Dear all,

Need help from fellow travellers!

Based on information we got from several sources including this forum, we set off to Central Asia in September this year in our Landcruiser, intending to drive first to the Ural mountains in Russia and - after obtaining a 12 month TIP at the Russian border - leave the car there for the winter, then fly back next year to pick up the car, drive into Kazachstan and Kyrgyzstan, leave the car again, and then either leave the customs union or extend the TIP and stay a bit longer.

Much to our disappointment however the customs at the border (Terehova border post Latvia-Russia) refused to give us a 12 month TIP, telling us that the TIP can never be longer than the lenght of your visa. They sent us to customs office inland - we tried 2 of them but they basically kicked us out of the country. Our big adventure ended after 2 weeks.

We got a little different story from every customs officer we talked to, but it seemed they all agreed a TIP can never be longer than a visum. I have understood however that EU travellers have managed to get it done whilst they should have the same visa limits as I have (max 30 days)

We want to try again but don't want again to be rejected the neccesary papers.

Has anyone travelled to Central Asia in similar fashion as we want to, and if so what experience did you have? Are we likely to be more lucky at a particular border crossing? Or are customs right and the 12 month TIP is a fairy tale?

Also, does anyone have official writing from Russian customs about the alleged new rules in force since 2016 which state that the TIP is standard 12 months now? I have read this on this forum and some others, however cannot find this info anywhere on e.g. Russian customs website. If we can bring anything like this to the border, we stand much better chance I assume.

Any experiences, tips/advise, links or official writings which can help us to realize our adventure would be much appreciated!!

Cheers from the Netherlands,
Martin & Elena