Transferring Moscow case to Kazakhstan or other Embassies besides Warsaw (split and edited title)

[millefleur 5,035]

On 8/24/2021 at 8:51 PM, k whorton said:

My fiance talked to me today and said the border to Poland from Russis is closed! Even if you have a visa you cannot go to Poland at this time. As everything it could change though!

Are they specifically talking about the border between Russia and Kaliningrad? Because I understand that specific border might be closed. The deal with the Schengen zone is, once you're inside, there are no borders. You could travel to Greece and then from there get to Poland and nobody will look at the passport. Even flying between Schengen countries is like this - there's no border control. The border control only exists at the port of entry and that is it.

 

This is how it was prior to Covid. Does anyone have news if this is how it still works today?

[zolotinka 47]

On 8/26/2021 at 10:38 AM, millefleur said:

Does anyone have news if this is how it still works today?

From outside of the EU Poland allows entering just certain categories - https://www.strazgraniczna.pl/pl/cudzoziemcy/covid-epidemia-koronawi/8572,Epidemia-koronawirusa-zasady-wjazdu-i-pobytu-na-terytorium-RP-oraz-specjalne-roz.html.

This is why people go through Greece or they write (after scheduling the interview and getting Schengen) to the Russian Embassy in Warsaw for border clearance from Polish border guards.

[millefleur 5,035]

14 minutes ago, zolotinka said:

This is why people go through Greece or they write (after scheduling the interview and getting Schengen) to the Russian Embassy in Warsaw for border clearance from Polish border guards.

That was what I was asking: are the Schengen "borders" still non-existent like they were before? So, if you enter into Greece and then take a flight to Poland, you're OK and don't have to pass through border control again?

[zolotinka 47]

4 minutes ago, millefleur said:

So, if you enter into Greece and then take a flight to Poland, you're OK and don't have to pass through border control again?

Yes, no border control.

[millefleur 5,035]

Has anyone tried contacting the embassies in Tallinn, Estonia or Riga, Latvia? Apparently they are accepting CRBA of US citizens there from Russia.

 

Might be worth a shot asking to see if they'll accept a spousal or fiance visa case.

[k whorton 6]

Thank you we check those out! Thanks again!

[milimelo 4,198]

On 10/13/2021 at 7:25 PM, millefleur said:

Has anyone tried contacting the embassies in Tallinn, Estonia or Riga, Latvia? Apparently they are accepting CRBA of US citizens there from Russia.

 

Might be worth a shot asking to see if they'll accept a spousal or fiance visa case.

That’s for CRBA only. IV (to include K) are now in Warsaw only. 

[millefleur 5,035]

2 minutes ago, milimelo said:

That’s for CRBA only. IV (to include K) are now in Warsaw only. 

Is there somewhere on the embassy website or other government source where it says Russian applicants can only go to Warsaw? It seems like the applicant still has to contact Warsaw and ask to get permission for the transfer, they're not just auto-redirecting people there, unless that changed just recently.

[ninjakid 12]

On 8/12/2021 at 5:12 AM, Yuliya.99 said:

Yes I agree. Kazakhstan told me no so I emailed Armenia but haven’t gotten a reply just yet. I looked on the websites of Ukrainian, Georgia and Moldova and they all say they do not accept transfer cases   I contacted them back in May and they told me the same thing and nothing has changed on the websites since then so I don’t know if contacting them is even worth it…

Hello Yuliya.99,

Have you got an email back from the US embassy in Armenia?  Thanks for your help in advance!

[slavaskii 885]

On 10/14/2021 at 12:59 PM, millefleur said:

Is there somewhere on the embassy website or other government source where it says Russian applicants can only go to Warsaw? It seems like the applicant still has to contact Warsaw and ask to get permission for the transfer, they're not just auto-redirecting people there, unless that changed just recently.

It is my understanding that they aren't automatically redirecting applicants to Warsaw as well, namely because it's not guaranteed a Russian applicant could even attend the interview in Poland without a visa (unlike Belarusians, who have it far easier). If any embassy would be forced to take Russian applicants, I'd presume it would have to be Ukraine or Kazakhstan, so it surprises me they are refusing. But it's very unreasonable to make Poland the new destination for all Russian applicants... 

 

Edit: And to confirm the inquiry about Schengen 'borders', it is correct they still don't exist. My fiancee flew from Minsk to Athens back in July and was allowed in as a tourist with a Polish visa, and after some time in Greece, we then flew to Paris and nobody checked anything besides the covid test. When you arrive in the EU, however, they'll still ask you your business for entering the country, and countries (like Croatia) will deny you if you can't prove you're a tourist or fall into one of the 'exemption' categories. Greece exempts tourists and they have to fill out a PLF which indicates place of accommodation, so it's unclear if they will refuse you if you cannot show a hotel. Just food for thought, I'd plan a day or so in Athens to be safe.

Edited October 20, 2021 by slavaskii

[Yuliya.99 28]

On 10/19/2021 at 6:17 AM, ninjakid said:

Hello Yuliya.99,

Have you got an email back from the US embassy in Armenia?  Thanks for your help in advance!

Hello! Yes they emailed me saying that they do not accept transfers at this moment. That was back in August. I don’t know if anything as changed at the moment. 

[millefleur 5,035]

4 hours ago, slavaskii said:

Greece exempts tourists and they have to fill out a PLF which indicates place of accommodation, so it's unclear if they will refuse you if you cannot show a hotel. Just food for thought, I'd plan a day or so in Athens to be safe.

Even though Schengen countries allow freedom of movement/no borders, the country who issues the visa plans you to do something in their country, I assume that was part of the reason they issued the visa. For people on a tight budget, maybe look into hostels? Hostels can offer cheap private rooms sometimes, I've stayed in hostel private rooms in Austria with my husband and would recommend if you just want to crash somewhere for the night and head out the next day.

 

Like @slavaskii said, you can freely travel (including taking airplanes) without anyone checking your visa again once you're "in" the Schengen zone. The only time the visa is checked and passport gets stamped is entering and exiting the Schengen area. I totally agree that Warsaw being the "default" backup embassy is very annoying because of the Schengen visa requrement.

 

Has anyone looked into Israel? Apparently that embassy has Russian speaking staff and Russias do not need a visa to travel there. Could be worth asking.

[millefleur 5,035]

Another possible option: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

 

Looks like they just opened up IV visa processing:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/visas-news-archive/20161129_US-Embassy-Bishkek-to-Begin-Interviewing-IV-Customers.html

[millefleur 5,035]

I stumbled across @Amerussian and it looks like they successfully transferred their case to Kazakhstan after asking multiple times:

 

[Caboose29 172]

I've been told since the official announcement that Warsaw has now become the de facto embassy due to Russia being declared a "homeless" state (Oct 24th), that ALL Russians must go through Warsaw.  Has anyone heard anything different??