-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Kuan on Shenzhen Five-Day Visa
- Dhillon on Shenzhen Five-Day Visa
- Adamantia Boukouvala on Looking for Volunteer Translators
- Kuan on Sri Lankan visa on arrival for Indians scrapped
- Anandha Sridhar on Sri Lankan visa on arrival for Indians scrapped
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
Categories
Meta
Safety concerns bring China-Philippines tourism to grinding halt
Boracay, an island of the Philippines, is a popular destination
Chinese mainland travel agencies have stopped sending tour groups to the Philippines due to concerns for tourists’ safety. Some Web users called on tourists to boycott the island country, which has famous island destinations such as Boracay and Cebu.
China CYTS Tours Holding Co, a major travel service provider on the mainland, said that chartered direct flights between Beijing and Boracay Island every five days will be suspended starting on Sunday. On Thursday, a Philippine Airlines flight scheduled to leave Beijing at 1:50 am for Manila was canceled, according to a notice on the Beijing Capital International Airport’s website, which did not give a reason.
Two other flights to the Philippines on Thursday departed as planned. In various statements, CYTS and other major travel agencies – in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou – said they have stopped sending tour groups to the Philippines. Those who have already paid for the Philippines-bound tours will get a full refund including the visa fee, they said.
Lin Wenzhen, manager of outbound travel in the Asia-Pacific region at the Fujian branch of China Travel Service, said travel agencies had taken spontaneous action out to consideration for tourists’ safety. “Although the national tourism authority has not yet banned Philippine-bound tourism, we have adopted this proactive approach to prevent high risks to travel safety in the country,” she said.
The Chinese embassy in the Philippines issued a safety alert on Wednesday, saying “massive anti-China demonstrations” are about to be held within days, and Chinese nationals are advised to be alert and avoid going out. Dao Shuming, head of the Shanghai tourism bureau, said on Thursday that travel agencies on the Philippines told mainland counterparts that Chinese tourists should avoid going there for now because it could be unsafe for them in the Philippines.
Travel agencies will incur some losses because of the suspended business, industry insiders said. Ge Lei, marketing manager with CYTS, said that the company will take some losses from refunds on visa fees to more than 100 tourists who booked tours to Boracay. But industry insiders said the Philippines will lose an important source of tourists. China surpassed Japan in January to become the third-largest tourist source for the Philippines.
Travel agencies now recommend tourists go to substitute destinations in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, which are considered much safer, Lin, of China Travel Service, said. Lin said recent incidents will further dampen the Philippines’ popularity with Chinese tourists, which was already declining since the bloody hostage-taking incident on a hijacked bus in Manila in 2010 in which six tourists from Hong Kong were killed.
On Thursday, many netizens voiced support for proposals that called on tourists to not visit the Philippines. “Though I recommended Boracay before, I have to say now, please, give up the idea of going there,” said a netizen called “Xingzou40guo”, who claims to be a traveler and writer with more than 240,000 followers at Sina Weibo, China’s most popular micro blog service.
“It is not just about safety. More important, we must show our attitude! If you really like beaches, go to friendly places such as Fiji Islands, Vanuatu, and Maldives,” he said.
How many Chinese tourists are now in the Philippines is not known. Ge with CYTS said the company keeps contact with 16 Chinese tourists in Boracay, and so far their itineraries have not been interrupted by the Huangyan Island tensions.
Shanghai tourism bureau chief Dao Shuming said there are 497 Shanghai tourists in the Philippines now. “I hope they will come back as soon as possible,” he said. Tan Zongyang in Xiamen, Fujian province, and Shi Yingying in Shanghai contributed to this story.
Source www.eturbonews.com
Australia Eases Up on Indonesia Travel Warning
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and the country's largest commercial center
SYDNEY, May 4, 2012 (AFP) – Australia Friday dropped its travel warning for Indonesia to its lowest level since before the 2002 Bali bombings, which ripped apart a bustling nightclub district, killing 202 people.
Australia still advises travellers to “exercise a high degree of caution” when in Indonesia but has eased its overall level from the second-highest warning, which urged people to “reconsider your need to travel”. It puts Indonesia at the same level of threat as Thailand, the Philippines and India.
“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia, including Bali, at this time due to the high threat of terrorist attack,” the latest update states. “We continue to receive information that indicates that terrorists may be planning attacks in Indonesia, which could take place at any time. You should exercise particular caution around locations that have a low level of protective security and avoid places known to be possible terrorist targets.”
Indonesia had been at “reconsider your need to travel” on Australia’s four-tier advisory system since October 2005 when another deadly suicide bombing targetting foreigners took place in Bali.
Prior to that, it had been given an “elevated warning” under a five-tier system which had been in place since the 2002 bombings which killed 88 Australians, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.
The latest advisory update returns the warning level to what it was before those bombings, he added. The foreign office still cautions against visiting Central Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua and West Papua provinces, keeping these areas under the “reconsider your need to travel” listing.
The advisory noted that since early 2010 Indonesian police had disrupted a number of terrorist groups, including in Jakarta and Bali. The terror organisation Jemaah Islamiyah which orchestrated the Bali bombing in 2002 is now essentially thought to be defunct.
Source au.news.yahoo.com
Nok Air offers bus hop for border crossing
Screenshot of Nok Air
BANGKOK, 28 February 2012: Nok Air will team up with bus companies to provide an overland connection from Udon Thani to Vientiane starting 14 March.
Restricted to just domestic services in Thailand, Nok Air will offer passengers travelling to Udon Thani, the nearest airport town to Nong Khai on the border with Laos, a bus service to the immigration checkpoint. It hopes to capture some of the visa-run traffic and attract travellers who want to visit Vientiane but need to save on the international fare.
The service will pick up passengers from the Bangkok-Udon Thani flight and transfer them to the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge checkpoint and then to Vientiane in Laos. It is not as seamless as it sounds.
Udon Keaw Tour provides the transfer from Udon Thani Airport to the Thai-Lao border checkpoint, in Nong Khai. Once passengers pass through the Lao checkpoint, they board a Trans Express bus to the Lao capital.
Passengers need to pay the Bt20 fee for transport to cross the Friendship Bridge and they have to carry their own baggage through the checkpoint to the Lao transit terminal.
Though the airline operates five daily flights, the eligible flight for the Fly ‘n’ Ride will depart Don Mueang Airport at 0600. Passengers should arrive in Vientiane at 1100. The actual flight is one hour, leaving four hours for the overland transfer.
On the return sector, the bus to the border will depart Vientiane at 1400. Passengers have two choices. They can depart on the 1545 or 1715 bus from Nong Khai to reach Udon Thani in time to catch the 1805 or 2045 flight. In Vientiane, the bus picks up and drops off passengers on Samsenthai Road.
To introduce the new service, Nok Air offers and all-inclusive fare of Bt3,200 while the standard fare is around Bt4,000. The service can be booked through its online channel.
When compared to a nonstop flight from Bangkok, Nok Air’s Fly ‘n’ Ride offers cost savings for budget travellers and is more convenient than Thai AirAsia that does not offer a bus service packaged into the fare.
But it is still a tiring and time consuming process for passengers. The main drawback is carrying luggage between buses. All passengers have to transfer to a bus that crosses the bridge only between the two immigration checkpoints. There is no one-stop shop for immigration. That is a myth cherished by government officials who head Mekong region tourism, but meaningless to travellers who need to queue twice with the their passports at either end of the bridge.
Thailand’s immigration is on one side of the almost 1 km long bridge and the Lao authorities on the other. Once through the passport checkpoints the passenger has to walk to the nearby terminal to board the bus bound for Vientiane.
It will exhaust all but very healthy and robust travellers, particularly during the hot season when temperatures soar to nearly 40 degrees centigrade.
There are only two airlines fly between Bangkok and Vientiane — Thai Airways International and Lao Airlines. THAI sells its online fares from Bt10,825, or Bt7,985 through its 52nd Anniversary promotion, but for travel from 1 May to 30 September. Meanwhile, Lao Airlines quotes a fare of around Bt8,000.
In addition, Nok Air will also strengthen its northeast network by adding an extra daily flight to Sakhon Nakhon up to two flights daily from one starting from 25 March.
The flights will depart from Don Mueang Airport at 0610 and 1320 and from Sakhon Nakhon at 0750 and 1520. While the present daily flight is operated by ATR, in the summer schedule the morning flight will be operated by a 150-seat B737 and the second with an ATR.
Nakhon Phanom’s capacity will be cut down to a smaller aircraft as the Boeing used for the twice daily service shifts to the busier Sakhon Nakhon route.
Source www.ttrweekly.com
How to Cross a Land Border in Asia
Border Gate at Cambodia
Most people will never cross a border by land; they’ll pass through a departure gate or fly over one at 20,000 feet. However, people who are on very cheap holidays will more than likely cross the borders by travelling overland, and this is a very different thing altogether. The vast majority of Asia backpackers will, at some stage on their trip, be faced with an overland border crossing. The first one is always a little tense because frankly… who knows what to expect? I know my first one between Thailand and Cambodia was, anyway…
Unfortunately, borders seem to attract the kind of people looking to make a quick buck from the unsuspecting backpacker.
To be brutally honest, a bit of common sense will get you through fine, but that’s something that often lacking these days… so instead here’s 10 simple tips to get you to the other side.
How to cross a border by land
1. Make sure you have plenty of small change
For visa fees, taxis, etc. at borders, cash from either side will usually do but make sure they are small notes/coins… obviously nobody at the borders will have any change! It’s also good sense to carry a little stash of universal notes like US dollars – the greenback is accepted everywhere.
2. People don’t want to carry your bags for fun
At many land borders there’ll be people keen to “help you out”, be it by carrying your backpack from one post to the next or translating at the desk… These are not “border enthusiasts” they are people out to make a living. I’ve seen a lot of backpackers surprised when their “new friend” asks for payment.
3. Treat the border like a wall
It may seem like a good idea to book your taxi or bus before you cross so you get the VIP seats or the best deal, 95% of the time it’s not. Whoever is selling the service knows that once you’re across the border you won’t be coming back. Think about it!
4. The only officials are the ones at the desks
Sometimes a border crossing can be quite full-on because a lot of people are trying to get your attention like bus touts, duty free sellers and porters. It’s easy to mistake a well dressed, helpful person for an official. Go to the desk/window first and take your backpack with you!
5. Plan ahead
Get yourself on the internet. Backpackers are posting information every day about current border status, scams and what to do/not do. It’s a great resource and regularly updated by backpackers and locals alike.
6. Be patient
A lot of overland border crossings can take time, lots of paperwork and the fact people often arrive by the busload. Getting frustrated is a big mistake! Get a book out… relax… chat to people.
7. Carry a stock of passport pictures
Most land borders aren’t hooked up with the same technology as airports so you’ll need a passport picture or two of yourself. If you don’t have them they’ll usually be able to take some, but of course at an inflated price! It’s just good practice to keep a few tucked into your passport.
8. One night’s accommodation
I’ve found it’s always a good idea to have enough cash for at least one night’s accommodation and food, simply because banks nowadays are crazy about card fraud and regardless of whether you pre-warn them or not, a lot of them will put your card on hold once it pops up in a new country when you’re trying to get cash out – at least until they speak to you.
9. Time difference
If there is a time difference, make sure you’re aware of it and that what time both border posts close. Both sides may well close at 5pm, but if the other side of the border is an hour ahead, you’ll be spending a night in no-man’s land.
10. Be polite and smile
Remember that for the people around the border, this is their job and their livelihood. Some snotty backpacker having a moan about the heat or how long it takes won’t help anyone. Practice a few words of the language on them, smile, then thank them. Treat them as you would want to be treated!
Borders can be a great place to meet other backpackers they are only daunting if you’re unprepared. Above all just use some common sense and a smile, under no circumstances lose your temper! Crossing borders is all part of backpacking and once you’ve got a few under your belt you’ll wonder what you worried about.
Article written by Terry Fletcher, beforeyoubackpack.com
Linda says:
April 16, 2012 at 7:55 am
hey guys, on enetering vietnam overland , do you have to have a specific entry point on the visa you have already obtained from the vietnamese embassy?
Regards Linda
In reply to Linda | Kuan says:
April 16, 2012 at 8:49 am
The international crossings are generally open to all foreign nationalities who are in possession of a valid passport and visa, while local crossings are open only to locals (on each side of the border) who are able to cross back and forth using some form of border pass. The most popular overland international border crossing from Vietnam to Cambodia is the Bavet/Moc Bai crossing. To Laos the Nam Phao / Cau Treo crossing is the most popular. While travel to China passes through both the Dong Dang / Ping Xian and Lao Cai / Hekou crossings — depending on where in China you’re headed.
Notice on rules for photos attached to Chinese visa application form
Snapshot of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center notice
Recently some of the photos submitted by Chinese visa applicants have not met the qualifications laid out, e.g. incorrect size, too big or too small; taken a long time ago, not within six months of the application; dark color, too dim, not clear; not taken in front of a white or light blue background; printed on regular printing paper, not on photograph paper; cut from existing scenic or family pictures. The above-mentioned unqualified photos affected the visa assessment and decision-making process and delayed the issuance of visa. Therefore, it is necessary to reaffirm the rules for photos attached to Chinese Visa Application forms. Please provide qualified photos in order to facilitate your visa application.
Rules for photos attached to Chinese visa application form
1. Recent color identity photo taken within six months, in front of a plain white background (or light-blue background for applicants with white hair)
2. Full face centered to the camera, no hair accessories, and eye-glasses should be removed if they reflect light and distort the applicant’s eyes
3. Taken with uniform lighting: no shadows, glare or flash reflections
4. Glossy finish photographic paper, no matte-finish ones; no stain, crease or scratch
5. Photo size 48mm high X 33mm wide, the height of the face measures between 28-33mm from chin to the crown of head (natural top of head); the width of the face measures between 21-24mm
Source Chinese Visa Application Service Center
Air Australia collapse strands 4000 overseas
Air Australia was shut down, thousands of passengers stranded
TENS of thousands of people who bought tickets from Air Australia as recently as two days ago may never see their money again. The budget airline, which leased five planes, stranded 4000 people in Hawaii, Phuket and Bali when it went broke. It could not afford to buy fuel to fly out of Phuket.
Administrator KordaMentha will struggle to find assets of value in the airline’s financial wreckage. Its immediate priority is finding a way home for the people stranded overseas. But another 100,000 who bought tickets, as well as 300 employees who will lose their jobs, appear to be at the back of the creditors’ queue.
There was intense anger among stranded passengers and ticket holders that Air Australia was still trading last week despite wide concerns in the travel, insurance and aviation industries about its financial viability. Company owner Michael James told KordaMentha at 2.30am yesterday that the company could not pay fuel bills in Phuket.
Mark Korda said last night he would be looking for a white knight who might wish to buy the airline and perhaps get it back in the air, “but the prognosis is not good on that”. There have been deep industry doubts over the airline’s viability since last November, when two major insurance underwriters refused to include cover for it soon after it was launched because Mr James and his Strategic parent company executives refused to provide them financial details.
But Flight Centre and other travel agencies kept selling Air Australia tickets, asking customers to sign an extra form that meant they understood their tickets were not covered under standard travel insurance. Flight Centre spokesman Haydn Long said passengers had been told of the situation, but the travel industry kept dealing with Air Australia “because we wanted to see the airline succeed”.
Qantas and Jetstar offered help to bring stranded passengers home from Hawaii and Phuket. Virgin said it would offer $199 flights from Denpasar.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon and Transport Workers Union boss Tony Sheldon said there needed to be a complete overhaul of how airlines are administered in Australia. “It does say something about … the fact the aviation industry should be properly investigated in this country,” Mr Sheldon said.
The dispute with insurers International Passenger Protection and Cover-More came in the weeks around the airline’s gala launch of its Hawaii service, where Mr James partied with 200 guests including Jules Lund, Ada Nicodemou, Mikey Robbins and Fifi Box. At its November launch – where the airline was rebranded from Strategic Airlines to Air Australia – 350 revellers including Molly Meldrum and actress Tania Zaetta jetted to Bali.
But behind the glitz was the reality of a private airline that had lost $9.3 million in 2010, using a $6 million loan from its charter business for cash flow. The company had lost a $90 million contract with Defence in 2010 and was struggling to survive.
Angry travellers were yesterday demanding why they were not informed about the Brisbane-based carrier’s perilous state. Luigi Borgo, from Brisbane, was due to fly out to Honolulu last night to celebrate his 29th wedding anniversary and was waiting to hear if his travel insurance would cover the $3500 cost.
“We took out top of the range cover because we didn’t want to be stung with medical expenses if something happened in Hawaii,” said Mr Borgo. “We’ve only just found out about the clause in the policy that excludes insolvency coverage for Air Australia.”
Source www.heraldsun.com.au
All-in-one tourist cards to be introduced in Russia
Russian discount card for coffee
The Moscow authorities plan to complete their work on the all-in-one tourist card, which will include a transportation ticket, a season ticket to the Moscow museums and a discount card for restaurants and museums. Moscow is doing its utmost in a bid to attract foreign tourists and to show them that it ranks among 5 tourist centres which are developing fast. Relevant information is posted on the big tourist portal TripAdvisor.
More than 4 million foreign tourists visit Moscow every year. In several years’ time the number of tourists may top 7 million. Should the visa-giving regime be simplified, more cheap hotels be built, freight prices be lowered, and information centres for tourists be set up, the above-mentioned task will be easily resolved. Plus it is necessary to adopt the experience of St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Vienna and many other European cities and to work out a tourist card.
The St. Petersburg tourist card includes a season ticket to 25 museums, a ticket to several general tours and a public transport ticket. Besides, it can be used as a discount card in hotels, cinemas and cafes. The pluses of such cards are evident: they save tourists’ time and money.
In Moscow private business will be involved in the implementation of the tourist project, Head of the Moscow Committee on Tourism Sergei Shpilko says.
“Both the development and the fulfillment of such projects is the prerogative of private investors, meaning first of all their ability to reach agreement with popular museums.”
An expert with the Public Chamber of Tourism (Russia), Roman Bobylyov, has a different opinion. He says that the Metro passes and the ground transportation tickets present the main problem here.
“Will the Moscow authorities be able to regulate the public transport fares? The point is that this is the main issue here.”
Probably, a bank card will become a new global payment document for tourists, Roman Bobylyov says. And still, it is clear that a very complex visa giving procedure and also high prices on air tickets and on railway tickets remain the main problem for foreign tourists visiting Moscow, Sergei Shpilko says. European tourists usually travel without visas and buy cheap air tickets, Sergei Shpilko says. Besides, there’s a lack of hotels in Moscow, Roman Bobylyov added.
“There’re many expensive hotels in Moscow while a segment of worthy 3-star hotels of European class is practically non-existent in Russia.”
There’re information centres for tourists in many megapolises abroad – in the historical part of the city, in airports and at the railway stations, with the foreign language speaking staff. The personnel members give tourists city maps and guidebooks. Such centres will appear in Moscow later this year.
Source The Voice of Russia
Japan turnes to social media to encourage tourists visiting the country
Social media in Japanese
The Japanese government has turned to social media to boost tourists visiting the country after spending $280,000 (Y21.5 million) to invite ten influential thought leaders from across the world to visit the country, according to a report from The Mainichi Daily News. The plan comes after the government opted against a unique proposal to offer 10,000 free flights to visitors that communicate their vacation in Japan using blogs and social media. The innovative plan was hatched in October but it failed to gain the support of the Japanese tourism board, which has instead opted for a more targeted approach to leveraging social media.
The guests began arriving from 31 January and a succession of well known foreign bloggers and social media figures will visit the country, during which they will see a number of areas that were affected by last year’s earthquakes. The government is hoping that coverage from the influential tourists will demonstrate how well the recovery process is developing, and encourage greater awareness and more tourists.
A total of ten guests are set to arrive between now and March. The first intake of figures included Spanish blogger Roger Ortuno Flamerich, US-based food blogger Louisa Liu Chu and Khaled Hamza, who leads Egypt-based Muslim community website ikhanweb.
Later this month, two as yet unnamed influential Twitter users – a Chilean university professor and a Chinese children’s storywriter – will come to the country in the next round of visits.
The Japanese tourism industry has been hit hard following the triple disaster earlier this year which left 20,000 people dead and a further 80,000 other displaced due to radiation concerns.
Visitors numbers to the country were down 50 percent over the first three months after the tragedies, while the strength of the Japanese Yen has been another fact putting potential visitors off coming to the country, according to Yahoo.
Source Travel Daily News
Guide: Going through Russian customs
Luggage check at the Koltsovo airport, the new international terminal
Whether you are moving your belongings to Russia or taking back some black caviar for the folks, it is always better to know the do’s and don’ts. RT has met the customs team at Domodedovo airport.
For most travelers, immigration and borders is the first point of entry when arriving in a new country. Your passport gets checked and if your visa is fine, you get a stamp. But what happens to our goods, cargo or animals if you are transporting them into another country?
Duty-free shopping maybe something we all look forward to when traveling, however not everything is duty free. Most people are often surprised when they’re asked to declare their jewelry, money or gadgets or even the packs of cigarettes they bought in another country.
“People are obliged to declare personal items at a total cost of over €10,000 or over 50 kg belonging to individuals traveling across the Russian customs border,” Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Gavrilov told RT. “An individual can bring up to three liters of alcohol beverages, 250 grams of tobacco. Any other limited or prohibited items also have to be declared in a written form, and demonstrated to Russian customs officials.”
All goods moved across the customs border of the Russian Federation are subject to customs clearance and control. Customs clearance and control of goods carried by individuals across the border of the Russian Federation involve the Red and the Green corridors. Corridors shall have proper marking in Russian and in English.
It is also common for passengers to carry expensive items at a cost that exceeds the limit. People often bring jewelry with precious stones, and expensive watches, Swiss ones in particular, without declaring them, or sometimes hiding them from customs.
“If you know that you’re wearing an expensive watch that costs more than customs limitations it’s best to declare it,” Gavrilov told RT. “It will certainly be returned to you in any case, but you’ll end up paying a fine, and a customs fee to get it back.”
That is not the only thing customs controls deals with. Recent statistics show that drug addiction, which has spread significantly across Russia over the past decade, poses a serious threat to the country’s security. The country is battling a rise in the flow of heroin from Afghanistan into its North Caucasus region.
The drugs are often found within checked baggage or sometimes, in extreme situations, in the trafficker’s stomach, a method authorities say is a dangerous one. The struggle against drug trafficking is a major one for authorities.
“We detained some people who were transporting pears from Central Asia and inside those pears there were plastic bags with about 15 kg of heroin,” Gavrilov told RT. “Central Asia is actually notorious for illegal heroin and hashish imports. Heroin was also found in the sides and bottoms of fruit boxes. When we took those boxes apart, we found almost six kg of heroin. Our employees detained and detected these drugs at the customs checkpoint. The passengers’ behavior seemed suspicious, and X-ray pictures showed dark spots.”
One of the most effective ways of detecting drugs or other illegal substances on people and in baggage’s is through the use of drug detection dogs, the most common tool of olfactory surveillance. Drug detection dogs are used to enable the police to detect odours undetectable by human senses. In this context, a dog is a “technology.”
“The search requirements are almost the same for passengers and cargos,” dog trainer Aleksandr Poleev told RT. “There is a difference in demonstrating the problem. When a dog finds a problem in cargo, it demonstrates it actively, by scratching it, and with passengers, passively, depending on training principles, like sitting or lying down next to a passenger carrying drugs, or barking at it.”
Any search is based on the fetish method, or a game, in other words, also a catch-the-prey method. It is in the dog’s character to be a hunter – to catch a prey and take it to the master. The master is supposed to stimulate it. This is why they use non-aggressive dogs, usually breeds used for sheep farming.
The main breeds used in the customs service are the German shepherd, Labrador retriever and the Malinoise, a Belgian breed.
“A machine remains a machine,” Poleev told RT. “It’s made of metal, and metal is prone to mistakes in certain situations. A human can make mistakes. A working dog can never be cheated. If it knows the smell it has been trained for, it will never let you down and will always detect it, in any situations.”
Domodedovo cargo is one of Russia’s largest international air cargo complexes. The company’s total warehouse area is 13,440 square meters. The terminal’s capacity allows the handling of up to 600 tonnes of cargo per day, which is 10 times more than the average capacity of cargo terminals in the majority of Russia’s airports.
To meet customers’ needs, there are agencies in the immediate vicinity of the airport cargo terminal to provide freight forwarding and brokerage services, as well as the offices of airline agents that sell freighting.
Perhaps this is why many do not understand why in Russia it is difficult to order things on say Amazon or other international outlets. The taxes are high and if you do not clear it, you could be fined for up to 50 to 200 per cent of the value of the goods.
If you bring in something that you think may be questioned when you come in or out of Russia, it is better to declare it. This way you will be able to prove you are not importing or exporting it. Always make sure you keep the stamped declaration until the end of your trip to avoid problems when leaving the country.
Source rt.com
Know Your Rights in Russia
Orenburg Russia city street
Bureaucracy, police, corruption, and the legal system are four institutions in Russia that most foreigners are rather keen on avoiding. Russian police are something that we are mistrustful—if not scared—of. Laws are not always adhered to, even by the authorities themselves—in part because Russian legislation is complicated, in part because of severe problems of corruption within the police force and legal system.
The most common encounter with Russian police officers takes place on the street, when you are asked to show identification documents. In this situation, it is common for foreigners to get nervous and scared, because of their lack of legal knowledge and because of the negative image they have of Russian police—everyone has heard stories of people bribing the police simply out of fear, or of getting robbed by con artists posing as police.
Russian police are underpaid and notorious for trying to supplement their low incomes with bribes. (The official salary for a street official in the Republic of Tatarstan is roughly 11,000 rubles per month, while in Moscow it is around 20,000 rubles per month.) For this reason, it is crucial for foreigners to know their rights so as to protect themselves against illegal activity.
The Police (Politsiya) was established in May 2011 under the Law of Police (Federalny Zakon RF “O Politsii”), replacing the Militsiya. Under Article 13 of the law, the police are authorized to check the personal identity documents of citizens, including non-Russian citizens.
According to Article 5, “While addressing a citizen, a police officer:
1. Shall announce his position, rank and surname, show his service identity document if requested by the citizen, and thereafter announce the reason and purpose of the address.
2. If measures are applied to the citizen whereby his rights and freedoms are restricted, a police officer must explain to the citizen the reasons and grounds for the use of such measures and also the rights and duties of the citizen in connection thereto.”
The police have no right to take your passport, nor are you obliged to give it to them: your passport is the property of your home country. It is recommended to carry a photocopy of your passport, visa, and registration to show when you are stopped, instead of the original documents. As long as you have all valid documents, you should feel safe. If Russian police find that you have committed an immigration violation, they cannot detain you for more than three hours. Unless you have committed a crime, they cannot touch you or use force, detain you, hurt you, or extract money. Even if they find out that you haven’t registered your visa in a timely fashion, you cannot be fined for it, since, according to current legislation, the person or institution that granted your visa invitation is responsible for registration.
If you have a run in with the police, the best thing to do is to stay calm, show your knowledge of the law, and demonstrate that you are willing to call your embassy should you have any problems. The problem of corruption has been the subject of a lot of attention recently, both in Russia and abroad, as foreign embassies and consulates in Russia have been pro-active in providing amble information and advice about how to avoid unnecessary problems with the local authorities. For more detailed information in your native language, it is recommended to visit the website of your embassy to the Russian Federation.
Article written by Katriina Myllymaki (kazanherald.com)