Passport control is a mandatory procedure when crossing state borders. The process does not take long. But in order not to miss your flight, it is better to know in advance how to go through passport control at the airport.
When crossing the Russian border
Passport control includes checking the documents that give you the right to fly to another country. Depending on the country visited, the list of documents may be different. General - this is the presence of a valid passport, but other documents may be required. For example, the presence of a Schengen visa for the countries of the Schengen agreement.
If only the mother travels with the child, the employee has the right to ask for a notarized permission from the father to take the child out of the country.
The passport control officer may ask you for a return ticket confirming your intention to return to the country, or ask you to show your hotel reservations.
Do not forget that at the passport control they check whether it is prohibited for you to leave the country by bailiffs.
If everything is in order, you will be stamped with departure.
More information about the documents can be found in the embassies of Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, travel agencies. Be sure to check for the latest changes to the rules, which happen quite often.
Upon returning to the territory of the Russian Federation, passport control is not so strict. They simply put a stamp on your entry back without additional questions.
When crossing a foreign border
What documents will be checked and what the passport control officer in another country will ask you upon arrival depends on the agreements between the states. Find out all the requirements in advance. In some countries, for example, they require a passport, which expires no later than six months after the trip. If there are even 5 months left until the expiration of your passport, and you arrived for 2 weeks, the airport employee has the right to refuse you entry.
Russia has agreements on visa-free stay with many states. This means that you can visit the specified country without a tourist visa. But you will be asked to fill out a special document, such as an immigration card.
If the visa is not a tourist visa, you may be asked for a whole package of documents. For example, with a work visa, they will ask for a work permit. Or if the visa is an educational one, they will ask for documents from the educational institution.
They may inquire about the purpose of the trip, also ask to show return tickets and hotel reservations, to confirm the availability of funds sufficient to stay in the country. If you do not have documents, you may be denied entry. If everything is in order, they will take your photo and put an arrival stamp indicating the date of arrival and the deadline for departure.
When you fly back to Russia, they simply put a departure stamp in your passport, and also check whether the period of stay in the country has been exceeded. If so, be prepared to pay a fine.
Often, passport control officers do not ask you to present all the necessary documents, but you should not hope for a chance. It is at passport control that passengers are denied entry or exit. Better to have a little more papers with you, and they will not be useful to you, than you miss your plane.
