Where to leave Russia right now

Emergency digest from Kupi.com on Google's most popular search query of recent days.

List of countries where you can fly without a visa, but with a foreign passport: 

• Georgia (up to 365 days)
• Israel (up to 90 days)
• Moldova (up to 90 days)
• Azerbaijan (up to 90 days)
• Tajikistan (up to 90 days)
• Argentina (up to 90 days)
• Brazil (up to 90 days)
• Uruguay (up to 90 days)
• Mongolia (up to 30 days)
• UAE (up to 90 days)
• Chile (up to 90 days)
• Costa Rica (up to 90 days)
• South Africa (up to 90 days)
• Morocco (up to 90 days)
• Peru (up to 90 days)
• Ecuador (up to 90 days)
• Qatar (up to 90 days)
• Nepal (visa on arrival can be obtained for up to 90 days)
• Turkey (up to 60 days)
• Uzbekistan (up to 60 days)
• Mauritius (up to 60 days)
• Cape Verde (up to 60 days)
• Mexico (up to 180 days; an electronic visa must be obtained before departure)
• Egypt (up to 90 days; an electronic visa is required, visa on arrival also available)
• South Korea (up to 60 days; an electronic visa is required)
• Thailand (45 days until March 31, 2023, after that — 30 days)
• Montenegro (up to 30 days)
• India (an electronic visa must be obtained for a period from 30 days up to five years)
• Indonesia (up to 30 days)
• Malaysia (up to 30 days)
• Sri Lanka (up to 30 days; an electronic visa is required)
• Cambodia (up to 30 days with an electronic visa)
• Laos (up to 30 days)
• Dominican Republic (up to 30 days)
• Serbia (up to 30 days)
• Vietnam (without a visa, you can stay in the country for up to 15 days, after which a visa can be obtained for up to 90 days)

List of countries where you can fly with a Russian passport:

• Belarus
• Kazakhstan
• Armenia 
• Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan

Let's tell you more about the most popular destinations

Kazakhstan

A vaccination/revaccination certificate or a COVID-19 PCR test is not required. With a Russian passport — okay! You can stay for up to 30 days per trip without registration. The number of trips is not limited, but the total stay cannot exceed 90 days within a 180-day period.

Armenia

The most obvious destination — you can go there even without a foreign passport. Important: this applies specifically to flights. You cannot travel by car with an internal passport. Children under 14 who have not yet received a Russian passport still need a foreign passport. You can stay in the country for no more than 180 days within a year. There are no COVID restrictions.

Kyrgyzstan

Entry is allowed without a foreign passport (!), PCR test, or vaccination certificate. Russian citizens are exempt from registration if their stay is less than 90 days. Choose any city: Bishkek, Osh, Jalal-Abad — everywhere you'll be met with warmth and delicious pilaf.

Azerbaijan

Also an option. Visa-free regime, stay up to 90 days. However, a certificate is essential: a document of full vaccination (Sputnik V is approved) or recovery from COVID-19 is required.

Turkey

Many options: Istanbul, Antalya, Dalaman, Gazipasa, Ankara. No questions are asked at the border. If you plan to live longer than six months, it's better to rent an apartment and get a residence permit. It is issued based on a long-term rental agreement.

Important: in the last few days, DenizBank and Is Bank have stopped accepting Mir cards. It's better to carry cash, but no more than $10,000 (if you happen to have it). You can stay in the country for up to 60 days without a residence permit. No PCR / vaccine needed.

UAE

Direct flights, three months' stay, a large Russian-speaking community, and a huge number of expats. Downsides — prices. To live in the UAE, you need at least $3,000 per month.

Georgia

Here, definitely with a foreign passport, but (for now) without a visa. You can stay here for 360 days, and then leave the territory for at least 24 hours. All anti-COVID restrictions have been lifted.

A few recommendations for finding tickets:

• Direct flights to many destinations from Russia for the next couple of days are almost gone — pay attention to smart routes and connecting flights; 
• Look for tickets departing from other Russian cities, not just Moscow or St. Petersburg;
• Check tickets to less known cities and countries (it makes sense to look for tickets not to Turkey, but to Mongolia or Uzbekistan);
• Pay attention to multimodal trips (if you really need to leave urgently, it makes sense to fly to border cities and cross the land border);
• Buy tickets on Kupi.com not to large cities, but to smaller settlements (for example, if there are no flights to Vladikavkaz , you can fly to Nazran — it's only 30 km from Vladikavkaz);
• The price dynamics (namely, that tickets to Yerevan and Istanbul cost an arm and a leg) now allow considering a trip to more distant countries. For example, to South Africa, Indonesia, Morocco, Qatar, UAE, etc. A full list of countries where you can fly with a foreign passport and without a visa has been published on Telegram;
• You can go to Belarus — there are many flights from there to other countries now.

Friendly Reminder: You can save on a flight if you don't buy a return ticket. Although you already know that.