Moldova attracts tourists with its picturesque nature, surprisingly cordial, gentle people and reasonable prices. But, despite the apparent availability, you still need to know some of the rules for crossing the border.
To Moldova - with or without a passport?
Despite the fact that Russia and the Republic of Moldova are bound by strong cultural and economic relations, it has not yet been possible to reach the agreements that were previously in force with Ukraine.
Therefore, in order to get to the territory of the country, you will still need a passport - you will not be able to cross the border with an all-Russian passport.
On the other hand, residents of the Russian Federation are spared the unnecessary money and time costs of obtaining a visa.
You can get to Moldova by train or plane. The flight duration will be about 2 hours, and the train journey will take about a day.
Russians, along with Canadians, Norwegians, Americans, Japanese, Icelanders, Israelis, Azerbaijanis, Belarusians, Armenians, Georgians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Uzbeks and residents of all countries of the European Union, will not need a visa. But only if the total duration of stay on the territory of the republic does not exceed 90 days.
If the required time of stay in Moldova exceeds this period, you still have to go to the embassy to apply for a visa. The second important nuance is the validity period of the passport. By the time the trip starts, the validity period must be at least 180 days.
Due to the state of the roads, it is not worth driving to Moldova. And if there is no other option, you should be extremely careful.
A few words about Transnistria
It is important to know that these rules apply to the entire territory of Moldova, except for its southeastern region. Back in 1990, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) declared itself independent from Moldova, and in the 2006 referendum, 97% of the inhabitants of Pridnestrovie spoke in favor of joining Russia.
All international organizations called the referendum illegitimate and did not agree with its results. As of 2011, the independence of Transnistria was recognized only in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nevertheless, in order to get to the territory of the PMR, you will also need a passport. If the time of stay within the borders of Transnistria is more than 10 hours, it will be necessary to fill out a migration card by paying a symbolic fee. The duty can be paid in several currencies: Russian rubles, Moldovan lei, hryvnia or Transnistrian rubles.
In any case, Moldovan and Pridnestrovian customs regulations do not impose any strict requirements on Russian citizens, so crossing the border is unlikely to bring any uncomfortable feelings.
