Cheating with a Mongolian visa

[2cvfred]

We applied for our Mongolian visa in Ulan-Ude. Picked it up one week later: a 5 day transit visa. We applied for a 30day tourist visa, so we go complain. They change it into a 15day tourist visa. This is totally useless to us ofcourse. Just spend a day in Immigration in UB, only legal way to get a 30day visa is to extend. Total cost: 80US$ ... on top of what we already paid. sure...

Anyway, to the point: Has anybody outstayed their Mongolian Visa? What happens at the border? Do you get fined (how much)?

A less legal option is to just change the "15 days" on our visa into "30 days". Technically very possible and invisible. But our visa got registered into a computer when entering Mongolia. Do they check this when leaving?

We want to leave at the border west of Ulaangom.

Thanks for the advice

Frederik & Josephine

[MotoEdde]

If you're referring to the Western Border of Tashanta...its computerized for passports, thanks to George W. as of June 2007.
Pic of it from the Russian side...
Vehicles on the other hand are still written into a notebook...

Extending your visa in Mongolia takes half at day at the most at the Immigration office...One of my travelling companions entered via the West and had a vehicle breakdown...and then had to extend their 30 day visa...

HTH

[2cvfred]

Takes half a day if you pay the express fee of 25US$ !

Thanks for the information though

[TonUp]

Seems to me paying for the 30 day is small insurance to pay. The last thing I want to have happen is for a local cop to catch me trying to cheap out on something. I'm sure their jails are way less inviting than a Hyatt.


Yeah, say "bribe them" all you want, but if they feel like being jerks, they can do whatever they want. Their country, their rules.

[2cvfred]

I am not talking about bribing at all. We have never payed any bribe at all, and don't have any intentions on doing so in the future.

It is not that uncommon to outstay your visa without having the possibility to extend. Mostly you just get a reasonably small fine. Maybe somebody knows the tariffs in Mongolia? We can still extend if we want to as we have to go back to UB to pick up a Kazakh visa, but 90US$ is wortth checking out the options

[TonUp]

Hey man, to each his own. I'm an expat living in KG and I'm expected back at work after every weekend/holiday so from my perspective it is worth the extra money to do it up front. I don't need a hassle when I must get back. I would say bribes here are more common than fines, btw...and cheaper.

[2cvfred]

Kyrgystan? We'll probably be going there soon. Were are you based?

[TonUp]

Bishkek.

If you're coming soon watch your speed coming into Bishkek proper. We have the CIS or whatever meeting coming up and the cops are hiding behind every street sign on the ouskirts of town. No joke.

[2cvfred]

Thanks for the Bishkek tip!

As a folluw up to my original question: We did not prolong our visa, we just showed up at the border with a visa expired by 10 days. I guess we were lucky as their computer was turned on, but they just wrote down our details in a book and didn't pay attention to the dates. Computer failure? Don't know...