Embassy report: Russian Transit Visa in Ulaanbaatar

[Joax]

Hi,

Just wanted to post, maybe some of you have been / are in the same situation.
We sent an e-mail to the Russian embassy in Ulaanbaatar, but don't expect an answer.

We booked long time ago our returning flight home from Moscow to Brussels on the 20th of July.
We were planning to take the Transsiberian express from UB as that's our last destination. We now figured out that the only train connecting to that flight is the one that leaves Ulaanbaatar on the 13th July and arrives in Moscow at the 17th July. Therefor we are planning to ask a transitvisa of 8 days in Ulaanbaatar. Would that be risky?

We'll keep you up to date.

Cheers
Joke

[Tobbe]

hey friends. iam a cyclist and currently in beijing. i tried to get a russian 30 day tourist Visa here. i have a german passport. it seems not possible. but a10 day transit is possible even though they need all kinds if informations.
however I thought it might be easier in Ulsan bator. has anybody recent informations if I get a Russian 10 day transit visa in UB????

[Joax]

We went to the UB Russian embassy on Monday 18/6/2018 and Wednesday 20/6/2018.
A French couple and a Swedish couple tried to apply for a tourist visa but their demand was denied. They were told only transitvisa was possible.

We applied on Wednesday - arrived at 9am but not allowed to go in before 10am.
Travel route: Train in UB on 13/7, crossing border to Russia 14/7, arrival Moskou 17/7, outbound flight from Moskou 19/7.
Transit visa for 6 days was granted. Only 2 overnights was possible in Moskou.
Pick up visa was 25/6. Payment: with a voucher you go to the bank (TDB) and make the payment (92USD for 2pax)

Many other possibilities to spend overnight, f.eg.the Swedish couple are spending their overnights in St-Petersburg because they take a night train from Moskou to St-Petersburg.

Hope this is helpful information.
I took as well picture of the documents on the information board in the embassy but I can't attach it.

[JeremieCom]

Hi! just for info.

I went to the Russian embassy in UB end of June 2018 for a Russian transit visa.The guys behind the desk are still really nice. It's now open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 12pm but the desk seems to open at 10am. 12-12:30 pm to pick up your passport 4-5 days after. You need to go to a specific bank 10min walk from there to make a transfer the same day (45USD for Belgian citizen).

I got a 6 days transit visa with 2 nights stop at Irkutsk to see the lac Baikal and after, direction Petropavl in Kazakhstan (transit visa : one stop max possible to change transport, max 2 nights). It's definitively cheaper to buy your international train ticket yourself at the train station in UB and the one inside Russia on the official Russian railway website (all in English now). No need to see an agency...

Thanks to this community to share and gather such useful information and enjoy your trips!

[big.jim.v]

Applied for a transit visa with a motorcycle from Ulgii, MG to Semey, KZ July 2018 at the UB Russian embassy. JeremieCom is correct regarding new opening hours: Mon, Wed, Thurs 9-12 for submission, 12-12.30 for pick up
Documents required:
- passport photo
- printed copy of online visa application
- printed copy of travel insurance showing medical coverage in Russia
- originals (just to show, not for submission) AND one photocopy each for submission of vehicle registration and international drivers licence
- cover letter detailing reason for transit, dates required, cities to be visited, vehicle details (make, model, colour, licence plate, VIN number) - more detail the better we found...

We requested 7 days using "motorcycle maintenance in Barnaul" as our reason for extra days. This was accepted... Gives extra flexibility.

You need CASH USD to pay at the bank up the street. You don't need to return to the embassy with a receipt. They are informed automatically that you've paid.

We applied on Monday with the express service and received it on the Thursday

Hope this helps!

[saule]

2 Australians received transit visas through urgent service.

We now also went to the Russian embassy in Ulaan baatar and managed to get another transit visa from there. Quite easy, just we had to pay express service as for non Europeans it takes 20 working days to issue a visa and we only had 30 days in Mongolia. As Australians we paid 140 US and got it the next day.

[Lovetheworld]

We went to the UB Russian embassy on Monday 18/6/2018 and Wednesday 20/6/2018.
A French couple and a Swedish couple tried to apply for a tourist visa but their demand was denied. They were told only transitvisa was possible.

Strange, when we were there, a lot of French people were getting a tourist visa. We are Dutch amd also got a tourist visa here.
It depends on nationality but French should be ok.

[Katrin14]

Applied with a swedish and swiss passport at the Russian embassy. Applied on Monday and Viss is ready on Thursday. The cost was 45 dollars for Sweden and 80 dollars for Switzerland. They give you a slip and you have to pay at a nearby bank. We bought the tickets from Bayan Olgi to Astana at Ayan Travels. They have an office in Ulaanbaatar and you can go there and ask for the tickets or write an email. The price for the tickets was 100 dollars for two commission included.

Overall the whole process was not difficult and everybody was very nice.

[sank]

hello,

I just picked up transit visa at the embassy, smooth goings. Dutch passport, own transport (car).

I applied on Monday, and it was ready for pick up on Friday. However I picked the visa up on Monday and was told I had a problem. they lost my covering letter with had my car detail on it. gave them the details on the spot, and walked out within 10 minutes with a visa in hand. paid at an local bank 46 USD.

Opening hours are quite strict but well mention on the website, together with the documents you need. also I wrote an cover letter asking for 5 days 2 days more than what you would get if I was using the distance mentioned on the website. you are expected to drive 500km but I said a distance of 300 km a day is max for me. I drive slowly/touristy.

English spoken and very friendly people.

greetings, Sander

[clairemartin]

Just got my transit visa. Process was fine. I went last Friday and everything was shut, then saw on the gate that it was open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10-12. Weirdly I went to pick it up today (also Friday) and people were applying for a visa then. So I'm not sure whether it's open for applications on Friday or not!

I'm travelling by train, first Ulaanbaatar - Novosibirsk, I have just over 24 hours in Novosibirsk then to Astana . 5 days in total.

I went on Monday and needed the visa for Friday, my train to Russia leaves this afternoon. I was prepared to pay for urgent but they said it wasn't necessary and I could pick it up on Friday at 10am (normal pick up is noon). The woman who served me was very nice and helpful.

I had the form, tickets, an extra sheet with more travel history, hotel reservations and insurance. They only really looked at the form and tickets but I would still take the other stuff to be safe (I don't think hotel reservations are necessary but thought I'd take them anyway).

I also had to write a paragraph stating exactly what I was doing 'taking the train to x, arriving on x date, staying for x night, taking train to x on x date and leaving Russia on x'. I wrote this quickly at the booth while they were photocopying my tickets.

Then left passport there, got a slip to take to the bank and paid there. It cost $80 for a British passport (must pay in USD). Kept slip and reciept safe and took them back this morning. There was a bit of confusion about why I was there at 10 rather than 12 but eventually someone took my slip and reciept and came back with the passport.

There was a French guy who tried to get a tourist visa and was rejected while I was there, and a few people confirmed I was after a transit visa while waiting, so I don't think it's possible to get a tourist visa at the moment.

All in all, very good experience.