Hi Grant

Great website you have at Horizon Unlimited.

I would like to ask for your advice about my New Zealand Registered vehicle which is now stored in Anapa, Russia at this time. That I ,am driving around the World with this vehicle.Possible you could recommend which forum I should be asking about this problem.

In September 2019 I entered into Russia from Georgia at the land border with my Toyota Landcruiser. This meant I was allowed to have my vehicle in Russia for a 12 month period up to September 2020 before I had to leave Russia with my vehicle.

I have left my Toyota Landcruiser in storage at a friend’s farm in Anapa and Departed Moscow for New Zealand in October 2019 and was planning to return to Anapa in April 2020 to carry on with my travels but due to the Global Covid-19 Lockdown travel restrictions I have not yet been able to return to Russia as planned.

Do you think I will have any issues when I finally get to Travel back to Russia and collect my vehicle and depart for the EU?

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Regards Ray http://cooksendeavour.com
Instagram: raycooknz

That's a really tough one Ray, normally you'd be in trouble and could lose the vehicle. BUT, what we have been finding is that because of the pandemic, the authorities are being very understanding. That doesn't mean they all are, or that there won't be a "fee" or a real fee or fine, or they don't just keep it.
I could argue that you should contact the authorities probably via your friend, and explain what's going on, and get some clarity on what they want you to do.
You could just wing it when you get there, but I don't advise it. Better to have a piece of paper with someone's name on it that says you're ok.
Best of luck and keep us posted.

Any other thoughts from anyone that's been there recently or had experience with issues at the border?

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Looked into it a bit on Russian-speaking sources.

Essentially, you'll be in breach of section 16.18 of the RF Administrative Code, and liable to pay a fine of 1500 to 2500 roubles (17-30 euros) - and here's the important bit - with or without confiscation of the vehicle. Under the law, it's entirely up to the discretion of the customs service/courts.

My recommendation would be, once you have realistic plans to get back to Russia to pick up the vehicle, contact a Russian lawyer and have them submit an extension request to a customs service office. Once the extension request is granted, you high-tail it to the closest external border - starting from Anapa I would go back down to Georgia, and take the ferry to Bulgaria.

It's kind of a tossup where you will have more luck - Southern Russia is more dodgy and you might fall foul of a local official who would not mind confiscating a nice Landcruiser to drive around, so perhaps it's better to look at a customs post in St Petersburg where they would be more familiar with travellers who have this problem. Then again, if it can't be done remotely and the vehicle actually needs to be presented to the customs office, you don't want to drive through all of Russia with an expired TIP.

Thanks Antyx & Grant.

Yes this is un chartered ground, Great advice from you both.
As soon as I can get a Covid Vaccine in NZ I will be on a plane back to retrieve the LC and attempt a border crossing.
I will keep you posted.....

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Regards Ray http://cooksendeavour.com
Instagram: raycooknz

hey Ray i thought although this doesn't exactly answer your question you still might find my reply relevant (and hopefully give you some hope!!). Being married to a Russian i was allowed to enter the country in Sept last year, with the normal one month visa. When i went to the local immigration in St Petersburg i was told that due to the Covid effects on everyones travel plans the Govt had decreed that everyone could stay in the country 'without visa extension' for 4 months. When i finally went to the office in Feb there was no hassle at all extending my visa (3 instead of 1 month) and was told again that they were trying to be helpful to all foreigners 'issues with travel plans'. I really think when you submit the paperwork they will take your issue re Covid into account and release the vehicle.

Again hope it at leasts gives you hope!!!

bye dean

Hi
The period to export vehicle was prolonged till 31 March 2021.
Here is the proof - https://customs.gov.ru/document/text/251944 but in Russian.
For today no other news with prolongation, no ideas if any changes will be made.
I wouldn’t rely on the opportunity to find a “nice guy” in customs. It is very strict in Russia at the moment, so would recommend not to try to bribe someone.

Do you want to get in Russia now? I have heard that someone did using the “medical” reason. Can check it if you want.
If you decide not to come now and the situation doesn’t change - let me know, will ask a lawyer for an advice.

Ps you are lucky you left it at your friends place. had the same problem last year in Geneva airport - left the car in February and managed to come back only in August. COVID was no excuse to charge 2500 chf for parking...

Hello Ray:

Good advice from the others above, especially the comments from AnTyx.

I'm in a similar situation to you, except that my Canadian-plated motorcycle is in Tunisia, where it has been since March of last year when the pandemic started and I evacuated back to Canada on a repatriation flight.

The Tunisian customs people announced last March that they would make exceptions to the normal requirement that visitors export their vehicles with them when they leave, and that they would permit vehicles to be left behind until the pandemic ended. But, having said that, Tunisia is a much more tourist-oriented place than Russia.

I have extensive experience dealing with Russian customs from the time when I ferried aircraft through Russia between 2010 and 2013. My very consistent experience was that Russian customs people were quite strict - meaning, they did everything "by the book", crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's, - but they were unfailingly honest and polite. Exceptionally, extraordinarily honest. The very thought of a bribe was out of the question - once, I offered customs officials a piece of chocolate from a bar I was eating while they completed paperwork, and they politely declined, explaining that it would not be proper. This was to customs folks I knew because I had passed through the same port of entry several times earlier that same year.

Likewise, I once brought in an 8 ounce bottle of MEK that was needed to remove a de-icing boot from a Russian aircraft that was grounded in a remote community. I was told that the bottle could not be admitted because MEK was a precursor chemical to large-scale illicit drug production. The customs folks applied this rule strictly, even though it was in a community of only 4,000 people and the Russian aircraft mechanics pleaded with customs to let the bottle in so they could repair the aircraft - they even offered to apply the MEK to the wing surface (200 meters away from the airport customs office) while customs watched. Nope, no exceptions to the rules.

Hence, I think your strategy should be to find a mechanism (a policy, rule, whatever) by which the Russian customs people can release the vehicle to you without needing to impose any fines or surcharges, and supply the customs folks with the (internal Russian) policy documentation needed to enable them to apply this policy to your vehicle. Others have suggested contacting a lawyer - that is a possibility, I suppose, but I think a more knowledgeable choice might be to contact a customs broker, because a customs broker would likely be much better informed about any recent policy changes or exceptions that have been made due to the pandemic.

Another possibility may be to contact the embassy of your country in Russia and ask them if they can offer any advice (note, 'advice', rather than 'help').

So, to sum up, find a prescribed way for the customs folks to justify releasing the vehicle without any penalties, and I am pretty sure they will do that for you.

Michael

Hello,

seems there might be an extension until September 30, 2021.

Just found this link at the FB Overlanding Asia group:

https://hbn5e63jpnst4gf5oadgtu636e-a...Rty2QnhjEzeHLs

Quote:
“Vehicle owners who could not complete the procedure for temporary import into the EAEU due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to fulfill their obligations until September 30, 2021. Officially, the customs union has not yet made a decision to extend the grace period, but the draft document has already been drawn up by the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission and published on its official website”

Regards
Bernd

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RayCookNZ,

In addition to all of the other advise, I would contact your nations embassy / consulate in Russia closest to where your vehicle and or exit point is. Seek out there advise and try to get them onboard early, this is what you pay them for.

Good luck and safe travels,

Just saw this thread. Unfortunately I don't have much to add other than to say that I've crossed the Russian border many times and have also found the customs officers to be very professional (and friendly).

Given that the travel restrictions have doubtless affected tens of thousands of various travelers and migrants, I'd be very surprised if some kind of official policy as described by bernd is not put into place shortly, if not in place already.

TIP extension is now to 30 September 2021


https://kursiv.kz/news/otraslevye-te...7H1tWV_dMFkGvg


Google Translate:

The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) extended the period until September 30, 2021 for cars and other vehicles temporarily imported by individuals for personal needs in the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the press service of the commission reported.

The previous permit expired on 31 March.

As reported, in April last year, the EEC Council, against the backdrop of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, allowed citizens who temporarily imported cars and other equipment into the territory of the Union not to comply with the requirement to re-export them from the EAEU with simultaneous exemption from administrative measures and payment of customs duties ... The decision also concerned citizens who came from the Kaliningrad region in their cars, cleared by customs on a preferential basis, and were unable to return home.

As a reminder, the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have switched to the issuance of electronic vehicle passports (EPTS) since November 1, 2020. As reported by the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia, the issuance of paper PTSs for imported cars is therefore discontinued.


Original in Russian:

Совет Евразийской экономической комиссии (ЕЭК) продлил до 30 сентября 2021 года срок нахождения на таможенной территории Евразийского экономического союза (ЕАЭС) автомобилей и других транспортных средств, временно ввезенных физическими лицами для личных нужд, сообщила пресс-служба комиссии.

Срок предыдущего разрешения истек 31 марта.

Как сообщалось, в апреле прошлого года Совет ЕЭК на фоне ограничений из-за пандемии коронавируса разрешил гражданам, которые временно ввезли автомобили и другую технику на территорию союза, не выполнять требование об их обратном вывозе из ЕАЭС с одновременным освобождением от административных мер и уплаты таможенных платежей. Решение также касалось граждан, которые приехали из Калининградской области на своих автомобилях, растаможенных в льготном порядке, и не смогли вернуться домой.

Напомним, страны Евразийского экономического союза (ЕАЭС) с 1 ноября 2020 года перешли на оформление электронных паспортов транспортных средств (ЭПТС). Как сообщила Федеральная таможенная служба (ФТС) России, выдача бумажных ПТС на импортируемые автомобили в связи с этим прекращается.

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I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has used this. I read up about the old paper based TIP forms but this is the first I've heard of a new system. Does it need any preparation on our part? (I printed off copies of the old bilingual forms)

Less likely to find anyone. Most (all?) land borders in the Eurasian customs union are currently still closed to humans from other countries.

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Hi
Thanks for this update its very informative.
My next problem is I have contacted the Russian Consulate in NZ last week and they are still not issuing Tourist Visa to russia for NZ passport holders.

On a good side I will get my Covid Vaccine next week :-)

Regards
Ray

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Regards Ray http://cooksendeavour.com
Instagram: raycooknz

Hi to all those who posted a reply to my question.

Well I have contacted the NZ Embassy in Moscow about my issue so thought I would share thier reply to me for your interest.

i will keep you all posted on my progress with this.

Regards
Ray



Thank you for your email of 11 April. We regret to hear of the predicament with your Landcruiser. We are not aware of any other New Zealanders needing to manage a similar situation. However, we have collated some options which we set out below which you may like to consider.

We understand the action you have taken to date is an email to the Border Office where you entered Russia, in which you have sought their advice. It is our understanding they are not likely going to be able to reply to a foreigner, especially if the request is not in Russian. We also think it is the Customs office, and not the Border office that you need to deal with. So the first option is that you could write to the Customs office. But it would need to be in Russian and even then, as a foreigner currently residing outside of Russia, you may not receive a response. Should however you wish to pursue contact with Russian Customs, we think you should contact the Federal Customs Service in Moscow, the local Customs office where the vehicle is located, and the Customs office nearest to where you entered Russia i.e. at the border. Your request could be along the lines of your request to the Border Office, i.e. how to go about renewing the permit to have your vehicle remain in Russia.

A second option is to use a Customs Agent or Broker here in Russia to advise you on a renewal.

A third option is to ask your friend to make enquiries to find out what you need to do.

A fourth option is to engage the services of a lawyer. To use the services of a lawyer, you would likely need to have a Power of Attorney authorising the Russian lawyer to act on your behalf with Russia Customs. We would recommend using a Moscow law firm, not a regional one. You can refer to a list of law firms the UK Foreign Ministry have made available to their citizens in Russia. We use that same list when we are asked for a list from New Zealanders who require legal services. Here is the link: List of lawyers in Russia - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Wait until you return to Russia (this could be seen as a ‘Do nothing for now’ option) – Just in case you have wondered what the consequences of not taking any action until you return to Russia. But we do have some concerns with this. At this time with the borders to Russia closed, and / or it being difficult for some foreigners to return to their home countries, many foreign visitors (i.e. who have been here since before the start of the pandemic), are on a ‘visa holiday’ meaning that their visas have expired but they are allowed to continue to remain in Russia legally (with their expired visa). However, we understand that once international travel and border restrictions ease, many of those visa holders who no longer have a valid visa will need to leave Russia. We don’t know, but this could similarly apply to ‘assets’ that are here under a permit, such as temporarily imported vehicles. This means that while it may not be an issue that your car is here now, without valid permission, it might suddenly become an issue at a later date. You could then be fined for not having a renewed permit. Whether that’s a small fine or a substantive one, we simply don’t know and it would be difficult to find out for sure.

We note this is potentially a tricky task (getting your permit renewed) when you are not in the country. For this reason, we recommend you consider options 2, 3 or 4 above to pursue your enquiries further.

We hope the above provides you some advice on next steps.

Kind regards

Consular Section
NZ Embassy
Moscow

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Regards Ray http://cooksendeavour.com
Instagram: raycooknz