Limits of US Dollar for a Citizen to Bring Into Russia

[LouK]

The old limits were a non-citizen could bring in $10,000 and a Russian citizen could bring in $3,000. Now that Russia is hungry for foreign currencies, have these limits changed?

Does anyone know the limit of how many US dollars a Russian citizen can bring into Russia without declaring?

[Gipsy]

The old limits were a non-citizen could bring in $10,000 and a Russian citizen could bring in $3,000. Now that Russia is hungry for foreign currencies, have these limits changed?

Does anyone know the limit of how many US dollars a Russian citizen can bring into Russia without declaring?

10,000$

[BC]

https://www.emta.ee/en/private-client/consignments-travel-settlement/travel/declaration-cash#restriction

[Danchik]

I finally had a chance to travel back the the US without any restrictions in January, e.g covid, travel bans, etc.

Travel out of and into Russia can be complicated and expensive depending on how far in advance you book, what routing you choose and the season you travel.

I tried a new route this time; Moscow - St Pitersburg by train (Sapsan), St Pitersburg - Helsinki by bus, Helsinki - LA by air.

Moscow to Piter was routine as usual (4hrs), but our bus was stopped 3 times before we reached the Russian/Finnish border by armed soldiers checking passengers' passports. When we arrived at the first border check, the driver asked that all American and British citizens (not EU strangely enough) exit first and then the Russians followed.

I was surprised to see that 8 of us exited the bus.

Crossing the border went relatively smoothly and we were able to transition both borders in less than 2 hours. Total time to Helsinki from Piter was about 7 1/2 hours.

About carrying money in and out, something to note. I was asked how much money I had on me when I exited Russia, but not when I came back and reentered the country.

Maybe because it was a vehicle check point and not the airport, or maybe because they're not that concerned about dollars following in, but it was a bit surprising as well.

$10K usd is the limit, so I'm not sure if it was just happenstance, or they have become less restrictive in carrying out their procedures.

FYI, it couldn't have been easier to reenter Russian as an American.

[Contrarian]

I finally had a chance to travel back the the US without any restrictions in January, e.g covid, travel bans, etc.

Travel out of and into Russia can be complicated and expensive depending on how far in advance you book, what routing you choose and the season you travel.

I tried a new route this time; Moscow - St Pitersburg by train (Sapsan), St Pitersburg - Helsinki by bus, Helsinki - LA by air.

Moscow to Piter was routine as usual (4hrs), but our bus was stopped 3 times before we reached the Russian/Finnish border by armed soldiers checking passengers' passports. When we arrived at the first border check, the driver asked that all American and British citizens (not EU strangely enough) exit first and then the Russians followed.

I was surprised to see that 8 of us exited the bus.

Crossing the border went relatively smoothly and we were able to transition both borders in less than 2 hours. Total time to Helsinki from Piter was about 7 1/2 hours.

About carrying money in and out, something to note. I was asked how much money I had on me when I exited Russia, but not when I came back and reentered the country.

Maybe because it was a vehicle check point and not the airport, or maybe because they're not that concerned about dollars following in, but it was a bit surprising as well.

$10K usd is the limit, so I'm not sure if it was just happenstance, or they have become less restrictive in carrying out their procedures.

FYI, it couldn't have been easier to reenter Russian as an American.

Very interesting.

Did you travel back to Russia the same way? About how much is a RT flight from LA to Helsinki? About how much were the total travel costs?

[Danchik]

I finally had a chance to travel back the the US without any restrictions in January, e.g covid, travel bans, etc.

Travel out of and into Russia can be complicated and expensive depending on how far in advance you book, what routing you choose and the season you travel.

I tried a new route this time; Moscow - St Pitersburg by train (Sapsan), St Pitersburg - Helsinki by bus, Helsinki - LA by air.

Moscow to Piter was routine as usual (4hrs), but our bus was stopped 3 times before we reached the Russian/Finnish border by armed soldiers checking passengers' passports. When we arrived at the first border check, the driver asked that all American and British citizens (not EU strangely enough) exit first and then the Russians followed.

I was surprised to see that 8 of us exited the bus.

Crossing the border went relatively smoothly and we were able to transition both borders in less than 2 hours. Total time to Helsinki from Piter was about 7 1/2 hours.

About carrying money in and out, something to note. I was asked how much money I had on me when I exited Russia, but not when I came back and reentered the country.

Maybe because it was a vehicle check point and not the airport, or maybe because they're not that concerned about dollars following in, but it was a bit surprising as well.

$10K usd is the limit, so I'm not sure if it was just happenstance, or they have become less restrictive in carrying out their procedures.

FYI, it couldn't have been easier to reenter Russian as an American.

Very interesting.

Did you travel back to Russia the same way? About how much is a RT flight from LA to Helsinki? About how much were the total travel costs?

Yes.

I flew with Finnair and one unexpected benefit was the plane was only about 2/3 full if that, so I had the whole row and slept most of the way back. Very nice.

Finnair is an OK airline, not bad overall. I would have zero problem flying with them again.

I flew during the Russian New Year holidays, so it was a bit more than usual. Flights LA - HEL can be had for around $500 usd in winter. A bit more coming from Russia during the holidays (jan. 1 - 10).

I left Moscow at 7am on 5th January and arrived in LA 7pm on the 6th. 48hrs travelling counting the time difference.

I had an overnight layover in Helsinki on my way to LA and stayed at a hotel not far from the airport ($70) as the bus got in 4hrs after the flight departed. A 6 hr layover on my way back. I also had a chance to spent some time in the center of Helsinki and would mind hanging for a couple of days should I take this trip again in autumn. 

I like Helsinki. It is somewhat English friendly as well.

Bus fare was 110 euros (Lux Express) RT and Sapsan/Russian Railways (high speed train) around $80 usd RT. 

If I were to go next year and leave after 15th January, I could probably get out under $1000 usd total for travelling expenses train/bus/plane, although I might hire a driver next time.

IOW, you get priority and go straight to the front of the lines at passport control and customs when you cross.

Considering all other options, it's not a bad way to go, especially if you're in Europe. Fly to Helsinki, hire a drive to Russia and cut you wait time crossing the borders by 90% as cars take precedence over buses all for about the same price (prices may vary).

Turkey, of course, is another viable option, but I saved $1500 going through Helsinki, even through the travel time through Turkey is quicker.

I wanted to experience this trip and get a feel for it, so I wasn't too concerned about travel time.

Traveling is not that convenient for Russians these days (even though it's getting a bit better), so it's not unusual for Russians to plan a little 2-3 day stint in one of the transfer cities, e.g. Istanbul, Helsinki, Dubai, and enjoy some of that flavour.

Something I hopefully will be doing in the future.

[Contrarian]

Thank you. I find it very interesting that Turkey costs $1500 more, yet as far as I know most take that route. Helsinki seems like a wonderful place to visit someday!