Question on Declaring Items Arriving Moscow
 

Will be arriving in Moscow in a few days and have a few questions on items to declare (getting conflicting information on the internet).

(1) I have prescription pain medication (percocet) due to back surgery. Have seen information that says some narcotics need to be declared or may be illegal in Russia.

(2) Have a decent DSLR camera I will be taking with me. Some websites say you need to declare this to avoid hassles when leaving with Russian officials thinking you may have purchased the camera in Russia. Other websites say you do not need to declare a camera if it is not in the original packaging (i.e., personal camera that has already been used).

Anyone have experience with either of these situations and can offer advice on how to proceed.

My experience would say that you do not need to declare anything going in or coming out. You might choose to cover yourself by going through the Red Channel both ways but the 10-12 trips I make through Customs each year shows me you should be just fine without it. That includes meds and the SLR your speak of above.

Artwork and Money
 

I agree with Woody, with the exception that we recommend (acutally, require) our colleagues to declare artworks and money when leaving Russia.

We've never had issues with electronics and prescriptions. Incidently, depending on the medicine it is my experience that many can be bought far more cheaply in Moscow (from reliable chains such as 36.6). However, you should definately bring a copy of your prescription for any medications you bring in (not declare it, just bring the copy of prescription).

I agree fully with money and artwork as well. Per meds and techy stuff, green is king!

If money adds up to less than $10,000, why to declare?

I have had a painting done by a friend of mine and worth $50 maybe taken away at the border because I did not declare it and had no papers on it. A friend of mine had an old camera given to her by an older gentleman as a gift confiscated at the border because she walked through the green channel with it. Art is best declared I think unless you just really don't mind having it taken away or having to bribe someone for letting you take it out. Your call.

I wasn't talking about artwork but money like in dollars and cents.

You have to declare cash holdings of over $3000 or its equivalent upon arrival or departure. I've seen customs x-ray someone's jacket, spot bills, and send the person off because they did not declare the money. They do have ways to catch you and it can create big problems.

http://www.waytorussia.net/Practicalities/Customs.html

$3,000 threshold was an old cut off that got changed to $10,000 some time ago. You HAVE to declare cash over $10,000, with sums under that amount as optional. Form in English: http://master-adm.customs.ru/eng/ima...es/english.pdf
Regs in Russian: http://master-fl.customs.ru/index.ph...25&Itemid=1793
Whether the actual witch hunt and accompaning shenenigans begin at $1K, $3K or $10K is an entirely different matter.

Thanks for the information. Got back from my trip earlier this week and wanted to report that we went green going and coming with no problems whatsoever. We actually had to laugh going through as there were no customs officials present anywhere that we could see. We get more hassle coming home to the US than we did in Moscow.

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