homelyboy

Unfortunately, I've never heard that our MFA is having talks with Singapore (and Malaysia as well) on this topic.

Krysenok

Actually I find this very strange.
There is no any reason for Russia to keep visas - Singaporians have a very high quality of life, have visa free to EU and US..
if Macao\ Hong Kong\Thailand got visa-free access - why not Singapore?

On the other side, there is no sense for Singapore to keep visas for Russians
(no migration risk. good for tourism etc).
Still there is a 4 days visa free transit for Russian citizens - so anyone is able to visit it with no visa. And even nigerians do not need visa for Singapore.

So I have no idea which side stops this process..

dsauch

Almost all Russian visas and fees for 1st world countries are based on reciprocity - because they do.
On the other hand Singapore has things like human trafficking and prostitution to worry about.

I know visas dont prevent those crimes 100%, but it is some measure to stop a stupid person. While those who have money will get the visa they need.

Its no different than a visa requirements for US citizens going to India, bizarre, but its there because US has visa for India.

Krysenok

I've said this before

1. Even Nigerian citizens do not need a visa to Singapore
A country that is more or less equal by population and considerably more dangerous in terms of crime, terrorism, illegal migration, etc

2. Russians are allowed for 4 days visa-free transit.
For instance, you fly to Singapore and 3 days after you have a ticket to Thailand from Singapore. U do not need a visa, u can quit the airport and do what you want.
So if you want to visit Singapore now without a visa and overstay there - this is a possibility to do it.

3. Their e-visa is very easy to get. U make a digital photo (even by amateur camera) then send to a private company and pay a fee to them, after 3 hrs you get a visa unless you are Usama bin Laden. So no hassle, even you do not need to leave you house))

4. There are also economical and geographical reasons - i.e. expensive flight ticket, no common borders etc but 1&2&3 is surely enough.

So, no sense at all to keep visas from their side.


PS India is not Russia=) I mean to lift visas for russians and for indians is a completely different thing.

Krysenok

I'm sorry nigerians do need a visa.
But some other countries as Nepal or Vietnam do not.
Here is the list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Singapore

As you may see Russia and possibly Ukraine significantly show up in this list.

Krysenok

Some update of countries which citizens are visa free to Russia (not vice versa!!)
As of 14/07/2017 for ordinary passport holders


1. ex-USSR: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan;
Abkhazia, South Osetia - recognized by Russia.

2. Europe: Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina;
Macedonia - with a voucher or an invitation only;

3. Asia & Pacific: Israel, SAR Hong Kong, SAR Macau, Thailand, South Korea, Fiji, Nauru, Mongolia, Vanuatu, Laos(not yet in force),Samoa;

4. America: Nicaragua, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala, Ecuador,
Paraguay, Panama, Guyana, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia

5. Africa: Seychelles, Mauritius, South Africa

Negotiations / rumours with Georgia, Malaysia, UAE, Brunei, several Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Happy

We hold HKSAR passports and know we can visit Russia for 14 days without visa needed with proof of onward tickets.

We plan to either take a bus or a train from Tallinn to St Petersburg - how does the custom / immigration procedures work at border crossing? Are the Russian folks at this type of border crossing check points familiar with the visa waiver countries (as versus the entry points at airports)?

Currently it looks like that the train operated by Estonia railway does not allow online purchase but the bus services operated by 3 bus companies under the consortium of Eurolines has online purchase function. Anyone has more info on that?

I also looked at the ferry options both from Helsinki and from Tallinn. The ferry prices are simply way too high and the travel time way too long (doubled that of train or bus).

König

Do not worry, Russian border control officers know about all visa-free agreements between Russia and other countries. If one particular officer happens not to, then he would consult his superior before initiating any kind of actions.

The procedure of crossing the border is the following: the train arrives to Narva and the Estonian immigration folks conduct the exit inspections within 30 minutes. Then, the train crosses the border and arrives at Ivangorod where Russian immigration folks conduct their entry inspection for 40 minutes. So, the total time of crossing the border is roughly 1 hour 15 min. Not too bad compared to going by car. I do not know about buses, but I assume they could be stuck at the border longer. The train will move on as scheduled.

Happy

After some more research, it looks to me that the fast train option from Helsinki is more appealing if we modify our itinerary to Stockholm - Tallinn - Helsinki and then either train Helsinki to St. Pete, or plain HEL to LED. I can get an American Airline award at 10K and $30 taxes to fly the nonstop AY flight HEL-LED, or the $150 per person one-way fast train.

Krysenok

Did some update. See few posts above