Orbey

Hi everyone. Just wondered whether anyone has tried to go via Barbados yet - or know of anyone who has? Thanks!

11 minutes ago, VioletM said:

Well, if you follow my fun itinerary you will stay in your accommodation for 14 days and get fat. Honestly, I don't think this is a time for "fun holidays in Serbia". The pandemic is rampant, there are protests all over the country... I mean, to each their own, but I certainly couldn't/can't enjoy myself under these circumstances. Plus, the virus situation here is bad, the less you travel around the better for you and anyone you come into contact with. I am here out of the absolute necessity, and I just hope that I can last another week without my flights getting cancelled/travel disruptions. I got affected by Trump's travel ban back in March, I was supposed to start work in April, so I am absolutely desperate to get to the US because I'm going completely broke. 

 

Situation is serious. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. But I understand that every person has a different limit of what they are and aren't comfortable with. So you do you. But whatever you do, remain vigilant, responsible and safe. 

Good luck Violet - stay confident, stay calm. I'm sure all will be just fine for you in the end, it's just such an ordeal for you to go through in real time. Remember the whole of this thread is behind you, rooting for you, and that there are many success stories to draw strength from, even if circumstances are shifting. X

3 minutes ago, agataa said:

Off topic but just wanted to say I’m SO happy you made it! I remember your previous posts and it was so sad to see how you had to fight with the airline. I hope the rest of the trip goes well!

I thought the SAME thing! And didn't say it (sorry!)! So now I'll say it. Happy you're nearly there!

18 hours ago, Kay & Evan said:

Hi everyone! Update for my flight Belgrade to New York:

just to give you a first idea on how smooth and fast it all went my plane touched down at 16:45 and I was waiting for my baggage at 17:06!

So during the flight they gave us a form we all had to fill that we had to complete our name flight address etc info and state if we had any COVID symptoms the past few days and if we have been in any of the banned countries the past 14 days. It also said we would have to quarantine for 14 days after landing so that didn’t seem fun. 

After we landed I went to the passport control which was almost empty. I gave the form my passport and the K1 package as well as a copy of my vaccination record to the guy but he didn’t want the xrays cd. 
he opened the package and then asked me to confirm my address. He flipped through the package and found a picture of me and my fiancé and pointed at him and said is this (name and surname of fiancé) I said yes he said nice and commented on the lake in the picture haha. Then he asked how much money in cash I have on me. Then he stamped my passport and said we’re almost done I just have to go to the office for the final check. 
meh took me to the office and handed my papers and passport to the lady there. He told her “I already stamped her through so take her temperature and we’re good” which sounded to me like I was already done. Once he left the lady called me up she looked at me and my passport and then said “you have 90 days to get married” is said yeah we’re excited! And she said okay good luck bye and gave me my passport without taking my temperature or anything. 
someone else with a visa From the same flight I was in was there next to me and he asked if he needs to have anything in mind in terms of quarantine or anything because of the form we had to complete and the guy laughed and told him “no man you’re all good we’re in phase two now!” 

overall everything was very fast and almost no questions! 
good luck everyone! If anyone is considering Belgrade I highly recommend the route and don’t hesitate to contact me as I have like a full guide by now to share! 

WONDERFUL NEWS! So happy to hear you made it. Thanks for giving us a full run down of your experience, I'm sure I'll be in touch for your guide!! Enjoy being back in the US!

3 hours ago, Fenja said:

We arrived in Belgrade two days ago so far pretty much everything is open (except of one museum so far). Restaurants are operating normally and the weather is super nice. We spend a lot of time in the park yesterday, eating icecream and enjoying the city. The city itself is a weird mix of really ugly and charming at the same time, so it won't get boring! Also the people are super nice. And food is cheap.

 

Also: Anyone in Belgrade right now? My finacé and I would love to meet up! Just shoot me a private message.

Thank you so much this is really helpful! I will let you know if I come within your 14 days - if so would love to meet up too! Enjoy your stay

1 hour ago, thisguyflies said:

I'm in Belgrade right now. It is a very interesting city, quite nice to walk around. Everything is open, you wouldn't guess that there's a global pandemic happening.

 

I'm remaining very cautious, though. The government here was certainly suppressing information about COVID infections due to their elections a few weeks ago. They've got a small increase in infections now, but nothing too concerning; even with misinformation, the number + risk is low.

 

Try to arrange a car to collect you from the airport. My airbnb host arranged one for me and I'm sure hotels do too. You also are required to do this strange registration with the police within 24hr of arriving in Serbia. It's a legal requirement, but doesn't seem like you'll get in much trouble if you don't do it. My airbnb host didn't really want to do it, but I insisted... I've taken enough risks, I'm not gonna take any more. A bit weird and mildly worrying as they take your passport, but was over quick enough.

Thank you - this is really helpful. I've definitely read about getting a car from the airport and I too would be unwavering on getting that police registration! Another piece of evidence to show you've been there the full time! Enjoy your stay

On 6/27/2020 at 9:52 AM, Sarah84 said:

Hi at all! If anyone is interested in coming to Belgrade, I would like to recommend the hotel I am staying in right now. It is the Seven Rooms Suites. It opened in January of this year, everything is brand new and very modern. The rooms have air condition and a fridge. A huge shower. TV with over 800 channels (a lot of international channels), the Wifi works great, no problems at all!!! The hotel is in the city center, but it is very quiet, as the rooms do not look out to the street. The staff is really, really friendly and helpful, they pick you up from the airport at any time and bring you back to the airport at any time. The price for one night is cheap, I paid 33 Euros for one night. If you any questions, let me know!!

Good luck to everybody!! I will be leaving Serbia in 4 days!

This sounds great, thank you! To anyone who has been in Belgrade - what is the city like (it sounds pretty interesting!) and are many things open? Like - are people sightseeing, are restaurants open and stuff or does it feel more so a place to just bunker down for the 14 days? Thanks!

4 minutes ago, Kay & Evan said:

thank you!
I’m waiting for boarding to start. Checking in and baggage drop off took less than 5 minutes! 
they asked me if I have been in the schengen zone the past 2 weeks and I said no, then she found the stamp in my passport from when I entered Serbia which was 16 days ago and she laughed and say oh way longer and that was it. 
When entering the departures area at the police passport check they stamped my passport next to my entry stamp with an exit one and said nothing to me. 
then before entering the gate they did another passport check. He just looked at my visa took a note and gave it back to me. My flight is Packed and the only stressful thing so far is that there is too many people around me! Of all the people in my flight I haven’t seen anyone facing issues when they check their passports. 

I will update with hopefully good news from New York 

Good luck!!! Rooting for you!

Hello everyone - I wondered if anyone had any accomodations in both Mexico and Serbia that they had had good experiences with and would be willing to share? Inching my way closer to bravery! Thanks all as usual for your generosity and insight!

On 6/19/2020 at 12:22 PM, Xurxo r said:

Me, and a Polite Parrot came from Croatia to Serbia to catch the flight from Belgrade tomorrow, and we had no problems crossing the Serbian border. So that’s another positive data point!

Did you make it to the US? I hope you're safe and well there now!

4 hours ago, A Polite Parrot said:

Belgrade to New York uodate: JFK still sucks but I entered on a K1. 🎉 it's straight forward to enter if you can work out spending 14 days outside of the restricted countries.

 

At Air Serbia's Belgrade check-in may have a wait because Air Serbia is reviewing your visa and where you where the last 14 days at check-in. It looks like most of the passengers were visa holders with many doing what we are all trying here in this thread. Air Serbia check-in asked if we have boarding passes to proove we were not in the travel restricted countries since we didn't have a stamp from exiting Schengen area into Croatia. Therefore I would suggest saving your boarding passes if you haven't already been doing it or at least print out a digital copy.

 

JFK was Kafkaesque as per usual.

Angry staff, conflicting instructions, confusing layout even with the new redesign, some flights got CDC checks, when I was sent to the room for K1 visa review only to hear other people being ushed out - it sounded like they were being denied entry, baggagecclaim took 40 minutes to completely unload the flight omto the belts, etc.

 

BCP didn't ask me or some of the other passengers anything of real substance,  or even look through your Visa-Consulate package. When asked where I was the past 14 days they didn't even ask for proof. (the opposite of flight check-in). CBP asks if you were screened by CDC. Dependingoon the officer you were told not to worry and they stamped you in, but other officers ushered us into a room where some folks casually asks where you were 14 days prior. When I responded with Croatia and Serbia, one guy said something to the effect of "That's one of the good countries" and told me to go back to CBP.

 

In other words it was as smooth as usual.

 

You should be able to book directly with Air Serbia.

 

Use Google Flights to search for flights if you have trouble. I was able to find a connecting flight from ZAG to BEG to JFK which Air Serbia's website wouldn't show me unless I had Google Flights link me to the flights. I even called Air Serbia and they had issues but once the flights were paid I called to confirm and everything was recorded in their database. 🤔

 

CBP or private security? Many US-bound flights have a private security firm screening passengers when they go for check-in. They will also be part of the (random?) carry on check while you are waiting at the gate.

 

The security theater is unreal for the US.

Congratulations!!! So happy to hear you made it through.

Did it look like it was other visa holders from your flight trying what you were who were being denied entry or others? 

I'm sure you're happy to have the stress over and done with - wishing you a restful Sunday! Congrats again!

2 minutes ago, A Polite Parrot said:

 

If you’re passport is from an EU country I believe Serbia will stamp you upon admittance but Croatia won’t because it’s part of the EU. That’s what happened to us when we entered Croatia and later Serbia.

 

We will fly to the US tomorrow and In preparation, we have printed receipts, including our registered stay in Croatia from our airbnb hosts (they required in a similar way that Serbia is) and the original boarding passes to prove our non-schengen trip. We’ll post here how it goes and if we needed any of our documents.

Thank you for the insight and best of luck! Rooting for you both!

58 minutes ago, Kay & Evan said:

Hi! I’m in Serbia and I have a stamp on my passport to prove it. My hotel also registered me with the police (something they All automatically do) anD gave me a copy that shows the address of the hotel the dates I’m staying there my name and passport number as well as date of birth. So if you come here and you ask your hotel you will have two ways of proving it. The “White paper” as they call it form the Police and the passport stamp 

Thank you so much!

Another question - I've gone through most of this entire thread and it seems like most people if they've got to Mexico / their third country have made it into the US (great news!). Does anyone know of anyone who didn't at all - or faced issues? (Not trying to bring the tone down). Thank you for your help!

On 6/18/2020 at 12:20 AM, Kay & Evan said:

I’ve been here since the 11th! Food drink transportation is very cheap! You can have a decent meal with like 10 euros or even less. Supermarket is cheap too. People are very nice and friendly, most people speak enough english to communicate. You can order food with wolt application (menus in English). Cargo is a taxi application to use. You can also ask the hotel restaurants etc to call you a taxi. The pink company is the cheapest one (here taxis are 4 private companies and have differences in prices). It is advised not to take taxis from the street or the airport cause they charge way too much for tourists. 
people are wearing masks and there is antiseptic hell everywhere. 
There are a lot of exchange desks in the city with better rates than the airport so keep that in mind too. 
The castle is very nice to visit.

Zdravo is hello and hvala is thank you!

good luck to your fiancé! 

Hello! Newbie deep in this thread! Gradually feeling emboldened by you guys so thank you for sharing. Question to people who have gone the Croatia or Serbia route - did you get a stamp in your passport? Or it scanned? Basically how do you intend to prove to authorities that you have done the 14 full 24 hour periods out of Schengen? Thank you and good luck!