Warning - Belarus to anywhere via Moscow

Planning a trip to Belarus recently, the best fare back to London was via Moscow - so I looked into whether I needed a Russian transit visa.

Both the London and Washington embassy websites stated that:

Passengers travelling to the Republic of Belarus or the Republic of Kazakhstan via the Russian Federation must obtain Russian Transit Visas

I have bolded "to", as I understood this to only mean to - rather than both to and from.  This meant that I booked flights out of Belarus via Moscow to avoid the extortionate £80 fee (or £125 if you need it quickly).

You can imagine my horror at the airport in Minsk when I was told that I did in fact need a transit visa to travel via Moscow.  I double and triple checked it with different Belavia staff at the airport - and I was told that it common error that European passenger make.

The result was that I had to book a different flight back home to London - there was by chance a direct flight leaving a couple of hours later.  And of course my flights via Moscow were non-refundable, so I lost them.

Russia's London embassy visa agent have now changed their advice to read:

Passengers travelling to and from Belarus via Russian Federation need to obtain the transit Russian visa irrespectively of their length of stay in the airport.

But it's too late for me :(

And Russia's Washington embassy website is still showing the incorrect information.

A friend subsequently told me about the useful Star Alliance Timatic service which provides the detailed information that all airlines use in deciding whether to allow you to fly.  This does indeed state that you need a Russian transit visa.

Apparently the reason you need a Russian transit visa is that flights to and from Belarus arrive into the domestic terminal in Moscow, so it's not possible to stay airside in the Transit Zone.

I guess the time and money I spend learning this lesson could have been worse - so maybe I was vaguely lucky to learn my error this way !

You shall go to Belarus on a Transit Visa

Belarus is one of the last European countries where Europeans still need a visa - and whilst you can apparently get it on arrival in certain circumstances ... it's probably safer to get it in advance !

The rules state that a Transit Visa is valid for 48 hours ... and since the price of a Transit Visa is currently one third of a standard short term (90 day) visa ... there is an incentive to try using a Transit Visa - especially if you want to use the more expensive 48 hour express service.

I recently visited the Belarus embassy in London with a copy of my flight booking in hand (I had ensured that my onward flight was to a different country from my inbound - you can't back track) ... and was pleased / relieved that my Transit Visa request was accepted - after some questioning / double-checking by the staff member.  I suspect that it may depend on how the staff are feeling on the day, and if they don't like the look of you they may not allow it.

I had to come back the next day (actually the day after, as they are closed on Wednesdays) with additional paperwork - my hotel booking (I got away with a standard printout - rather than an official stamped invitation that I probably should have had), proof of my travel insurance and a photo.

On arrival in Minsk (MSQ) all foreign passports were given the most detailed examination I've ever seen - which included every page being checked under a special light, and an eyeglass being used around the photo (presumably to check that it hadn't been replaced) ... it felt like we were all potential spies !

On departure, I had to change my flight booking, and I ended up leaving about 50 hours after arrival ... but they didn't seem too worried - apparently as long as you leave within two days, you are ok.  But I doubt that the London embassy would have issued a Transit Visa if my original flights were booked 50 hours apart ... and there's always a risk that a stroppy border guard in Belarus might take a different view.  Not work testing it !

Since Minsk isn't exactly the most exciting place on earth - 48 hours was plenty of time to explore the city.