Motorbike temporary import to Russia valid for how long
 

Hi all

I have been told that the Russian motorbike temporary import registration is valid for 6 months but have also been told it is valid for 12 months. I search various sites and also get contradictory information.
Can anyone tell me definitely if the temporary import for a motorbike (I think the confusion may be because a car is different) is valid for 6 or 12 months?

THANKS

Neither 6 months nor 12 months--at the border they will give you no longer than 3 months (and no longer than your visa), although you should check it when you get it, because sometimes they try to give less time.

The temp import certs can then be renewed for up to a year in customs facilities in major cities, but only if your visa lasts that long (ie, no temp import longer than your visa). Also, at least in Moscow they also ask that you are registered in Russia to extend your temp import cert.

Motoreiter's comments agree with my own experience - except that when I did my second entry into Russia (from Mongolia) on a double entry visa, after minimal discussion, they gave me 3 months again on the Temporary Import paper, despite my visa having less than a month to run. The argument I used was "in case I break down I can fly out get parts and come back on new visa" and they were happy with this. This was at Tashanta (the western end of Mongolia border crossing) and they didn't seem surprised when I asked (in fact they may even have offered it I forget the details) - I got the feeling they did it regularly.

Temporary import help
 

Hi guys, I am currently in Barnaul, Russia. I have a 12 month business multiple entry visa lasting till may next year. When I entered russia they gave me and my bike 3 months which is fine for me as I will be popping in and out of Russia so will not be here any longer than 3 months at a time. However, In the coming months I plan on visiting America but leaving my bike in Russia till I return and ride it home again (all within my current visa timescale). I was wondering if I extended my temporary import papers would this allow me to leave without my bike? and also do you have any information on how to go about extending the import papers at all please? Many thanks for any help you can give, Matty.

Yes you can leave without the bike.

To extend the temp import permit, you need to find the Tamozhenny Post in Barnaul that specifically deals with vehicle imports. Each big city has them. I know the locations of the one in Krasnoyarsk and in Irkutsk, but not in Barnaul. (The Krasnoyarsk one is waypointed in the waypoint file) If you dont speak Russian, it will be useful to find a local who can help you. Maybe one of the local bikers in Barnaul. If you do do it there, please pass on the waypoint of the customs office in Barnaul for the future reference of others.

I suspect one of the local bikers will know where it is ... go you one of the biker shop waypoints and ask around.

Process is straightforward and free, but can take a few hours.

Is this something I might do? Is there a limit for the length of time you can extend? Could I extend it and come back next year? My visa is good for another 2 1/2 years.

after you get the 3 month temp import at the border, you can extend the temp import for up to one year. However, you can't extend for longer than the length of your visa or the duration of your registration.

What does this mean? First, although your visa is valid for 2 1/2 years, you won't be able to extend it that long. I'm not exactly sure how the registration stuff works; with the type of registration you get at a hotel, I don't think you'll be able to extend it for a year (there are different types of registration), although it might work, especially in the regions, so you might want to give it a try. In Moscow, before I could extend my temp import to a year, I had to get registered with the FMS (immigration service) rather than via the informal "do it yourself" registration done by mailing in a form yourself at the post office.

In any event, you can't extend beyond a year, and you'll have to exit Russia before then.

My mechanic took me to register at a hotel. They wouldn't do it.Next we went to a government building. I guess I registered through him, because he showed his passport and filled out forms.

Is the extension good for a year from the original permit or a year from the extension filing time?

Hi Colebatch, thank you for the information it is really appreciated. I will be making my way to Irkutsk in the next month so this will be the best place for me to extend my import. Could you let me know the location of the Tamozhenny Post in Irkutsk please? I apologise if it is already posted somewhere on this site, I am still new at navigating. All the best, Matty

it is in the waypoints file at the top of the northern asia section - http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...aypoints-50860.

If you already have the waypoints file, then look in the updates file from July 2013 posted 3 days ago. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...points-50860-8

Newbie here, wishing I'd found this site years ago!

Might someone be able to give an update about customs at the Russian border? I heard that they provide 12-month temporary import permits these days, but I wonder if that's only possible with a 12-month-long visa. Would they give 12 months temporary import for a 90-day visa?

My plan is:

1. enter Russia on a 90-day private visa

2. stay for around 80 days before travelling back to the UK for the Manx GP.

3. return to Russia on a new 90-day private visa and stay for another 2-3 months before heading out.


I'm hoping to avoid riding back to the border in step 2 as I'll be quite deep into Russia at that stage (Kazan). So, ideally, I'd get at least a six-month-long temporary import permit at the start of my first visit.

Why don't you get a 1 year multy entry visa?
Wold make things much easier anyway

Multi-entry visas allow one to stay in Russia for only 90 days in any 180-day period. I will have been in Russia approximately 140 days of the prior 180-day period by the end of my second visit.

Maybe I am wrong, but as far as I know that is the deal also with regular tourist Visas.
You can stay 90 days in the country in a 180 day periode.

They do that on purpose, that no one can use the trick to get out and a new visa to stay in the country again and so go around the 90/180 day thing....

The 90/180-day rule applies to multiple-entry business visas and most (but not all) visa-free passports. Other kinds of visas are not affected by that rule.

There is also an exception for American citizens, who are never affected by the 90/180 day restriction regardless of what kind of visa they have. For them, there is only a 180-day limit, at which point they can simply cross the border and immediately return.