Belarus/Russia border and passport control
What is the status with the Russia/Belarus border? I am guessing there is still passport control. If there isn't, what does a traveller need to do after crossing the border?
For my case, I am Turkish, I don't need a visa for either country, but I might need to have my passport stamped at some point to show I've entered the other country.
Best Answer
Russia and Belarus together form The Union State.
There is no passport control between the borders.
However, the countries still don't recognise each other's visas, as per http://ria.ru/world/20151001/1294534717.html via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Russia, as such, although you could easily cross the border (similarly to The Schengen Area), you may (or may not) get in trouble should a random document check reveal that you don't have a valid visa for the country you're in (although I guess the migration card might (or might not) be enough, as the blanks are valid for both countries).
Pictures about "Belarus/Russia border and passport control"
Are there border checks between Russia and Belarus?
There are no authorized checkpoints designed for international connections on motorways and railways crossing Russia-Belarus sector of the State Border of the Russian Federation and there is no border control checkpoints for international travel of individuals and vehicles.Can you drive from Russia to Belarus?
Can I drive from Russia to Belarus? Yes, the driving distance between Russia to Belarus is 721 km. It takes approximately 8h 36m to drive from Russia to Belarus.Can Belarus citizens travel to Russia?
Step 1 : Belarusian citizens can arrive at Russia without a visa. Step 2 : After arriving, Belarusian citizens can go to Russia immigration counter. Step 3 : Show travel document like Original Passport or Travel document of Belarus.Can I enter Russia with a Belarus visa?
According to the head of the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksey Begun, foreign citizens holding a Belarusian visa will be able to enter Russia and stay on its territory for the duration of the document.Alone in Far East Belarus - Russia/Ukraine's Border [Ep. 6] 🇧🇾
More answers regarding belarus/Russia border and passport control
Answer 2
I've put a video on the issue — my trip to Moscow by land and return to Minsk by air (BY passport). Main points:
- foreigners can only fly into Russia or Belarus and backwards to pass international checkpoints that are unavailable for buses or trains;
- bus tickets are unavailable to foreigners in Minsk but train tickets are, and though trains aren't checked 100 per cent, it's illegal to take one into Russia even on a Russian visa;
- flights to or from Russia aren't domestic any more - there is passports control from the Russian side;
- visiting both countries keep your migration card you got in Russia until you leave Belarus.
Answer 3
There are land border checkpoints. The Belarus side mostly doesn't check a thing, however the Russian side has started to perform checks, due to Belarus' new "5 days visa-free" rule.
Russia and Belarus do not recognize each others visas and do not have uniform immigration law. Even more so, those land checkpoints are not considered "international" checkpoints and crossing the land border is technically off-limits for international (as in not citizens of either Russia or Belarus) travelers even if they do have both visas. One land checkpoint does have "international" status, and that is the one that's located on the edge of three borders (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine).
Otherwise, travelling by air seems to be the only legal way to do it.
Since you don't need visas for either country, you might (or might not) be totally fine pulling that off though.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Dayvison de Oliveira Silva, Erik Mclean, SpaceX, Tamanna Rumee