Visa-free travel to Russia during CC 2017 and WC 2018
Jun 3, 2018, 4:10 pm
#46
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Won't be near it I'm afraid. I'll be in Moscow for a couple of days starting on the 25th and then most of the time in Samara. Or Camapa, as I like to call it!
Jun 5, 2018, 4:32 am
#47
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Has anybody had any luck with Stubhub/Ticketbis? I got Brazil WC tickets from Stubhub with no issues but this time they farmed out sales to their subsidiary, Ticketbis, based in Spain. To say that the experience has been frustrating is an understatement in the extreme. No information for fan id given, though it was promised by June 1. Generic answers, robotic chat discussion, urging me to "be patient."
Jun 5, 2018, 10:17 am
#48
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Has anybody had any luck with Stubhub/Ticketbis? I got Brazil WC tickets from Stubhub with no issues but this time they farmed out sales to their subsidiary, Ticketbis, based in Spain. To say that the experience has been frustrating is an understatement in the extreme. No information for fan id given, though it was promised by June 1. Generic answers, robotic chat discussion, urging me to "be patient."
If someone has tickets they cannot use they should have listed them for sale using the account they'd have set up on the FIFA website to buy them in the first place. 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia? - Ticket Transfer / Resale - FIFA.com
Jun 29, 2018, 4:34 am
#49
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Apologies for not reporting back earlier. I just wanted to feedback that the whole entry process and border control was a doddle, totally friendly and stress-free. The same goes for visiting the fan zone in Moscow, and entering the stadiums with my tickets. Totally amazing experience! The Russians are the true heroes with this, they have made the experience incredibly positive and smooth. Security is omnipresent, but never heavy handed. It feels totally safe.
Jun 30, 2018, 12:33 am
#50
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Apologies for not reporting back earlier. I just wanted to feedback that the whole entry process and border control was a doddle, totally friendly and stress-free. The same goes for visiting the fan zone in Moscow, and entering the stadiums with my tickets. Totally amazing experience! The Russians are the true heroes with this, they have made the experience incredibly positive and smooth. Security is omnipresent, but never heavy handed. It feels totally safe.
PS: If anyone is around LED these days, feel free to PM for an FT meetup
Jun 30, 2018, 2:42 am
#52
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I went to the match between Senegal and Colombia two days ago, which took place in Samara Arena. It was a really good experience, even if the match was somewhat lackluster during the first half. The stadium was full of screaming Colombia fans, the total number of people was 41,970. The second half brightened up considerably, with Colombia scoring a header goal. Rather a lot of yellow cards for the Senegalese though. Here is a BBC article about the match:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44439305
As a data point, contrary to expectation I didn’t need my passport to get in, just the Fan ID and ticket.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44439305
As a data point, contrary to expectation I didn’t need my passport to get in, just the Fan ID and ticket.
Last edited by Concerto; Jun 30, 2018 at 3:09 am Reason: rewrote post due to duplicate
Jul 12, 2018, 1:20 pm
#54
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We also had no issues with our FAN ID. Came in and out of the country each day since we were sleeping on a cruise ship, so got three entry and exit stamps in our passports. Attended the Brazil v. Costa Rica match in St. Petersburg -- was super fun.
Jul 14, 2018, 6:43 am
#55
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I hope that for the post-WC future this will mean Russia will become more comfortable with (and open to) allowing even more travel to Russia without a traditional sticker visa attached in passports prior to travel to Russia. But maybe we will have to wait for a massive collapse in global oil prices before there is a general (year-round) expansion of visa-free travel to Russia.
Jul 14, 2018, 7:17 am
#56
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I reckon not, at least with the current political situation between the UK and Russia and the stupid things Trump is saying. I wish it would all calm down. But I suspect the process of issuing visas to normal visitors will go on as always, not necessarily any extra difficulties. It`s all such a faff, though.
Jul 15, 2018, 3:52 am
#57
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 861
Echoing comments above, the entry/exit process with Fan IDs was extremely well done and moving around was very smooth. Hadn't been to St P in 20+ years and was very impressed. We saw the France/Belgium semi and our tickets
from Ticketbis (Stubhub international platform) were legit but the experience with them was the most stressful, irritating business transaction I've had maybe ever.
As a side note, one of the hotels we visited said that the FanID process created extra work for them, as they were required to copy every single page of visitors' passports and bring these stacks of paper to a central office. It took them 20 minutes to do ours.
from Ticketbis (Stubhub international platform) were legit but the experience with them was the most stressful, irritating business transaction I've had maybe ever.
As a side note, one of the hotels we visited said that the FanID process created extra work for them, as they were required to copy every single page of visitors' passports and bring these stacks of paper to a central office. It took them 20 minutes to do ours.
Jul 16, 2018, 8:45 am
#58
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That is totally right about the passports, a real stupid waste of paper and bureaucracy. No good doing it all before you arrive, because they have to do it themselves (I was trying to save time at check in). Also, the people I was staying with in Samara had to do it when going through the whole registration process. You`ve got to complete that registration process within 7 days.
Were any of you at the finale yesterday? That was a pretty exciting match.
Were any of you at the finale yesterday? That was a pretty exciting match.
Jul 18, 2018, 7:04 am
#60
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https://www.dw.com/en/russia-to-let-...isa/a-44717246