for a passport in person through the MFC or through the migration department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Since the most optimal and cheapest way of obtaining a passport is the Gosuslugi portal, I will tell you about the procedure for obtaining it with the help of this service.
Stages of obtaining a passport:

• Online application on the website or through the Gosuslugi application (when filling out the form MUST put a tick "in addition to the existing one", otherwise the old passport will be cancelled);
• payment of the state duty (for January, 2020 the cost makes 3500 rubles for adults, children till 14 years old are 1750 rubles);
• obtaining an invitation to the MIA Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Visiting the MIA Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the originals of documents. There you will be photographed and fingerprinted;
• waiting for notification of passport readiness.

It is allowed to make a passport in any city regardless of the address of residence registration. But the time for registration will be different: at the place of registration (stamp indicated in the passport) - 1 month, at the place of actual residence - 3 months.

And now the most interesting! How to travel with two passports in hand?

Border crossing. It is possible to enter and leave with only one passport. You cannot use one for entry and the other for exit. The entry/departure details must be stamped in one passport. This is the rule in any country.

Buy ticket and check in at airport. According to the regulations of airlines, passenger check-in is conducted only if the data from the ticket coincides with the document it was issued on. Although sometimes there are cases when employees of airlines check-in passengers according to other data provided (another passport). But this rule is rather an exception to the rule, so I suggest that you always carry the same passport as your ticket.

If you issued the ticket with one passport, but came to the airport with another and the officer refuses to check you in for a flight, show him the Russian passport (on the last pages there is a note on all issued foreign passports) and say something like "I have the second foreign passport, but I mixed up and took the wrong document. Of course, according to the regulations, the officer has the right to refuse you, but it is still worth trying.

Important! Such an "excuse" may work only on "our" side, whether it will work when you are at an airport in a foreign country is unknown.

If your passport has run out of pages, and visas are still valid, you have the right to enter with two passports, i.e. to show the one that has run out, but with valid visa, and already receive stamps in your new passport. However there are countries where you CANNOT do that That is why be sure to clarify this point before the trip in the Consulate and, if necessary, transfer the visa from one passport to another (yes, it can be done that way too)

• Author of the article:
  onlineexpo expert, creator of travel diary "Manyways_book" Olga Melnikova

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