If you stole documents and wallet: how to return to Russia without money and a passport

In 2014, the Russian woman Valeria Knysheva caught fire to see all of Asia. She drew up a route, planned a budget, but at the very beginning of the journey, all the baggage with money and a passport was stolen from the woman.

She told her story of survival in a foreign country without money and documents. Journal tinkoff.

As I was left without baggage in Singapore

I flew to Singapore on a transit visa. Citizens of Russia give it free of charge upon arrival at the airport. The main condition: it is necessary to fly out of the country no later than in 96 hours. To get a visa, you just need to show the border guard a printed air ticket and, if necessary, a visa to another country.

I was given a transit visa stamp for 5 minutes, and I hurried to the city. I did not have any other visa for a longer stay in Singapore.

Despite the fact that Singapore is considered a country with one of the lowest crime rates in the world, on my first evening my backpack was stolen with a passport, cash and bank cards. In the center of Singapore there are many surveillance cameras, you can get a fine even for chewing gum in the city. I forgot about all the precautions: I was walking in the center late at night and because of tiredness I fell asleep on a bench next to a backpack. An hour later he was gone.

1 Step: Call the Police

When I discovered the loss, I went to the nearest hotel and asked to call the police.

This building is one of the most popular tourist spots in Singapore. I went there to call the police.
Photos from the personal archive of Valeria Knysheva

The police arrived in 15 minutes. I was asked how they stole luggage, what I did, and if I drank alcohol. The police seemed to me nice and helpful people. Together we went to the crime scene. Surprisingly, the very shop where I fell asleep did not hit any of the security cameras.

When the police found out that I had no money left at all, one of them gave me 15 Singapore dollars. This amount is enough to, for example, 3 times to eat in a street cafe. The police promised to prepare a report and called me a taxi to the Russian embassy. The report will be required for processing the documents for return.

What you need to return

If you find yourself abroad without a passport, you cannot buy a return ticket and return home. Without a passport you will not be released from the country. Need a document that can confirm your identity. Therefore, you need as soon as possible to go to the Russian embassy and make a certificate of return. This document is issued only there.

It looks like a certificate of return.
Photos from the personal archive of Valeria Knysheva

If your passport is stolen in a place where there is no Russian embassy - for example, in Bali - you will have to fly to the city where there is an embassy - in Indonesia this is Jakarta. Based on the experience of a friend, you will be boarded on a domestic flight without documents.

If this is a visa country, then staying in the country without a visa is illegal. In my case, I became an illegal after the 96 hours, when the visa-free transit ended.

Step 2: Contact the consulate

I arrived at the embassy on 5 in the morning. After 2,5 hours, the secretary accepted me and promised to make a certificate of return to Russia (START) as soon as possible. It is necessary for personal identification and is intended only for crossing the border. START is issued free of charge and replaces the international passport on the 14 day. On it you can buy a return ticket, but travel to other countries will not work. I could not continue my great Asian journey with a certificate as a document.

But first the embassy officer must confirm my identity. Suddenly someone else wanted to enter Russia under my name. The embassy sent a request to the regional Federal Migration Service at the place of residence, in my case - to the Primorsky Territory. Confirmation from the Federal Migration Service came the next day.

It’s good that before the trip I saved the scan of my passport in an email. This simplified and accelerated identification.

If you do not have a scan of your international passport, an internal passport or any other document confirming your identity will do. If you don’t have an internal passport either, then you can bring two witnesses with you - Russian citizens with passports who will write statements and confirm your identity.

What you need for registration of START

To get START, you need to fill out the form on a special website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. There are standard data: name, date and place of birth, citizenship, address of residence.

The application will need to be printed and referred to the consular section of the embassy. Still need 4 photos 3,5 × 4,5 see.

If it is not possible to print the application, you can simply write out his number and dictate to the embassy staff. It's enough.

I was given a photo for the certificate for free at a nearby kiosk near the embassy.

3 Step: Get a report from the police and START

In order to confirm that the certificate of return is due to theft, a report from the police must be provided at the embassy. I went to the office and requested a document. It says that I really go to the police about the loss of things, money and documents.

With a ready report, I returned to the embassy, ​​where I was finally given START. Since much more 96 hours had passed, during which I could be in Singapore with a transit visa, the embassy officer sent me to the immigration service - to receive special pass.

It looks like a certificate of return.
Photos from the personal archive of Valeria Knysheva

4 Step: Get an Immigration Permit

A special pass is permission to stay in a country without a visa and passport. It is issued by the Immigration Service. There are several variations of such permits in Singapore. Migrants are required to have a valid permit and renew it as necessary, otherwise a fine.

I spent several hours in the queue, presented a police report and return certificate to the employee - and received my special pass. Subsequently, in Singapore, I was never asked to present it. Even when registering for the return flight, no one remembered about him. I thought that in vain did a hurry-pass. On the other hand, the immigration service keeps all visitors records. If I want to return to Singapore, this case should not be a hindrance.

This is how a special pass issued by the Immigration Service of Singapore.
Photos from the personal archive of Valeria Knysheva

How to fly home

You can buy a return ticket for a return certificate. It is advisable to fly a direct flight - so there will be no problems with the documents during the transfer.

There are few direct flights from Singapore to Russia and they are very expensive, so I bought a return ticket with a transfer to Tokyo. I didn’t manage to fly back from the first time: it turned out that a Japanese visa is needed for transfer to Tokyo, even if you don’t plan to leave the airport. As a result, I was not put on board, and the money for the ticket was gone.

A few days later my friends took me a ticket to Vladivostok via Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, a visa is not needed, and I finally flew home.

What to do while they draw up documents

It took me a week and a half to collect and execute all the documents in Singapore. It took another week to arrange a trip home. All this time the locals have helped me through Couchsurfing.

Couchsurfing - This is a site where you can ask to spend the night at the locals. It's free: usually couchsurfers are just waiting for friendly communication (although they may ask for money).

I found the next meeting of the couchsurfers in Singapore and went there. A concert was planned for a traveler in a bar in the Indian quarter. I just went there and told my story. That evening I was given 100 dollars, a travel ticket for the metro and a whole package of food. Dozens of people were ready to help: I ​​was invited to spend the night, offered to pay for a hotel, or simply advised how to quickly collect the necessary documents.

At the same party, I was greatly encouraged by one traveler-musician from Ukraine, with whom a similar story happened in Kamchatka. After that, he completely changed his life: found a favorite thing, began to travel a lot. In difficult moments, such stories help: they support and make you feel that you are not alone, even in a foreign country.

I'm at that very meeting of the couchsurfers.
Photos from the personal archive of Valeria Knysheva

How I lived in Singapore all this time

Instead of a scheduled day, I spent 2,5 weeks in Singapore. All this time I was doing the same thing as the local ones: I spent the night in condominiums, went to the cinema and cafe.

Food. In Singapore, it is not common to cook at home. The food is cheap and varied: Indian, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, you can eat for 5-15 Singapore dollars ($2,75 - $11). When I had absolutely no money left, I bought chicken rice from a street eatery - this is rice and chicken with sauce, wrapped in a bag. Very tasty and only 2 dollars ($1,5). This is the cheapest food I've found. Over the entire period, I spent approximately 150 Singapore dollars ($113) on food.

Housing. In Singapore, very expensive rent. Most residents live in condominiums. Singapore condominium - is something between a hotel and a communal. People pay for the room and share a common kitchen and bathroom. It turns out from $ 1000 per person per month. A good condominium has its own swimming pool, concierge and other attributes of this hotel. I usually slept on the couch in the common room in such a condominium. I didn’t pay money for spending the night, rescued the couchsurfers.

A typical condominium in Singapore, I spent the night in one of these apartments. Photo: jEd dC

Transport. In Singapore, everyone takes the subway. Locals buy a ticket for $ 10 — 12. On average, Singaporeans replenish the travel card for $ 15 every week. I spent around $ 30 for transportation.

Wastes. For 2,5 weeks, I spent about 200 Singapore dollars ($ 150). Basically, the money went to food, transportation and important trivia for documents. But others often paid for me — in particular, those I met at the couchsurfer party. From them I had travel cards, food, and even clothes. But even without money in Singapore, there is something to do. There are often themed free events, there are free museums. I attended a robotics festival, learned how to take photos, and attended a Muslim holiday in honor of the end of Ramadan.

Conclusions

It was a fascinating experience that I do not recommend repeating. 1000 dollars were stolen from me in cash, a computer, a camera, a phone and personal items. I lost a little more than 20 000 rubles ($ 343) on tickets home with a docking in Tokyo. A return ticket to Vladivostok with a transfer in Hong Kong cost 15 985 rubles ($ 274).

Here is what I recommend to do before the trip, so as not to get into the same situation:

• Make a few copies of your passport in advance and put them in different places: in the luggage, hand luggage, pocket in the jacket. All my five copies were useless: they were stolen along with the original. Be sure to save scans of documents in email or in the cloud storage.
• Apply for an additional bank card and give it to relatives or those you trust. Put a reserve amount on it for emergency expenses.
• Do not save too much. My ambitious goal - to see all of Asia and meet the $ 100 in the country - made me look for the cheapest options. If I did not save on a hotel or at least on luggage storage cells, I would most likely have avoided theft.
• Write down the number of the local police and Russian embassy. Beat their coordinates into the application on the phone. So it will be easier for you to navigate in a new situation, especially if you do not have Internet access.
• If you are robbed or you have lost your documents, immediately call the police. If you do not know the number, contact any nearest hotel or store and ask to call the police. The first thing I was asked about at the embassy was whether I went to the police.
• Do not despair. Such stories are impressive when you listen to a cup of tea. But when you are alone and there is no one around who at least speaks Russian, despair comes. You have to constantly communicate with people. When telling your story, help can come from almost anywhere. During the 2,5 week in Singapore, I never spent the night on the street and did not feel extreme need for anything.
• Do not be afraid to ask for help. With the return ticket, I was rescued by close people, and Couchsurfing turned out to be absolutely indispensable. It turned out that many strangers are ready to help in a difficult situation just like that. I was served in a cafe for free when they found out why I could not pay. You just had to tell your story.
• Make sure there are no problems with transfers when you fly home. Check the location of the dock if you need a visa. It is advisable to choose direct flights or flights with a transfer in a visa-free country.

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