Travel to and from Russia

[likes2ride 0]

Hi Everyone,

I have read some of the posts concerning this topic but wanted to get some first-hand info.

My wife is planning to travel to Russia (Belogorsk) to spend some time with her parents in December. She has her Russian Passport which is still in her maiden name and her Green Card which is in her married name. She plans to travel with a certified copy of our marriage license. We understand that there is a stamp that can be added by the Russian Embassy to her passport to reflect the name change. At this point we do not want to send her passport to the embassy in Washington, DC for any changes.

The plane tickets were purchased in her maiden name to match her Russian passport.

How long does it take to get the stamp added to her Passport?

Do you know if she will have any problems or do you know anyone who has traveled under the same circumstances?

Thanks for your feedback.

rich & tanya

[Rob_Lesya 4]

Hi Everyone,

I have read some of the posts concerning this topic but wanted to get some first-hand info.

My wife is planning to travel to Russia (Belogorsk) to spend some time with her parents in December. She has her Russian Passport which is still in her maiden name and her Green Card which is in her married name. She plans to travel with a certified copy of our marriage license. We understand that there is a stamp that can be added by the Russian Embassy to her passport to reflect the name change. At this point we do not want to send her passport to the embassy in Washington, DC for any changes.

The plane tickets were purchased in her maiden name to match her Russian passport.

How long does it take to get the stamp added to her Passport?

Do you know if she will have any problems or do you know anyone who has traveled under the same circumstances?

Thanks for your feedback.

rich & tanya

Adding the stamp to the passport can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. I would suggest contacting the Embassy by phone and/or e-mail and explaining the situation to them, especially the fact that she already has travel planned for XX date, and see if they can expedite this service for you. For what it's worth--- It's been many years since I've had any direct contact with the Embassy in Washington. Since the Consulate in Houston opened, all of my contact has been through them. I've seen some reports saying that the Embassy is not particularly good at answering phone calls or e-mails. Others may be able to report different experiences.

As for traveling using the marriage certificate as evidence of name change--- no one on this board can tell you for certain if she will have problems or not. Many have traveled using this method and had no problems, but some have encountered problems doing this. It is a gamble. But since the tickets were purchased in the maiden name that is in the Russian passport, I suspect that she will be much less likely to have problems boarding the plane in the US. But without the stamp in her passport, there is a possibility that she might encounter problems when she tries to return.

[Oksana81 0]

I am not sure how long does Russian Embassy in Washington, DC take to put a stamp "married name of the holder of the passport is...", but NY Consulate does it the same day for a double fee of $70. I have a feeling Embassy in DC offers the same service.

Edited October 6, 2009 by Oksana81

[likes2ride 0]

Thanks for the replies. She has contacted the Embassy in DC and has not had much luck. The first woman she spoke with was not too helpful and gave her another number to call. The NY Consulate may be an option. I have had pretty good results with obtaining travel visas there. I will have her contact them and inquire about the expidited services. We just want to cover as many bases as we can before she leaves because the travel in and out of Russia can be a little dicey depending on who is interpeting the documentation.

[Oksana81 0]

Thanks for the replies. She has contacted the Embassy in DC and has not had much luck. The first woman she spoke with was not too helpful and gave her another number to call. The NY Consulate may be an option. I have had pretty good results with obtaining travel visas there. I will have her contact them and inquire about the expidited services. We just want to cover as many bases as we can before she leaves because the travel in and out of Russia can be a little dicey depending on who is interpeting the documentation.

Rich, the problem is Baltimore is "assigned" to a DC Embassy, therefore Tanya could not go to a NY Consulate. I would recommend making an appointment in the DC and take care of the stamp there. Tanya should also visit this page and click on passport section to read more about changing last name/stamp service http://www.russianembassy.org/

[panna 0]

I am a Ukrainian citizen, and married an U.S. Citizen. Right now, I am in the process of adjusting my status, and me and my husband thought it was a good time to travel to Kiev to visit my family. (I used my travel permit). Travel permit was in my married name, and passport - in maiden. I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT!

My recommendations:

Book the ticket in the name your wife's passport is in! (Because in the U.S. you will have no problem with a certified marriage license, but in Russia they might not accept this document as a proof of a name change.)

When the tickets are in the maiden name, the only time your wife will need the marriage certificate is when she will be coming back to the U.S. at the passport control.

So no worries, she will be ok!

Another thing I would recommend though, which I did myself as well:

Once she is at home, dedicate some time to making the marriage certificate official in Russia. It was not hard to do at all for me. I went to a company that does translations and gave them my marriage certificate. For about 20 dollars person that is licensed to make translations, translated the document into Ukrainian and then for additional 10 dollars they notarized my translation with a local notary. I then took the notarized translation into my passport office and they had no problem accepting it - I got a stamp in my Ukrainian passport that I am married and got a new passport issued under my married name.

Good luck!

[Masha276 0]

I am a Ukrainian citizen, and married an U.S. Citizen. Right now, I am in the process of adjusting my status, and me and my husband thought it was a good time to travel to Kiev to visit my family. (I used my travel permit). Travel permit was in my married name, and passport - in maiden. I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT!

My recommendations:

Book the ticket in the name your wife's passport is in! (Because in the U.S. you will have no problem with a certified marriage license, but in Russia they might not accept this document as a proof of a name change.)

When the tickets are in the maiden name, the only time your wife will need the marriage certificate is when she will be coming back to the U.S. at the passport control.

So no worries, she will be ok!

Another thing I would recommend though, which I did myself as well:

Once she is at home, dedicate some time to making the marriage certificate official in Russia. It was not hard to do at all for me. I went to a company that does translations and gave them my marriage certificate. For about 20 dollars person that is licensed to make translations, translated the document into Ukrainian and then for additional 10 dollars they notarized my translation with a local notary. I then took the notarized translation into my passport office and they had no problem accepting it - I got a stamp in my Ukrainian passport that I am married and got a new passport issued under my married name.

Good luck!

Did you have any trouble on leaving Ukraine with the name on the ticket not corresponding to your new name in your passport?

[Septembergold 0]

I`m in the same situation as the OP. Although I`m planning on going sometime late March. And I don`t want to take any chances... I would like to get that stamp from the Russian Embassy with the name change. My concern is.. I`ve read on russianembassy.org that you need to be present in person to apply. Is that true? I don`t really feel like traveling from Michigan to DC for a stamp... Could it be done by mail?