What documents are needed for the flight?
Transportation of passengers by air, taking into account the immigration requirements of countries along the route (points of initial departure, transit stops, destinations), is carried out using passport, visa and transportation documents - air tickets, boarding passes, luggage tags, etc.
Passport and visa documents that ensure legal entry into the country of destination or transit through the territories of other states include visas, identity cards for temporary or permanent residents, refugee documents, certificates of return for one-time trips to replace lost ones, work permits, crew documents, passports of international organizations, military IDs, diplomatic and official documents, etc.
A passport is the most common passenger identification document, recognized as necessary and/or sufficient when flying domestic or international flights.
Documents for citizens of the Russian Federation when flying on domestic flights:
- passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation
- birth certificate (for children under 14 years old)
- temporary identity card issued by internal affairs bodies
- international passport
International flights:
From March 1, children under 14 years old will not be able to travel abroad without a mark on Russian citizenship on their birth certificate. From March 1, 2024, the changes prescribed in Presidential Decree No. 889 of November 22, 2023 come into force.
When crossing the border of the Russian Federation, parents must confirm the citizenship of the child. You can do this in three ways:
- a note on citizenship on the child’s birth certificate;
- certificate of acquisition of Russian citizenship by birth;
- an ordinary passport or international passport issued in Russia, or parents’ passports, provided that these documents contain information about the children.
- international passport
- diplomatic passport
- service passport
- seafarer's passport (seafarer's identity card) and duly certified extract from the ship's roll
- certificate of entry (return) to the Russian Federation.
Passengers flying both domestically and internationally must have with them:
- documents for luggage requiring special conditions of transportation
- documents for the animal, if one is being transported.
Additional documents for special categories of passengers:
- certificate of a deputy of the Federation Council or a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly,
- ID card of a Russian military personnel (for officers, warrant officers and midshipmen),
- military ID for soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen doing military service by conscription or contract,
- certificate of release from places of imprisonment - for persons released from places of imprisonment,
- a certificate issued to a convicted person who has received permission for long-term or short-term travel outside of places of detention,
- a temporary identity card issued to a citizen of the Russian Federation by internal affairs bodies in case of loss or replacement of a passport.
Note : The main identification documents of a citizen of the Russian Federation, by which citizens of the Russian Federation exit from the Russian Federation and enter the Russian Federation, are recognized as: passport, diplomatic passport, service passport, seaman’s passport (sailor’s identity card) (Article 7 Chapter 2 of the Law dated 08/15/1996 No. 114-FZ “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation”) In this regard, the Federal Migration Service recommends issuing a foreign passport for a child, even if he is under 14 years old. According to their official duties, the Federal Migration Service employees cannot refuse citizens in their request to include information about children in their foreign passports.At the same time, they must inform citizens that they are doing this solely for the purpose of confirming kinship and this in itself does not give the child the right to travel abroad.
When a minor citizen of Russia crosses the state border of the Russian Federation together with one of the parents, the consent of the second parent is not required if the border authorities have not received a statement from him about his disagreement with the departure of his children from the Russian Federation. The presence of any documents confirming the degree of relationship is not provided.
If a minor citizen of Russia leaves the Russian Federation unaccompanied by parents, adoptive parents, guardians or trustees, he must have with him, in addition to his passport, a notarized consent of the named persons for the departure of the minor citizen of the Russian Federation, indicating the period of departure and the state (in) which ( s) he intends to visit. The consent of one of the parents is sufficient if the second parent has not received a statement about his disagreement with the departure of an unaccompanied child from the Russian Federation.
If a citizen of the Russian Federation loses his passport outside Russia, a consular office of the Russian Federation or a diplomatic mission will issue an entry (return) certificate that identifies him and gives him the right to return to Russia.
For stateless persons in the Russian Federation, passenger identification documents are:
- a document issued by a foreign state and recognized in accordance with an international treaty of the Russian Federation as an identity document;
- temporary residence permit;
- resident card;
- other documents provided for by federal law or recognized in accordance with an international treaty of the Russian Federation as an identity document;
Mutual trips for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are allowed:
- according to a general civil or foreign passport
- according to a birth certificate with a Russian citizenship insert for children
- on a certificate of entry (return) to the country of citizenship on the basis of the “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Russian Federation on mutual visa-free travel of citizens” in the presence of migration cards confirming the right to temporary residence.
Mutual trips for citizens of Russia and Tajikistan are allowed:
- with a foreign passport
For citizens of the Russian Federation, flights to Armenia are possible:
- for persons over 14 years old: according to a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, according to a foreign passport
- for persons under 14 years of age: by international passport
For citizens of Russia and Ukraine, mutual trips are possible if they have:
- foreign passport
- diplomatic passport
- service passport
- seaman's passports
- certificates of entry into the Russian Federation (in case of loss of an identity document)
- flight certificate of an aircraft crew member
Attention! Starting from April 7, a Russian citizen can stay on the territory of Ukraine for no more than 90 days within 180 days from the date of first entry.
To return to the Russian Federation or CIS countries, valid entry visas are required.
ATTENTION! It is impossible to accept a passenger for transportation to Ukraine with a military ID or officer’s ID card.
For citizens of the Russian Federation and CIS countries, travel to foreign countries is in most cases possible if they have:
- foreign passport
- entry visa of the destination country
- round-trip air ticket with confirmed seatFor transit stops along the way you need:
- air ticket with confirmed seat on the next flight within no more than 24 hours
- transit visa if you need to go to the city.
- When traveling to leave the Russian Federation in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 18.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and was not allowed to cross the state border of the Russian Federation;
- When traveling to enter the Russian Federation in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 18.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
- passports for international travel
- entry visas of destination countries
- transit visas for transit countries
- air ticket for the next flight out of the destination country, if required.
Citizens of the Russian Federation, in accordance with Article 6 of the Federal Law of August 15, 1996 No. 114-FZ “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation,” cross the State border of the Russian Federation using valid identity documents of a citizen of the Russian Federation outside the Russian Federation , including citizens with dual or multiple citizenship.
If you have a passport of the Russian Federation and a foreign passport of any other foreign state, passage across the state border of the Russian Federation is carried out using valid Russian documents, respectively, in the absence of a passport of the Russian Federation identifying a citizen of the Russian Federation, outside the territory of the Russian Federation (foreign passport), a citizen of the Russian Federation can be brought to administrative responsibility:
For minor citizens of the Russian Federation (infants, children), entry into the United Arab Emirates is possible only if they have their own foreign passport.
If information about minor children is indicated only in the parents’ foreign passports, entry will be denied at passport control upon arrival in the UAE.
For foreign citizens to leave the territory of the Russian Federation and CIS countries, the following is required:
It is also possible to travel with an electronic visa. Traveling with an E-visa is possible to/from the cities of the Far East, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
Detailed information is posted on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation - https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/checkpoint.html
Foreign citizens entering the territory of the Russian Federation must have valid Russian visas, which must be obtained in advance (before departure to the Russian Federation) at consular offices of the Russian Federation outside its borders.
At international airports of the Russian Federation there are consular service offices, where legal representatives of the Russian Federation consider emergency situations regarding the issuance of visas for the departure of foreigners from the Russian Federation.
IMPORTANT! For citizens of Tajikistan on flights to Turkey
From April 6, 2024, by decision of the authorities of the Turkish Republic, all passengers citizens of Tajikistan must have one of the following documents to enter Turkey:
- Visa
- another document permitting entry into Turkey (residence permit, etc.).
When transferring on the route Russia-Turkey-3rd country and the passenger has luggage, the passenger must have permits to enter Turkey to go through customs and border formalities.
When transferring on the route Russia-Turkey-3rd country and the passenger does not have luggage, the passenger can use the transfer lounge.