Whereasthe Embassy of the State of Qatar in the Russian Federation is keen to facilitate travel, residence and protection of its citizens from any difficulties or obstacles that may be encountered during their travel, thus, it provides some important guidance to assist citizens if they wish to travel to the Russian Federation:
• Ensure that the passport is valid for at least six months.
• Citizens holding diplomatic passports do not need a visa. However, citizens holding special or normal passports must obtain visas in advance from the nearest Russian embassy. Note that Qatari nationals who cross the free crossing point in the city of Vladivostok, can get an electronic visa valid for 30 days and residence for 8 days, starting as from August 1st. 2017.
• Adhere to the laws and regulations of the host country, comply with travel requirements and international aviation regulations and do not carry prohibited substances.
• If non-Qatari staff and domestic workers are accompanied, the sponsor must inquire about the visas and procedures to be followed in this regard.
• Do not carry more than $ 10,000 at the airport. If the citizen is forced to carry a larger sum, he must declare it when he arrives at the airport (by going through the checkpoint in red) before passing through the checkpoint in green. Because if the security men discovered that, or even if the citizen admitted to the employee, after passing the green point, the amount in his possession, the citizen will be required to pay a fine, regardless of the delay and interrogation during the inspection.
• No passport or ID card should be lodged with any party in any way.
• It is preferable not to carry gold jewelry and valuables during travel; otherwise keep them in safe places.
• Take care of children in gatherings and markets.
• In the event of any problem (God forbid), you should expedite to notify the embassy and inform the officials about the problem.
• Do not allow the security services of the host country inspect the place of your residence without inspection warrant issued by the competent authorities.
• If you are investigated in any case, the mission must be informed immediately.
• Check the official status of people who ask you to show your identity.
• Keep copies of your passport and identity card for your reference when you check your embassy in the event of a passport loss.
• The embassy strongly recommends that all citizens maintain their passports as they are official documents which the regime requires to be preserved and not to be lodged for any purpose nor handed over to any person for the purpose of proving the identity.
• It is preferable not to carry large amounts of cash; better to use credit cards instead to avoid theft.
• Do not respond to people who inquire about your nationality or those who ask you to present your ID before confirming their official status.
• If the aim of your visit is to do some business (holding talks with Russian companies or entering into contracts and others) try to review the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the mission to ensure the safety of these companies so as not to fall victim to fraud and forgery. It is importance to consult a lawyer before concluding any contract.
• If you want to buy a property, you must be sure that the competent authorities keep a proper official record for such property and it is free of any dispute.
• If you want to rent a car from an office, make sure that the car insurance company is a licensed company, so as to avoid problems during traffic accidents (God forbid), and ask the car rental office about the latest most important traffic laws of the city in which you will drive, as (laws, fines and traffic violations change permanently). For example, the fine of using mobile phone while driving is 1500 rubles; equivalent to $ 28, the fine of non-compliance with child safety rules is 3000 rubles; equivalent to $ 52, driving under alcohol effect is a violation amounts to 30000 rubles fine; equivalent to $ 525 beside the confiscation of the driving license for a period of one to two years. Thus, you must adhere to the rules of the traffic system as well as the speed limits to avoid legal liability and financial fines. For your information, you must have an international driving license.
• The currency used in the Russian Federation is the "ruble", where there are exchange offices in all places for the (dollar, euro and other currencies). However, the Qatari riyal can not be exchanged in Russia. Below, is the link of the official website of the Central Bank of Russia, to learn about the exchange rates according to the date:
http://www.cbr.ru/eng/currency_base/daily.aspx?date_req=23.05.2017
•The language used in the country is "Russian".