Importation of goods to the RF

Individual passengers are allowed to bring goods into the Russian Federation in accompanied or unaccompanied baggage, without paying customs dues, unless such goods are intended for production or other commercial operations, unless the total value of such goods exceeds 65,000 roubles and unless their total weight exceeds 50 kg.

Should the above figures be exceeded, a duty shall be exacted from the goods to the amount of 30% of their customs value, however, no less than 4 euro per kg with the total value not exceeding 650,000 roubles and the weight not exceeding 200 kg. 

Importation of foreign currency

Importation of foreign currency and exchange media in a foreign currency is not limited, however, it shall be declared in the customs declaration.

Importation of the currency of the Russian Federation to the Russian Federation (roubles) is allowed to:

•  an individual (resident or non-resident) within 500 (five hundred) minimum salaries (1 salary = 100 roubles) of the Russian Federation;
• military personnel, workers and employees of the Russian troops stationed in foreign states, who arrive in the Russian Federation on vacation or to a new place of service (work, or permanent residence), as well as to military personnel transferred to the reserve from the Russian troops stationed in foreign states, who arrive in the Russian Federation, within the amounts stated in certificates of the field offices of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation or military units;
• citizens of the Russian Federation and foreign states, who arrive in the Russian Federation (forced immigrants or refugees) within amounts not exceeding 500 (five hundred) minimum salaries, that must be confirmed by documents of the sources of obtaining such amounts, certified by the consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in such states.

Importation of the following objects to the RF is prohibited:

•  fire-arms and cold arms, and related ammunition;
• drugs and psychotropic agents;
• printed matter and graphic products containing data that could be detrimental to the state security, protection or public order, morality of the population, life and health of people, or to the environment.

Duty-free importation of the following goods to the RF is allowed:

(per person)

•  strong drinks – 2 litres;
• tobacco goods: 50 cigars; 100 cigarillos; 200 cigarettes; 0.25 kg of tobacco;
• caviar of sturgeon species (black caviar) in a quantity not exceeding 250 g.

 Exportation of the following objects from the RF is prohibited:

•  arms of any kind, and related ammunition (they may be carried from the country only upon special permissions issued by the RF Ministry of the Internal Affairs);
• drugs and psychotropic agents;
• cancelled securities;
• works of art and antiques that have a significant artistic, historical, scientific or cultural value (may be carried from the country only upon special permissions issued by the RF Ministry of Culture);
• film strips, videos and information media containing data that could be detrimental to the interests of the state or to citizens' rights;
• antlers of saigas, marals, dappled deer and Siberian stags, hides of Siberian stags (they may be carried from the country by RF foreign trade organizations upon special permissions issued by hunters' organizations);
• black caviar in a quantity exceeding 250 g per person irrespective of age.

All species of animals, birds, raw materials of animal origin and products shall be carried from the country with a certificate issued by the Pulkovo PKVP (Border Veterinary Checkpoint) (Pulkovo-2 airport, Central Building, room 63, tel.104-34-24).

Exportation of foreign currency by individuals (residents and non-residents)

Exportation of foreign currency in cash by individuals from the Russian Federation to an amount up to the equivalent of 10,000 US dollars inclusive calculated using the exchange rate of the Bank of Russia as of the current date shall comply with the customs rules, however, without producing permission documents to the customs bodies.

Exportation of foreign currency in cash by individuals from the Russian Federation to an amount exceeding the equivalent of 10,000 US dollars is possible only upon producing the following documents:

• entry customs declaration, in which the foreign currency that had been brought into the Russian Federation shall be stated;
  or
• certificate according to form T-28, in which the foreign currency that had been brought shall be stated. The certificate is valid for 2 years.

Loss of the customs declaration or other permission documents for exportation of foreign currency shall deprive the holder of the right of foreign currency exportation to other countries.

Exportation of the RF currency

Is permitted to an amount not exceeding  500 minimum salaries (1 salary = 100 roubles) of the Russian Federation.

Exportation of coins of precious metals from the Russian Federation is allowed within the limits of the established value restrictions, the total value of the exported goods not exceeding the equivalent of 10,000 US dollars.

Items that have not been allowed for carriage across the border

Things that have not been allowed to be carried from the Russian Federation may be used by their owner upon his/her discretion within the RF or deposited at the customs office.

Things that have not been allowed to be brought into the Russian Federation may be returned by their owner back to the other country or deposited at the bonded warehouse at the customs.

A receipt complying with the established form shall be issued to owners of things that have not been allowed for carriage across the border and have been accepted for custody.

Things that have not been allowed for carriage across the border and have been accepted for custody by the customs shall be stored for 2 months, and products requiring special storage conditions and perishable goods shall be kept for 3 days.

Things that have been deposited for custody shall be returned to the owner upon producing the original customs receipt. If such things are returned to a person other than the owner, a power of attorney is also required.

Objects that are arrested on sanitary or quarantine grounds shall not be returned.

Temporary importation and exportation of goods

Citizens permanently residing beyond the borders of the Russian Federation are allowed to bring goods into the Russian Federation on a temporary duty-free basis for personal use, provided they are not intended for production or other commercial operations.

Persons permanently residing in the Russian Federation are allowed to carry goods to another country on a temporary basis for personal use, provided they are not intended for production or other commercial operations.

Good of non-Russian origin brought to or carried from the Russian Federation on a temporary basis shall undergo the appropriate customs procedures.

Temporary importation and exportation of the following goods is allowed:

• clothes;
• toilet accessories;
• personal jewelry;
• photo and movie cameras with the permissible length of film and relevant accessories;
• portable optical lanterns and motion-picture projectors and relevant accessories with a reasonable quantity of slides and films;
• video cameras and portable videotape recorders with a reasonable quantity of film;
• portable musical instruments;
• portable record-players with disks;
• portable sound recorders and players (including dictaphones) with films;
• portable radio receivers;
• portable TV sets;
• portable typewriters;
• portable calculators;
• portable PCs;
• binoculars;
• perambulators;
• wheelchairs;
• sports equipment, such as tents and other tourist equipment, fishing-tackle, mountaineering gear, diving outfit, sporting arms with accessories, bicycles, canoes or kayaks up to 5.5 metres in length, ski, tennis-rackets, surfboards and windsurfboards, golf outfit and gear, sail-planes, hang-gliders;
• portable dialyzers and similar medical instruments with consumables;
• other goods explicitly intended for personal use.

All temporarily imported or exported goods must be exported or imported back.

Customs declaration

According to article 168 of the Customs Code of the Russian Federation, all goods and transport facilities carried across the customs border of the Russian Federation shall be declared to a customs body of the Russian Federation.

The following must be declared in writing:

1. Imported foreign currency in cash to an amount exceeding 10,000 US dollars (or the equivalent).
2. Exported foreign currency in cash to an amount exceeding 3,000 US dollars (or the equivalent).
3. Currency of the Russian Federation in cash to an amount exceeding 500 (five hundred) minimum salaries (1 salary = 100 roubles) of the Russian Federation.
4. Securities.
5. Precious metals  (gold, silver, platinum) in any form and condition.
6. Precious stones (natural diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, alexandrites, natural pearls).
7. Any kinds of arms, ammunition, explosives.
8. Drugs and psychotropic agents.
9. Poisonous and strong substances and medicines.
10. Antiques and works of art.
11. Printed matter and other information media.
12. Radioactive materials.
13. Items of endangered wild flora and fauna, their parts and products made of them.
14. Radioelectronic facilities (high-frequency devices) and communication facilities.
15. Goods subject to customs fees. 
16. Objects, importation of which is permitted with special documents or importation of which is  restricted.
17. Carry-on baggage and baggage of passengers having unaccompanied baggage.
18. Temporarily imported (exported) goods.
19. Goods intended for production or other commercial operations.

A passenger crossing a border must arrive in the examination hall with baggage and other carried goods. The passenger shall provide information upon request of a customs official. If examination is necessary, the passenger shall unpack his/her baggage him/herself for the examination and re-pack it after the examination.

Declaration using the red and green corridors.

Passengers arriving in the RF shall go to the customs check area through the red or green corridor. The form of declaration using the red and green corridors is a system when an individual crossing the customs border chooses the corridor him/herself.
The red corridor is marked with a red square with an inscription reading "customs examination" in Russian and in English and is intended for persons with separately carried baggage or baggage containing goods:

• that must be produced to the customs;
• the quantity or value of which are the maximum permitted quantity or value;
• that are tollable;
• for importation of which a license of a state institution is required; 
• importation of which is prohibited;
• that are intended for sale or gaining income.

The green corridor is marked with a green octagon with an inscription reading "customs examination" in Russian and in English. This corridor is for passengers who do not carry any of the above goods. A passenger who has chosen the green corridor may be examined. If any of the above goods are found among his/her things, he/she may be brought to administrative or criminal account.  

If you are not sure about the rules that are applied, choose the red corridor. Thus you may avoid unpleasant consequences.

If any provisions of the customs rules remain unclear to you and/or you have any extra questions, contact a customs officer near the entrance to the customs check area!

ATTENTION! Failure to state in the customs declaration the presence of any goods that are subject to obligatory declaration in writing and statement of unreliable data is a violation of the customs rules and may entail a fine, arrest and/or confiscation of money, valuables and other objects, or even criminal liability.

If a passenger does not agree with actions of an official of the customs body, he/she may appeal against them to the superior officer or to the superior customs body in compliance with the Customs Code of the Russian Federation, as well as to other authorities provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.