My Passport and Visa story

I battled most of this year (2016) trying to organize visas for Russia, China, Mongolia and Tibet.
The "problem" is that I was wanting to apply for visas outside of Australia which is my current country of residence.

Russian Visa
My first opportunity to apply for a Russian visa was when I was in Romania.
Visas can only be applied for 3 months prior to arrival in many countries.
When I made inquiries from the Russian Embassy in Romania I was informed that it is impossible to get a visa other that from your country of origin.
After some investigation online I managed to find a Visa agency in Australia that could apply on my behalf to the Russian Embassy. I did not have to be physically in Australia just that my application documentation had to be submitted from Australia.
I couriered my documents to the agency and the person I was chatting with also said that I could apply for a China visa at the same time.
It was a great feeling to send off my package with both applications.
The agency had various services that you could pay for like checking all your documents, but I elected for no extras as I had fully reviewed all the requirements.
The documents arrived at the agency in Sydney a few days later and when I was told that I did not sign one of the application forms that was very frustrating as it was a silly mistake to make.
I was now in the middle of an Angloville training program in Busteni and I would have to wait a few days before I returned to Bucharest and could get to the courier again.
I was also told by the consultant in Sydney that received my package that because I was not physically in Australia that I could not apply for the Chinese visa.
The other consultant that I had been dealing with via email did not know this requirement.
I sent a new signed application to the agency but because I was no longer applying for a Chinese visa the delayed timing was still ok for my scheduled departure to Poland to another Angloville program.
It was 3 weeks before I would have my passport returned to me and know if my Russian visa application was successful.
I had proof of all the accommodation, transport and tours in Russia and China as required but still there is always the chance that I have done something wrong.
I was fortunate that for the next 3 weeks in my travel around Romania I only got stuck once with one hostel that would not accept the electronic copy of my passport on my iPad, but in that case they accepted my drivers licence as proof of identity.

Three weeks later I received my Australian passport complete with a Russian visa ...
One down ...

China Visa
Now that I had my Australian Passport I could now submit my application for a Chinese Passport to the Chinese Embassy in Bucharest Romania.
I had a lot of concerns and did not think I would be able to get a China Visa from Romania.
The China official website lists all the required documentation and included is a requirement to have "proof of residency".
I am not a resident so could not provide this documentation.
I made inquiries online to see if anyone else had applied and received a China visa other than from their country of residence (excluding Hong Kong).
The feedback from all these "experts" was that I should return to Australia and apply from there as it is almost impossible to get a China visa from anywhere other than your country of residence.
The first attempt I made in applying for the visa several weeks earlier I had arrived at 8:30 am for the 9 am opening and was confronted with a long queue.
It was initially unknown to me that there was a separate sheet of paper circulating outside listing everyone's name and the order that they arrived. Others knew and were told about this list but because I could not understand Romanian I was not fully aware what was going on.
When I tried to get into the building I was eventually told about this list and added my name to it.
At 11:30 am I was the next to enter the building but was then advised that they would not be admitting any more applications and that I would have to come back another day ... Grrr
Three hours waiting for nothing... well I did learn about the list I guess.
The second attempt at getting a visa was the day after receiving my Australian Passport complete with the new Russian Visa.
I had a window of 4 days before I was to depart to Poland.
This time I arrived at the Embassy at 7 am and was the first to arrive.
The security guard gave me a blank sheet of paper and I added my name... off to a great start.
Now just to wait outside on the steps for a couple of hours until the doors opened.
I was the first one in and when I got to the counter the guy reviewed all my documents and asked what was I doing here ?  Now I was concerned ... I said I was applying for a Chinese Visa.
He then asked where was my residency papers ... now I knew I was in trouble.
I said that I am only traveling around Romania on holiday.
He then said .. you are on a tourist visa then so I confirmed that.
He then said those magical words ... that's ok then.
My Chinese visa application had now been accepted!!
My passport with the China Visa was ready 3 days later, just in time for my departure to Poland the following day.

I now had a Russian and Chinese Visa !

Mongolian Visa I was not worried about because I could apply for that one once I reached Moscow.
Tibet visa was organized by our tour company and would be sent to our hostel in China

What a great feeling.
So many months of worry and my main concerns were now behind me.

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Emergency Passport

Mongolian Visa
We arrived in St Petersburg and checked into our hostel.
It was late in the evening but never too late to be planning.
I asked the receptionist about getting to Moscow so that I could go to the Mongolian Consulate and apply for a Mongolian Visa. She recommended going on the overnight train which would have me arriving in Moscow at 8 am and plenty of time to submit my application and return the same day on the fast train back to SP, that sounded like a great plan.
I left my backpack and other items and only took a small back pack with me on the overnight train as I was to return the following evening.
I arrived in Moscow on time and went to the Mongolian Consulate where I submitted my application. Then I walked back to the train station taking a few photos on the way since I was walking past the Red Square.
When I got to the train station it was about 5 pm and I then attempted to get a ticket back to SP but then found out that to get a ticket I needed a passport and that the electronic copy I had was not acceptable and they needed to see an original copy.
I could not believe that so I went to another counter only to get the same results.
I was stuck in Moscow until I could get my passport back.
Lucky for me the Mongolian Visa and my passport would be ready tomorrow so I would only need to stay one extra night, not too much of an issue I guessed.


How I lost my Passport
I had just received my Mongolian Visa and wanted to rush back to St Petersburg to attend a ballet concert that had already been booked starting at 7:30 pm.
There was a fast train that I could catch that might enable me to get there in time.
I did not have much luggage with me, just my small backpack which pulls closed at the top.
I put my passport with my Russian, Chinese and now Mongolian Visa into my pack and headed for the underground train station so I could get to the main train station to go back to Moscow.
A few minutes after having left the Mongolian Consulate I arrived at the underground station and thought to myself that I should put my passport into my travel wallet that I had with me.
So I reached into my pack but did not feel my passport.
Rather than being in the road of everyone I went to a seat and sat down to find my passport.
But shock horror... I could not find it.
I only had it 5 mins ago and I was positive I had put it into my back pack???
I retraced my steps back to the Mongolian Embassy.
There were no other people waiting in the Embassy and I asked if anyone behind the counter had seen my passport as it was missing.
I had a look around but it was clearly not there.
I told the staff that I would go to the Australian Embassy to report my loss.
The staff were really helpful and said that if I received a new passport then they would issue me with a new visa!

What to do next
The first step was for me to go to the Australian Embassy and report my lost passport.
Lucky for me it was close by the Mongolian Consulate and still open.
I was able to talk with someone and they advised me what to do.
First Step was that had to get an interpreter.
After that go to the police station to report the loss so that a report could be made.
It is only with a police report that the Embassy will issue me with an Emergency Passport.
After being issued a new Emergency passport I would then have to go with the interpreter to the Russian Federation so that I could be issued a new visa so that I could depart the country.
The Australian Embassy gave me a list of contacts that could act as an interpreter.

Interpreter
I sent emails to several contacts listed on the sheet given to me by the Australian Embassy.
No one responded that evening most likely because it was after hours so I thought I would chase a bit harder to speak to someone the following day.
One person replied back saying they were too busy ... not a good sign.
Another agency contacted me and said that they would ask someone to call me.
It was a young woman called Ana that contacted me later in the day and said that she was able to help but could not go to the police station until 11am the next day.
So I had a wasted day but no alternatives but to accept.

Police Stations
I had gone to a police station the previous day when I first lost my passport with the owner of the hostel but the police would not create a report and said that I had to go back to the police station where I lost my passport.
I then went to the underground train police station but it was obviously not the right place and they advised that I had to go with an interpreter to another police station.
The next day arrived and Ana my interpreter met me outside the police station.
The police station was in the basement of a building and like something you would see in the movies.
We went through the metal detectors and then searched to make extra sure we had nothing on us.
There were prison cells on each side of us with occupants.
We were lead into a small office that had old style desks similar to that of an old school room.
All the furniture was really old and I was fascinated to watch one officer cutting some string to length after binding several sheets of paper to make a booklet.
While the rest of Moscow was very modern this police station was like something you might see in a 50 year old movie.


Police Report
Before making my statement I was advised that the police would be more interested in making a report if the case could be closed.
If there was any chance of my passport being stolen the case would be left open until they could find someone to blame, most likely a random person picked up of the street.
If the passport was in my pocket and fell out, then it would be my negligence and the case could be closed.
It was this later version that was documented and the report created and case closed.
I was given my report and we were all happy.
They did not have a photocopier in the station so I took a photo of all the documents with my iPad.

Russian Police Report

Emergency Passport Issued
Armed with the police report I went with my interpreter back to the Australian Embassy so that they could progress my passport application.
They had already created the passport for me because they knew that I needed it quickly to meet my visa expiry date.

Australian Emergency Passport

6 pages and 7 months until expiry

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Visas

Australian Emergency Passports
Are issued so that you can return home!
They have 6 pages for visas and 7 months before expiry and not designed for continued travel.
When I advised the Australian Embassy in Moscow that I wanted to continue with my original itinerary to Mongolia, China, Tibet and Thailand before returning to Australia and they were surprised and had not heard of anyone getting extra visas and traveling other than returning home.
According to them I was only supposed to get the new Russian visa so that I could exit the country then go back to Australia.


Getting new visas for my planned travel was quite a challenge.


Russian Visa:
I went to the Russian Federation office with Ana my Russian translator and she completed all the forms for the visa.
It would not be possible to complete the forms without the aid of a translator to assist you.
Once the forms were completed I had to then pay for the application in a bank that was about 500 m away then return to the Russian Federation office to show them the payment so that they could progress the request.
Each time in the Russian Federation you may have to wait in a queue which is long and slow.
I was fortunate that I arrived at 3 pm on Friday afternoon and managed to complete the forms and payment prior to the office closing at 4 pm, I suspect it is not normally that quick.
I had electronic copies of all documents and visa which was extremely helpful.
My original visa expiry date was the following Wednesday and I had to keep to the original departure date otherwise that may cause extra problems.
I was advised to return on the Tuesday to collect my new visa and I was able to keep my passport.
I returned early on the Tuesday morning so that I could be the first in the queue.
When the counter opened at 9 pm and I presented my passport the woman then started talking in Russian ... I had no idea what she was saying as I no longer had my translator to assist me. She eventually wrote down 14:00 and I assumed that she meant for me to come back after lunch at 2 pm.
That started getting me worried and wondering if I would receive my visa today.
I arrived back early again and managed to get to the front of the queue again and when the counter eventually opened at 14:15 and I presented my passport again and this time she had a visa for me.
Now I could book a flight out of the country.
There is an extra immigration departure card that you have to complete on arrival, that is supposed to be presented to passport control when you leave but this card was lost with my passport.
I was lucky that the person at the airport did not ask me for this card.

Original Russian Visa

Emergency Passport Russian Visa

Mongolian Visa:
This was the easiest of all visas and it was a pleasure to visit the Mongolian Consulate in Moscow.
When I first lost my passport and visas I returned to the Mongolian Consulate to check if I had lost it in their office.
When I could not find my documents the woman behind the counter said that if I returned with a Emergency Passport that they would just give me a new Visa without the need to submit any more documents.
Lucky for me that when applying for a new Russian visa that they let me keep my passport.
On the Monday afternoon I returned to the Mongolian Consulate and was reissued a new Mongolian Visa ... what a pleasure to receive it so easy.
So now I had an Emergency Passport with a Mongolian visa so once I received my Russian visa the next day could continue to the Eagle Festival tour that had been booked in Ulgii Western Mongolia.

Emergency Passport Mongolian Visa

Chinese Visa - Russia and Mongolia:
This was the hardest Visa to get a replacement for and was complicated.
The Chinese Embassy in Moscow was far too big and my online research suggested that the queues were long. I went to the Chinese Embassy in Moscow but soon realized that it was going to be too difficult to get my visa from Russia knowing I had limited time on my Russian visa.
My next opportunity to get a Chinese visa was in Mongolia.
But there were two problems in Mongolia.
First is that I needed to keep my passport with me for the internal flights and travel and when I did return to Ulaan Baatar the Chinese Embassy was closed for holidays.
The second issue is that I would be unlikely to get a new visa as the rules changed in Sept 2016 and they were no longer issuing Chinese Visas.
The owner at the hostel where we were staying said there were many tourist that arrived from a Trans Siberia and Trans Mongolia trips that were wanting to continue to China but were all rejected.
So what to do ...
I already had booked tickets for the Trans Mongolian train from UB to Beijing.
But the problem would be at the border crossing ... I was thinking that I could show them my old visa and ask if they could use the information from it for my entry.
I am quite glad in hindsight that I did not go through with this option.
The second option was that I fly to Beijing and either ask them for entry based on my old visa or request a 72 hr transit visa since I would book a flight from Beijing to Hong Kong.
I could just cancel the flight to HK if I was able to get entry based on my old visa.
As soon as I got to the immigration counter at Beijing I showed them the copy I had of the old visa.
They ask me to stand to the side while they called an airline representative.
About an hour later a representative arrived and advised me that they were wanting to deport me back to Mongolia.
I showed him my onward ticket to HK and said that if I couldn't get the 30 day visa then I could apply for the 72 hr transit visa.
The airline had made a mistake and not documented my onward flight to HK.
I eventually was allowed to go to the 72 hr transit line but when I submitted my passport that caused a lot of issues and many people were involved in the eventual approval of the 72 hr visa.
The Mongolian airline representative said that I should not be traveling on my Emergency Passport and that I should only be going home back to Australia.
He took photos of my passport and visas and I was now on my way to join the others for a couple of days until my departure to Hong Kong.

China 72 hr Transit Visa

Chinese Visa - Hong Kong:
I arrived in Hong Kong and at this stage did not know where I was going to next.
Lucky that I do not need an onward ticket.
I had a couple of options ...
To apply for a visa back to China so that I could complete my original itinerary with the others through China and on to Tibet.
If a new China visa was not possible I would just go direct to Thailand.
As soon as I arrived in HK airport I went to the booth where you could apply for a China visa.
I arrived at 1 pm and after the application was completed they advised me to return at 7 pm.
The fee was quite expensive but they advised that I would be refunded the payment if my application was not successful.
I returned at 7 pm and had the great news that my Chinese visa application was successful.

Emergency Passport China Visa

Tibet Visa:

The Tibet Visa was given to me by the tour operator but did require an update of the passport number. The Passport number was only updated manually on the documentation we received which caused a problem when trying to get on the train in Chengdu to go to Lhasa.

Tibet Visa

Tibet Visa

Thailand Visa:
I arrived in Bangkok from Chengdu without any issue.
Australian Citizens do not require a visa if they will be staying for less than 30 days however I was worried that there was only 5 months of validity on my passport.
But I passed through immigration without any issues.


Singapore Visa:
When I arrived in Singapore from Bangkok there were no issues and passing through the immigration was a breeze even though when I bought my ticket the airline had a lot of concerns.

Thailand and Singapore Visas

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Emergency Passport Travel

Travel on an Emergency Passport is complex
The Australian Embassy warned me that the only travel I should be doing was to return back home.

But I had too many plans to be thinking like that and I like challenges ?

So after receiving the passports and visas you would think the rest would be easy .. right ?

Wrong ... It is now November and I am only just now thinking that having lost my passport is behind me and will no longer affect me.

Rejoining the group in China
After getting my China Visa in HK the next step was to book one of the flights from HK back to Xining to join the others in China.
The best flights to Xining appeared to leave from Shenzhen so I booked a flight that departed at 7 am.
The next step was to get a bus from HK to Shenzhen but I had plenty of time to get across the border.
The mini bus getting across the border was a very slow process but there were no issues when I presented my passport and visa.
I arrived at Shenzhen at 1 am and had plenty of time to relax before my departure at 7 am.
When I went to the counter at 5 am to collect my ticket they indicated to me that I did not have a booking.
Unfortunately I could not access gmail and Google is blocked in China.
I had already downloaded a VPN client when I was in Mongolia as a trail but the trail was only for a couple of days. Now that I needed access to my gmail account I had to activate the VPN subscription.
I eventually got the VPN to work and logged into my gmail account.
The booking had been made for the flight but had not been confirmed.
I spent the next hour booking several other flights only to find when making the payment that the flight was no longer available.
I eventually was able to get one flight booked that departed at 5 pm and would arrive in Xining at 10 pm, which would give me a couple of hours sleep before getting up at 4 am and joining the others for the train to Zhangye.
This was a much needed sleep since I had not slept in the last few days.

Booked Transport

I had a few flights and several train journeys that had been booked in Mongolia, China and Tibet using my old passport number. 

At the start of every new trip I had the constant fear of not being allowed onboard.

My tickets would be looked at and the details checked and always there were questions in a foreign language that I had to answer.

On the train from Xining to Lhasa in Tibet they eventually let me on the train but kept my passport.

My passport was returned to me about an hour later and I assume a lot of discussions about my passport and visa was going on.

I had the added problem that my Tibet Visa had my new passport number updated manually rather than anything official looking.

If I had my computer I could have done the change more professional so they would not even know.

Most of the time it was just a matter of speaking to the person behind the counter and them taking pity on me for losing my passport but sometimes it involved consulting a supervisor and a few others.

There were at least 10 trips that were booked and where I had issues ... but in all cases I was eventually given passage.

Expiry Date
The Australian Emergency Passport is only valid for 7 months after the date of issue.
Most countries only allow entry if you have at least 6 before expiry which normally means you can only travel on an Emergency Passport for 1 month.
But I wanted to travel for at least 2 months !!
I was fortunate the first country I went to with less than 6 months before expiry was Bangkok.
When I investigated online Thailand did not appear to have the 6 months validity for Australian Citizens as a requirement nor do we need an approved visa for less than 30 days.
So the booked ticket from Chengdu to Bangkok almost went without problems.
I say almost because I did not spot that the airline had changed the time and when I was at the airport I was advise that they had also changed the date!!
Lucky for me that the date was the following day and not earlier.
So I went back to the hostel and booked in for another night.
I had a change of plans in Thailand and decided to leave earlier and also visit Singapore.
I had a quick look online to see if Singapore required 6 months validity but could not find any information so I just booked a ticket even though on the ticket it said that I needed 6 months validity.
But after traveling so long I now know there is often a difference in what people say the rules are and what actually happens.
But sure enough when I arrived at the airport and asked for my ticket the woman spotted that I was traveling on an Emergency Passport with less than 6 months before expiry.
She called her supervisor and I went off to his counter. The supervisor said that he had checked the rules and advised that Singapore would not allow me in so they could not issue me the ticket.
He offered to show me the rules that said anyone traveling on an Emergency Passport had to have at least 6 months before expiry.
I asked him if there was any other sort of a transit visa that I could get ... so he phoned up another person to inquire about that.
When he got of the phone he said that he had been speaking to his duty manager and that the duty manager said that it would be ok for me to be issued a ticket.
But they warned that Singapore may deport me back to Hong Kong or to Melbourne at the airlines expense.
The beauty about not having anything booked is that I did not care what would happen.
They got me to sign a letter of acknowledgement about what might happen then issued me the ticket to Singapore.
Then he took a copy of my passport and visas using his phone as an after thought.
I arrived in Singapore and was granted entry without any issue !!


I had done it .. 
My travel on an Emergency Passport:

• Russia:  St Petersburg, Moscow
• Mongolia: Ulaan Baatar, Ulgii
• China: Beijing (72 hr Transit Visa)
• Hong Kong
• China: Shenzhin, Xining, Dunhuang
• Tibet: Lhasa, Everest Base Camp 
• China: Chengdu
• Thailand: Bangkok
• Singapore 
• Australia:  Melbourne

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