Gone are the days when Russia and Azerbaijan were part of the same republic of the USSR. Now every country protects its borders even from friendly neighbors. Previously, entry into Azerbaijan was carried out using an internal passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation. By decree of March 5, 2005, it was decided to introduce a foreign document. The entry of Russians into Azerbaijan is still carried out without visas, but with a foreign passport.
Russian citizens do not require a visa to enter Azerbaijan for up to 90 days. However, Russian citizens are required to show a foreign passport (or official, diplomatic, or sailor’s passport).
Border control of Azerbaijan puts a stamp on the document indicating border crossing. On its basis, visitors are entered into the migration register at their place of stay.
The validity of a foreign passport at the time of travel must be at least three months. This is the validity period of the entry stamp - up to 90 visa-free days.
If a Russian plans to stay in a sunny country for more than three months, he will have to apply for a visa at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs requires visitors to register at their place of residence after three days. Those staying at the hotel will not have to apply for an account. This responsibility is assumed by the hotel administration.
Migration Service Baku
Registration in the migration register begins with a regular application, which can be submitted in three ways:
- by regular mail;
- by email;
- personally in hands.
As soon as 90 days of stay in the country have expired, the entry in the register will be canceled. The owner of the apartment into which the visitor has moved in has the right to personally remove the guest from the migration register.
Sunny Azerbaijan
Entry to Azerbaijan with children
When entering the territory of Azerbaijan with children, parents must comply with a number of rules regarding documents for the child to travel abroad.
- The child must have his own passport, or there must be an entry with a photograph in the parents’ passport.
- If the accompanying adults are not legal representatives, then consent from the parents will be required for the child to leave the Russian Federation.
- If a child travels with one of the parents in whose passport he is entered, consent from the other parent is not required.
Admission of teenagers from 14 to 18 years is carried out only with a foreign passport!
Visa-free regime
Before you understand whether a foreign passport is needed in Baku, you should know whether a visa is mandatory for Russians.
There is a visa-free regime between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan, which allows citizens of each of these countries to move freely throughout the territory of the other. A visit or business visit will not cause any difficulties if the duration of such a trip does not exceed ninety days.
If a flight is planned to Baku or another city in Azerbaijan, do Russians need a foreign passport? Absolutely yes. For visa-free entry, you must go through a customs control point, where employees will have to present a valid foreign passport. If the visit is delayed and the time spent on the territory of Baku exceeds the established limit, the traveler should contact the city Migration Service, providing a certain package of documents, which consists of:
- An official invitation from the host party, which is registered in the department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the territory of Azerbaijan;
- A completed application form, the form of which is presented on the official website of the consulate;
- Internal passport, as well as a high-quality photocopy of its double-page spreads with personal data;
- Two photographs measuring 35x45 cm.
When submitting documents, the applicant is required to pay a state fee for consideration of the application. As a rule, the application is considered within 15 days.
The advantage of visa-free entry
Countries that have concluded a bilateral agreement with Azerbaijan fall into the visa-free entry category. Namely, 11 former members of the USSR - Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Belarus. That is, almost all CIS countries, except Turkmenistan and Armenia.
As an exception, people are allowed through without a passport:
- stateless, traveling on traveler documents;
- refugees;
- passenger aircraft crew;
- German children under 15 years of age with a Kinderausweis certificate.
Citizens of countries other than Russia can enter Azerbaijan only with a visa.
We issue a passport through the electronic website
Do you need to urgently apply for a passport? The State Services website (https://www.gosuslugi.ru) accepts applications for the issuance of international passports to citizens of the Russian Federation. To order a service, you first need to fill out an application, after which the system will send the request for consideration to the Main Department of Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When the information is processed, the applicant will receive either approval for the issuance of a passport or a refusal.
Documents required for a foreign passport when submitting an application through the State Services Portal:
- Passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
- Proof of the need for urgent registration of a passport. Such documents include: letters from medical organizations about the need for urgent travel for treatment, messages from abroad confirming a serious illness or death of a relative.
- A foreign passport that has already expired (if you have one).
- Receipt for payment of state duty.
- Four photographs (3.5x4.5 cm).
- A completed application form to the Administrative Regulations on the issuance of a foreign passport (for adults – Appendix No. 1 in two copies, for children – Appendix No. 3 in one copy).
- If a citizen is undergoing military service, then permission from the command is required.
- Men from 18 to 27 years old - a military ID or a certificate from the military registration and enlistment office.
- If a citizen applies for a second international passport (with electronic media), he will need to attach a petition from the organization that is sending him abroad.
Temporary registration in Azerbaijan
Foreigners must be registered with the Migration Service within 10 days after crossing the border. This should be done by the administration of hotels, other places of accommodation or citizens of Azerbaijan with whom the foreign guest is staying.
Registration is carried out by the receiving party, which can be the hotel where the tourist is staying. If a Russian is initially planning a longer trip, then before the end of the 90-day period he should contact the Migration Service office to obtain a permit or submit an application to extend his visa-free stay in Azerbaijan. Registration in the migration register begins with a regular application.
Application methods
- by regular mail;
- by email;
- personally in hands.
As soon as 90 days of stay in the country have expired, the entry in the register will be canceled. The owner of the apartment into which the visitor has moved in has the right to personally remove the guest from the migration register.
On a trip with children
- Birth certificate and an extract from the place of registration confirming the citizenship of the child. If the citizenship mark is on the birth certificate, then you do not need to show the extract.
- Documents of the child’s legal representative – adoption certificate, documents establishing guardianship or trusteeship.
- To include a child in the parent’s passport, you will need to fill out one copy of Appendix No. 2b to the Administrative Regulations. To obtain a separate children's passport, fill out Appendix No. 3.
- Four photos of the child (3.5x4.5 cm).
- Receipt of payment of the state fee for a child’s passport. Payment of the state duty can be made through the State Services Portal.
- If available, the child’s old passport for removal.
- Application from a child 14-18 years old for consent to leave the Russian Federation to live in another country.
The specified list of documents remains the same if a person decides to issue a new passport. Only the passport application form changes.
The electronic form of government services allows you to save the time of the applicant for a foreign passport and get rid of the waiting list at the offices of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Currently, half of the Russian population uses the services of the Unified Public Services Portal (UPSP).
Entry - order
To travel and stay in Azerbaijan for up to 90 days, citizens of the Russian Federation must only have a foreign passport or another identity document that allows them to travel abroad. The validity period of this document must expire no earlier than the planned date of departure from the republic.
Whether you need a foreign passport for a tourist trip to Baku or for sightseeing, including a trip to Zangezur National Park, the answers to these questions will always be positive.
But whether you will need a visa to Azerbaijan and how to properly legalize your stay on the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic, this already depends on the duration of the trip.
If there is no need to stay in the state for more than 30 days, but less than 90 days, then you must register with the State Migration Service at your place of residence.
In this case, you must present to the migration service employee:
- A photocopy of the international passport or a document replacing it;
- Application form for registration.
If the trip is planned for longer than 90 days, then you will need to apply to the Azerbaijani embassy for a visa to Azerbaijan.
After arriving on the Azerbaijani territory on the basis of a visa permit, registration with the specified authorities should be a maximum of 3 days after crossing the border. A foreign national is registered for the period of validity of the visa stamp.
Have the entry features changed?
Customs control checks each entry not only for the presence of documents. In principle, the inspection procedure by Azerbaijani border guards is no different from the Russian inspection. However, there are some exceptions that are important to know before traveling.
- It is interesting to know that in almost every corner of Azerbaijan you can pay in American dollars, and in cash. This is the currency that the country prefers. It is somewhat more difficult to exchange rubles for manats (the monetary unit of Azerbaijan). It is useless to take credit cards with you - they are accepted only at the hotel.
- The Azerbaijani authorities ask that imported funds be declared so that there are no problems when leaving. This is done to reconcile the imported amount with the exported amount. Thus, customs officers make sure that no money is taken out of the country.
- The import of animals, birds, fresh vegetables and fruits is prohibited.
- The import of alcohol and cigarettes is allowed in limited quantities. Alcoholic drinks – no more than 1.5 liters of strong drinks and 2 liters of wine. Cigarettes – no more than 1 thousand pieces.
- Due to the Nagorno-Armenian conflict, the customs service does not allow people of Armenian appearance to enter. Even if a person does not have Armenian citizenship, the border guards will still not allow him into the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic. The refusal is motivated by the fact that the state cannot provide him with security. The same applies to individuals with Armenian surnames.
- Objects of art and culture are allowed to be imported into the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic without customs duties and restrictions on quantity.
On August 16, 2014, a new requirement for cars was introduced. A car that does not meet the Euro 4 standard must be accompanied by supporting documents from the owners. This is a declaration, a passport, documents on permanent registration of the vehicle, a power of attorney from the real owner of the car. Such tougher measures are needed to ensure that non-ecological transport will be removed from the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic.
Border guards oblige owners of cars without a Euro-4 certificate to pay a deposit - up to 40% of the cost of the vehicle. You can collect this money upon departure.
Documents required to enter Baku
To visit Baku, most Russian tourists are wondering whether they need a foreign passport in 2021. Anyone planning to visit this amazing city should know that the most important document for visiting any city in Azerbaijan is a foreign passport. In case of its absence, even despite the fact that a simplified entry scheme has been established between the countries, it is impossible to get into Baku. Customs control officers will not allow you into the territory of this friendly state without this document.
Instead of a foreign passport, a traveler can present a diplomatic passport, a service passport or a sailor's certificate.
Each of the above documents is also an identification document and its presence allows you to freely cross the borders of foreign powers. They are available to individuals who are visiting for business purposes.
The internal passport of a Russian must be valid. There are no other requirements for its validity period for entry into the territory of Baku. In order to avoid getting into a difficult situation and not encountering difficulties, you should take care in advance of replacing documents whose validity is about to expire. After all, plans may change and the planned short trip may be delayed. It will not be possible to return to the territory of your home country with an invalid passport. Additional paperwork will be required. In addition, a Russian will have to contact the Embassy or Consulate to obtain a certificate that will allow him to return home. You just have to pay for it. It is impossible to extend your stay or apply for a visa with an invalid passport.
When crossing the Azerbaijani border, a customs control officer will make a note on the date of entry in the tourist’s international passport. This seal will be the beginning of the countdown of time during which our compatriot remains on the territory of Baku.
It is worth noting that having a valid international passport is a sufficient document for traveling to Baku. Russians do not need to present any more papers.
