Has anyone recently entered Russia with a Power Of Attorney?

[eurasiaoverland]

Hi All

I am currently planning a trip into Russia with my car. It is registered in my father's name and I have a power of attorney (POA) to use the vehicle (in English, signed / stamped by a UK notary).

I have read that others have done a similar thing, but I'm still a bit nervous. Will it make it difficult to buy Russian car insurance? (UK insurance companies do not include RUS on the Green Card).

Has anyone here recently entered Russia with a POA?

Or has anyone ever been refused entry with a vehicle and a POA?

Thanks,

EO

[mika]

I had a similar situation in 2015, as the bike was not in my name when I got it. But after reading about traveling with a POA, I found out that Russia demands a special POA from the automobil club (ADAC in my case). After a few calls with the ADAC, it was all too expensive and complicated (as the bike had a Swiss plate). So I got the bike into my name ... and than it was easy to enter (on the Belorussian border they even printed the TIP in German :-)).

Good luck.
mika

[eurasiaoverland]

Originally Posted by mika

I had a similar situation in 2015, as the bike was not in my name when I got it. But after reading about traveling with a POA, I found out that Russia demands a special POA from the automobil club (ADAC in my case). After a few calls with the ADAC, it was all too expensive and complicated (as the bike had a Swiss plate). So I got the bike into my name ... and than it was easy to enter (on the Belorussian border they even printed the TIP in German :-)).

Good luck.
mika

Thanks for that Mika. Do you remember where you read this? It is the first time I have heard about it.

That said, I think it's just easier to change the car into my name (I am the owner) and pay the extra for a new insurance policy.

Thanks again

EO

[Bartosz]

When I enetered Russsia few times with cars registered on leasing i had POA in Polish, English and German but I always translated it on Russian. I had any trouble with that.

[mika]

Thanks for that Mika. Do you remember where you read this? It is the first time I have heard about it.

No, sorry I dont remember. And I cant tell you if this information is correct or not. I only remember the ADAC not being helpful and it took a few calls to get the right person on the line, and he told me they would issue this kind of POA but their demands were too high for me (maybe because the bike had a Swiss plate).

Yes, best the car/bike is in your name.

Paca
mika

[motoreiter]

I've heard third or fourth hand that entering Russia with a vehicle with a PoA can cause problems, but never heard any first-hand reports and have always been a bit dubious. Please let us know how things go, either way.

If you decide to enter with a PoA it would probably be a good idea to have it translated into Russian with a stamp or two on it to make it look more official...

[LC8Joe]

I've just entered from Kazakhstan and they did not ask for any special papers and the bike I'm using is not on my name.

[mika]

Hi Joe, thank you very much for posting first hand information about this ...

but I would say it does not mean that this is valid for all border crossings into Russia, but who knows maybe it is?

still I would suggest on a public forum to have the bike in your name to try to enter Russia, but as Joe showed us it is maybe not needed.

enjoy your ride
mika

[motoreiter]

Well, Kazakhstan is in a customs union with Russia, so border crossings between them might not be treated the same as border crossing with non-members of the customs union.

[mika]

Yes motoreiter you are right, good point, I forgot about this.

mika

[LC8Joe]

I've just got out to Georgia without any request to show them anything else than my passport and the bike documents which are not in name, not even a question about it.

[mika]

Hi Joe,

leaving is always easier than entering. And the custom offical that you showed the docs to on departure would not admit that his college made a mistake when you entered.

Thanks again for posting your experience here, I am sure this helps others.

mika

[moep]

I've crossed quite a few boarders with the paper not im my name
i entered russia three times and i only had a document writen by my self in russian and english which was signed by me and the owner
was never a problem, sometimes they didn't even wanted to see it

[jordan325ic]

My last bike was a German bike in a friend's name, I just had a form downloaded from the internet (in German) which we both signed, giving me permission to use the motorcycle. I crossed into Russia twice, once from Finland and once from Kazakhstan, without any problems.

Not to say I didn't get any scrutiny, German plates, UK passport, US license. A supervisor was always called, but they were more concerned about my fake-looking passport than the motorcycle ownership papers.

[Tomkat]

Originally Posted by eurasiaoverland

... my car. It is registered in my father's name and I have a power of attorney (POA) to use the vehicle (in English, signed / stamped by a UK notary).

A word of caution. From your description this would appear to be what the insurance companies call "Fronting". Namely a vehicle owned by an older person (typically a parent) to keep insurance premiums down, with the younger person as a named driver. Which is fine as long as you're only an occasional user, however if the insurers get a whiff that it's effectively your car or you are the main driver your insurance will be invalid and any claims could be denied.