Visas, insurance, vehicle docs and all that bumf
The following notes have been compiled prior to travel. Updates are added and dated with experience, sometimes on other pages. The main aim here is as a guide to others who might go the same way one day soon. A lot of the points originate from our own research and personal enquiries made to those who should know but a lot also comes from documented or Internet sources, so might be out of date. Check it all if you want to be sure.
The single best advice we would give anyone wanting to do a similar trip, is to start planning early. Only two weeks before we departed we were discovering new bureaucratic requirements which required us to radically change our outline plan and that's with working on it all for over a year!
Visas
For the out and return routes outlined elsewhere on this site, UK nationals need visas only for Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
Russia
Visas are a bit of a problem mainly because the UK
Government makes problems for Russians wanting visas to visit UK. You can get a visa for a holiday in Russia for up to 30 days quite cheaply and you can go in and out of Russia twice in that time. Quick transits visas are reputedly available if you are going directly through the country on the way to another. We soon realised that our plan to go in and out of Russia at least three times over 4-5 months was going to be a problem visa-wise. We discovered that the only way we could do this was a six month multi-entry business visa that would be expensive. We also found out that there are many agents out there who will promise to get you any visa but often have poor knowledge of the system and provide all kinds of false advice. We were quite perplexed by what we were told but after we contacted Real Russia Ltd www.realrussia.co.uk/ which is recommended by the Lonely Planet website www.lonelyplanet.com/ we started to get good clear advice. The visa has to be arranged in UK before departure, you do not need a hotel booking in Russia as some sites claim. Real Russia Ltd will advise you very comprehensively on the timing of visas and keep you up to date with the progress of your application, which is very reassuring.
There are special requirements in some regions, for example the Altai region www.waytorussia.net/Altay/ and if you stay more than seven days in one place you will need to register your stay with the authorities. For a business visa there is also a requirement to show that you are financially solvent and this may mean you have to produce bank statements showing you have at least £3000, from three months before your departure to the time of departure. You might need to plan ahead for this.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has similar rules to Russian for visas (but not so expensive), tourist visas are valid for 30 days single entry or 60 days double entry. You can go out and come back in during that time but you cannot come back in after 60 days or twice www.kazembassy.org.uk/ . You need to arrange the visa in UK before departure and it cannot be extended on route or in the country. Pity as we were thinking it would be nice to dip into Kazakhstan again on the return. However we have also been told that we might be able to arrange a revisit visa for Kazakhstan in Mongolia. Watch this space.
Stan Tours based in Almaty specialises in visas for all the countries in the region and it would be helpful to contact them at an early stage of planning for advice. We hope to use their services for the Mongolian visa. http://www.stantours.com
Russian procedures relatively straightforward, show passport, show policemen the inside of a Tab. You then drive about 10 km to the Kazakhstan border. At the Kaz border there is confusion and no one speaks English. You need to collect an immigration card from a booth at the first gate and a little slip of paper which has your vehicle number on it. The customs men have a look over the Tab with some bemusement. Then the driver goes to one window with the vehicle papers (International Vehicle card is what they want - it includes a Russian page, they do not bother with the V5) and passport. Carol happened to be driving when we got to the border. Passengers go to a completely different building for passport checks etc. The driver returns to the car and meets the passengers the other side. You pick up another little piece of paper which is handed to the guy on the final gate. Keep the stamped immigration slip safe.
Mongolia
Visas are relatively cheap and can be bought in the country before you reach Mongolia overland. (For example Almaty, Kazakhstan or Barnaul, Irkutsk or Ulaan Ude in Russia. They are valid for 30 days with a 30 day extension www.embassyofmongolia.co.uk/ .
We plan to get our visa in Almaty and enter Mongolia through the Russian Altai region.
We understand that some sort of vehicle import permit is required, for those travelling by road, to enter Mongolia. We are trying to find out more about this before departure but it seems to be form filling at the border and a smallish charge. It is more expensive if you leave your vehicle in Mongolia.
Car Insurance
Most UK insurance companies cover you in the EU countries and certain other parts of 'Europe'. They usually do not cover you in Ukraine, Russia and eastwards. You should check with your insurance company how long you have cover for in Europe. Sometimes it is only three days and you have to pay extra for longer. Sometimes you have a couple of weeks at no extra cost. Or you might only be covered for 'third party' outside UK. All our research suggests that you need to keep legal at all times, to not have the right insurance cover may create bureaucratic problems if not ones of liability.
Ukraine (Updated 10 May)
It is essential to have insurance cover whilst driving in Ukraine and this is the first thing the police ask for when they stop you. Many UK insurance companies cover you for Ukraine but many others do not. You must check your status with you insurers before you leave. If you are not covered you can arrange it on entry to the country.
Russia (Updated 10 May)
As for Ukraine you must have it and your UK insurance unlikely to cover you. Insurance can be arranged at the border. The minimum period of cover is 15 days and this cost us $70 on the Russian side of the Ukraine border. (The same insurance would have cost us £150 on the Ukraine side!!!)
Kazakhstan (Updated 10 May)
We were able to purchase insurance for the vehicle in a small booth just over the border into Kazakhstan. It cost $25 for 8 weeks. We have no idea what it covers but its probably the very basic 3rd party. Anyhow a better deal than Russian insurance.
Mongolia No details yet.
Caravan insurance
Not available outside of Europe to our knowledge.
Vehicle Rescue
Some automobile clubs offer a get-you-home-service from Europe. Check out what is available. Britannia Rescue, who we are with, say they will provide a relay service to all areas west of the Urals. It is almost tempting to break down in Volgograd just to see how the system works! You can just imagine the excuses for taking four weeks to get there.
Returning with your vehicle to UK
If your insurance, road tax or MOT has run out whilst you were away then you are not legally permitted to drive on UK roads on your return and you would also be illegally on the road throughout Europe. (If you show UK registration plates on your vehicle and it is not legal in UK then it is not legal in Mongolia either). In our case the MOT, road tax and insurance was due to run out in July. We therefore needed have a new MOT before departure in February and to retax the vehicle at that time. (You can claim back the unused part of the tax disc if you explain things to DVLA www.dvla.gov.uk/ ). Insurance is not quite so straightforward unless you change insurance companies and start a new policy. Check out solutions with your insurers.
Driving rules and regulations
The following websites might be helpful reading for those driving for the first time in the countries along the route;
Russia:
International Certificate of Motor Vehicles
You must get one of these from the AA in UK to use your vehicle in Russia. http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/icmv.html
Driving licenses
Your UK license is essential so don't forget it. Also get an International Driving Permit through the AA in UK http://www.theaa.com/getaway/idp/index.html . It has your details in several languages including Russian.
Vehicle Docs
Keep your vehicle registration document handy at all times. Police stops and checks are likely to be common by all accounts.
Health Requirements
Apparently Bubonic Plague is still endemic in Mongolia. Its spread by fleas and you mainly catch it from eating poorly cooked marmots from street vendors or mixing with marmot hunters. (Marmots = ground squirrels, very tasty we understand!) You can also get it from unpasteurised milk. But that's not the main worry. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a problem from eastern Europe all the way to Mongolia, so is rabies and Hepatitis A and B. You are advised to get the usual polio, typhoid etc. jabs. You can get free vaccinations against most common health risks from your doctor but you have to pay for TBE, rabies and Hep B and they are expensive - about £500 per person for the set, most involve 2-3 jabs to get the required level of immunity. Ideally visit your GP at least 8 months before departure so you can discuss your requirements. Alternatively you could contact MASTA directly www.masta-travel-health.com/ . We did not start early enough for the full set of TBE jabs but we understand you get 90% immunity from just two jabs.
Although mosquitoes can be a problem and a health risk (e.g. West Nile Fever) at least there is no malaria in the region.
Note that if you are going to be travelling for longer than 1-2 months and take prescription drugs you will need to discuss with your GP how you can get adequate supplies. Some doctors do not give more than 2 months supply from the NHS, so you will need to get a private prescription for the balance of your needs.
NB If you have been to sub-Saharan Africa recently (e.g. stamps in your passport) you need to have a valid yellow fever certificate with you at some borders.
Personal travel and health insurance
We got our travel, personal effects and health insurance through Master Policy www.masterpolicy.co.uk/ which was the best deal we could find.
Make sure you have plenty of copies of all your important documents and photos and make arrangements so that you can get further copies if you need them. (e.g. send an email to yourself with attachments.)
The following notes have been compiled prior to travel. Updates are added and dated with experience, sometimes on other pages. The main aim here is as a guide to others who might go the same way one day soon. A lot of the points originate from our own research and personal enquiries made to those who should know but a lot also comes from documented or Internet sources, so might be out of date. Check it all if you want to be sure.
The single best advice we would give anyone wanting to do a similar trip, is to start planning early. Only two weeks before we departed we were discovering new bureaucratic requirements which required us to radically change our outline plan and that's with working on it all for over a year!
Visas
For the out and return routes outlined elsewhere on this site, UK nationals need visas only for Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
Russia
Visas are a bit of a problem mainly because the UK
Government makes problems for Russians wanting visas to visit UK. You can get a visa for a holiday in Russia for up to 30 days quite cheaply and you can go in and out of Russia twice in that time. Quick transits visas are reputedly available if you are going directly through the country on the way to another. We soon realised that our plan to go in and out of Russia at least three times over 4-5 months was going to be a problem visa-wise. We discovered that the only way we could do this was a six month multi-entry business visa that would be expensive. We also found out that there are many agents out there who will promise to get you any visa but often have poor knowledge of the system and provide all kinds of false advice. We were quite perplexed by what we were told but after we contacted Real Russia Ltd www.realrussia.co.uk/ which is recommended by the Lonely Planet website www.lonelyplanet.com/ we started to get good clear advice. The visa has to be arranged in UK before departure, you do not need a hotel booking in Russia as some sites claim. Real Russia Ltd will advise you very comprehensively on the timing of visas and keep you up to date with the progress of your application, which is very reassuring.
There are special requirements in some regions, for example the Altai region www.waytorussia.net/Altay/ and if you stay more than seven days in one place you will need to register your stay with the authorities. For a business visa there is also a requirement to show that you are financially solvent and this may mean you have to produce bank statements showing you have at least £3000, from three months before your departure to the time of departure. You might need to plan ahead for this.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has similar rules to Russian for visas (but not so expensive), tourist visas are valid for 30 days single entry or 60 days double entry. You can go out and come back in during that time but you cannot come back in after 60 days or twice www.kazembassy.org.uk/ . You need to arrange the visa in UK before departure and it cannot be extended on route or in the country. Pity as we were thinking it would be nice to dip into Kazakhstan again on the return. However we have also been told that we might be able to arrange a revisit visa for Kazakhstan in Mongolia. Watch this space.
Stan Tours based in Almaty specialises in visas for all the countries in the region and it would be helpful to contact them at an early stage of planning for advice. We hope to use their services for the Mongolian visa. http://www.stantours.com
Border procedures (Updated 10 May)
Russia - Kazakhstan (Astrakhan - Atrirau)
Russian procedures relatively straightforward, show passport, show policemen the inside of a Tab. You then drive about 10 km to the Kazakhstan border. At the Kaz border there is confusion and no one speaks English. You need to collect an immigration card from a booth at the first gate and a little slip of paper which has your vehicle number on it. The customs men have a look over the Tab with some bemusement. Then the driver goes to one window with the vehicle papers (International Vehicle card is what they want - it includes a Russian page, they do not bother with the V5) and passport. Carol happened to be driving when we got to the border. Passengers go to a completely different building for passport checks etc. The driver returns to the car and meets the passengers the other side. You pick up another little piece of paper which is handed to the guy on the final gate. Keep the stamped immigration slip safe.
Mongolia
Visas are relatively cheap and can be bought in the country before you reach Mongolia overland. (For example Almaty, Kazakhstan or Barnaul, Irkutsk or Ulaan Ude in Russia. They are valid for 30 days with a 30 day extension www.embassyofmongolia.co.uk/ .
We plan to get our visa in Almaty and enter Mongolia through the Russian Altai region.
We understand that some sort of vehicle import permit is required, for those travelling by road, to enter Mongolia. We are trying to find out more about this before departure but it seems to be form filling at the border and a smallish charge. It is more expensive if you leave your vehicle in Mongolia.
Car Insurance
Most UK insurance companies cover you in the EU countries and certain other parts of 'Europe'. They usually do not cover you in Ukraine, Russia and eastwards. You should check with your insurance company how long you have cover for in Europe. Sometimes it is only three days and you have to pay extra for longer. Sometimes you have a couple of weeks at no extra cost. Or you might only be covered for 'third party' outside UK. All our research suggests that you need to keep legal at all times, to not have the right insurance cover may create bureaucratic problems if not ones of liability.
Ukraine (Updated 10 May)
It is essential to have insurance cover whilst driving in Ukraine and this is the first thing the police ask for when they stop you. Many UK insurance companies cover you for Ukraine but many others do not. You must check your status with you insurers before you leave. If you are not covered you can arrange it on entry to the country.
Russia (Updated 10 May)
As for Ukraine you must have it and your UK insurance unlikely to cover you. Insurance can be arranged at the border. The minimum period of cover is 15 days and this cost us $70 on the Russian side of the Ukraine border. (The same insurance would have cost us £150 on the Ukraine side!!!)
Kazakhstan (Updated 10 May)
We were able to purchase insurance for the vehicle in a small booth just over the border into Kazakhstan. It cost $25 for 8 weeks. We have no idea what it covers but its probably the very basic 3rd party. Anyhow a better deal than Russian insurance.
Mongolia No details yet.
Caravan insurance
Not available outside of Europe to our knowledge.
Vehicle Rescue
Some automobile clubs offer a get-you-home-service from Europe. Check out what is available. Britannia Rescue, who we are with, say they will provide a relay service to all areas west of the Urals. It is almost tempting to break down in Volgograd just to see how the system works! You can just imagine the excuses for taking four weeks to get there.
Returning with your vehicle to UK
If your insurance, road tax or MOT has run out whilst you were away then you are not legally permitted to drive on UK roads on your return and you would also be illegally on the road throughout Europe. (If you show UK registration plates on your vehicle and it is not legal in UK then it is not legal in Mongolia either). In our case the MOT, road tax and insurance was due to run out in July. We therefore needed have a new MOT before departure in February and to retax the vehicle at that time. (You can claim back the unused part of the tax disc if you explain things to DVLA www.dvla.gov.uk/ ). Insurance is not quite so straightforward unless you change insurance companies and start a new policy. Check out solutions with your insurers.
Driving rules and regulations
The following websites might be helpful reading for those driving for the first time in the countries along the route;
Russia:
International Certificate of Motor Vehicles
You must get one of these from the AA in UK to use your vehicle in Russia. http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/icmv.html
Driving licenses
Your UK license is essential so don't forget it. Also get an International Driving Permit through the AA in UK http://www.theaa.com/getaway/idp/index.html . It has your details in several languages including Russian.
Vehicle Docs
Keep your vehicle registration document handy at all times. Police stops and checks are likely to be common by all accounts.
Health Requirements
Apparently Bubonic Plague is still endemic in Mongolia. Its spread by fleas and you mainly catch it from eating poorly cooked marmots from street vendors or mixing with marmot hunters. (Marmots = ground squirrels, very tasty we understand!) You can also get it from unpasteurised milk. But that's not the main worry. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a problem from eastern Europe all the way to Mongolia, so is rabies and Hepatitis A and B. You are advised to get the usual polio, typhoid etc. jabs. You can get free vaccinations against most common health risks from your doctor but you have to pay for TBE, rabies and Hep B and they are expensive - about £500 per person for the set, most involve 2-3 jabs to get the required level of immunity. Ideally visit your GP at least 8 months before departure so you can discuss your requirements. Alternatively you could contact MASTA directly www.masta-travel-health.com/ . We did not start early enough for the full set of TBE jabs but we understand you get 90% immunity from just two jabs.
Although mosquitoes can be a problem and a health risk (e.g. West Nile Fever) at least there is no malaria in the region.
Note that if you are going to be travelling for longer than 1-2 months and take prescription drugs you will need to discuss with your GP how you can get adequate supplies. Some doctors do not give more than 2 months supply from the NHS, so you will need to get a private prescription for the balance of your needs.
NB If you have been to sub-Saharan Africa recently (e.g. stamps in your passport) you need to have a valid yellow fever certificate with you at some borders.
Personal travel and health insurance
We got our travel, personal effects and health insurance through Master Policy www.masterpolicy.co.uk/ which was the best deal we could find.
Make sure you have plenty of copies of all your important documents and photos and make arrangements so that you can get further copies if you need them. (e.g. send an email to yourself with attachments.)
Very helpful advice and great reading too, many thanks and good luck with the trip, sure it'll be the adventure of a life time...
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