Can you fly within Russia with a foreign passport

It happens that you need to buy a ticket on Kupi.com for a flight within Russia urgently, but you only have a foreign passport. What to do in such cases and how flights within Russia are carried out using a foreign passport — we tell you in this article.

Formally, the situation is as follows. In Russia, the civil passport is the identity document, while in any other state, it's the foreign passport. Thus, for flights within the country, we use the internal passport, and for trips abroad, the foreign passport.

The law states that a foreign passport regulates entry into and exit from Russia. In addition, the document is used to:

• establish citizenship;
• confirm age;
• exchange currency;
• vote in Russian elections if you live abroad. 

In reality, a foreign passport can also be used for domestic flights. Here's how to do it.

How it actually is

There is no direct prohibition on domestic flights using foreign passport data. Order No. 82 of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated 28.06.2007 states that Russians have the right to change their identity document. So, when buying a ticket, you can freely enter the foreign passport number — this is not prohibited. This applies not only to air travel but also to train travel.

It should be noted that not all Russian carriers have the technical capability to enter a foreign passport number. If the online booking service does not allow this, contact the airline directly: through an office or call center. 

What other documents identify a person, besides a foreign passport:

• military ID;
• birth certificate;
• international driving permit.

When can you use a foreign passport

A foreign passport covers you in case of problems with your primary document. So, you can buy a ticket on Kupi.com for a flight within Russia using a foreign passport if:

• you lost your civil passport and didn't have time to get a temporary document. To obtain such a document, you need to submit an application to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and wait ten days — if you need to fly urgently, this is not an option; 
• your Russian citizen's passport is damaged and the data cannot be read. For example, some pages are torn out, or the text is illegible because it was blurred by water;
• your civil passport has expired. Upon reaching 20 and 45 years of age, Russian citizens change their passport, but sometimes it's difficult to keep track of this. If the carrier discovers that your passport has expired, you will not be checked in for the flight. In this case, a foreign passport will come in handy. 

Important: if you have already purchased airline tickets and entered your regular passport details, but suddenly encountered problems with your primary document, call the airline and explain the situation. Most likely, they will help you re-issue the ticket with your new foreign passport details, but everything depends on the fare rules and the airline's policy. 

Summary:

• in standard situations, a foreign passport is not used for flights within Russia. A regular passport is used for this purpose;
• but if something happened to your regular passport, and there are no restrictions on travel documents from the carrier, and you need to fly — use a foreign passport. This is not legally prohibited.

In a critical situation, for example, if your passport is lost right before departure, we recommend consulting with the airline and asking questions directly.

Who can fly within Russia using a foreign passport

• Ordinary Russians who cannot use their internal passport.
• Russians with dual citizenship.
• Foreigners.

We recommend always carrying your foreign passport, just in case something happens to your regular one. Then you won't have to wait for a new passport to be issued, and you can immediately depart on your trip. We wish you great flights and no document problems.