List of permitted countries for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2021

Abkhazia

Abkhazia has long been known and is in demand not only among employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also among other Russians. Abkhazia is quite affordable and accessible. The main disadvantages are the short holiday season and the increase in the number of infections in the summer. The main plus is the price. At the beginning of the holiday season and at its end, the cost of trips to Abkhazia is available to almost everyone.

How much does a holiday in Abkhazia cost?

You can easily get to Abkhazia through Sochi International Airport , and then there are a large number of transport options (minibus, bus, taxi, etc.) to the border.

It is also profitable to relax in Abkhazia using a package tour

Which countries can police officers travel to?

As reported, the list of countries allowed for travel by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2021 was approved by the Order of the Minister of Internal Affairs dated December 26, 2017 “On organizing travel of employees of the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Russian Federation, civil servants, and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system outside the Russian Federation during their stay on vacation.” . This document is not publicly available, so we can only refer to press reports. So, the list of permitted countries includes only 13 positions:

It is this list that the heads of police departments should be guided by when considering reports and applications of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs about traveling outside the country while on vacation. Simply put, if a police officer indicates any other country in the application, he is recommended to refuse.

In this regard, many employees, especially those living in border areas, have questions - for example, is it possible for Kaliningrad police officers to travel to Europe. Previously, short-term trips to the EU were the norm for them, but now the path to the Schengen zone is closed. St. Petersburg police officers, who recently visited Finland and the Baltic states without problems, where many have relatives, also suffered. Management simply does not approve such trips, and if the travel ban is violated, the employee faces dismissal.

Armenia

Armenia is landlocked and interest in traveling there can only be for excursion purposes. Armenia has a huge number of natural and historical attractions and a trip there will be remembered for a long time.

View tour options to Armenia

A pleasant time to visit Armenia is autumn. In September there is no sweltering heat, fruits are sold in full swing and traveling at this time is a special pleasure. And the opportunity to get to Armenia with an internal passport makes this destination even more beautiful. The easiest way to get to Armenia is by air - through the airports in Yerevan (air tickets to Yerevan ) and Gyumri (air tickets to Gyumri ).

Prices, route, accommodation and our review of Armenia

Reasons for imposing a ban on police officers traveling abroad

The directive of the Ministry of Defense does not contain a categorical ban on internal affairs officers from leaving Russia, but rather narrows the list of foreign countries where they are allowed to travel. The Foreign Office also warned that the safety of police officers in some countries may be at risk. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies accepted the warning as an order and confiscated the foreign passports of the employees. The main reasons for introducing a ban on holidays abroad are considered to be:

1. Attempts to protect law enforcement officers from provocations that are possible on the territory of countries that have entered into an extradition agreement with the United States of America.
2. Protection of state secrets. In this case, the ban on leaving the country applies only to employees who have access to classified information. Permission to travel abroad is issued upon individual request, and the authorized person of the department is guided by the degree of secrecy of the documents with which the employee was familiarized.
3. Ensuring the safety of police officers themselves. We are talking about countries in whose territory Russian legislation does not apply.

Vietnam

Perhaps the presence of this country on the list makes the restriction on travel to other countries more pleasant. There are many advantages of traveling to Vietnam :

• Beach season all year round
• Affordable prices for tours from Moscow, Siberia and the Far East
• Friendly attitude towards tourists
• No visas
• Low prices for food and entertainment

Restriction period

If we talk about official restrictions, they are regulated by paragraph 1 of Art. 15 Federal Law No. 114. Thus, if an employee had access to secret or particularly important data, the period of validity of the travel ban for him is established by the employment contract, but not more than 5 years from the date of the last acquaintance with such papers. If classified information remains relevant, the period of travel restrictions may be extended by the state secrets commission. In this case, the total period of limitation cannot exceed 10 years.

It is also impossible to exclude prohibitions that may arise for police officers for other reasons. For example, in case of evasion of obligations imposed by the court (for example, if there are debts on loans), the bailiffs may impose a ban on leaving, which will be valid for six months and can be extended until the debt is fully repaid.

If we talk about the practice of applying an unspoken restriction based on an internal order of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it does not have a validity period. Over the past 4 years, decisions have been issued annually that approve lists of countries not/recommended for visiting, which are valid until new orders.

Kyrgyzstan

Pros Kyrgyzstan is very budget-friendly - the country has very low salaries and the service sector has very low prices for Russian tourists. Almost everyone can afford to relax in Kyrgyzstan; all that remains is to find a way to get there. The easiest way to do this is by plane; sometimes you can find a cheap air ticket to Bishkek from Moscow and other cities ( cheap air tickets to Bishkek ).

Cons Lack of a full-fledged beach holiday. The only place you can swim in Kyrgyzstan is at Lake Issyk-Kul. The holiday season there is very short and you should only go in July-August.

Reasons for restrictions

The need for such a measure as imposing restrictions on the right to travel abroad is explained, first of all, by the state’s desire to protect the police officers themselves from various kinds of provocations from Western intelligence services. The likelihood of such unfriendly acts in 2021 is extremely high, as the crisis in relations between Russia and the Western world is gaining momentum. The biggest troubles that could be faced by Russian police officers are in countries that have signed an extradition treaty with the United States (there are currently 111 of them). According to established international practice, a person who is not a citizen of neither the transferring nor the receiving country can be transferred to the American justice authorities. Most often, foreigners are extradited to the United States by the United Kingdom, Spain, the Baltic countries and Latin America.

Of particular interest to the intelligence services of the United States and other countries may be employees of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs who have access to information constituting state secrets. Therefore, another reason for introducing restrictions on the travel of representatives of this department abroad is to ensure the protection of state secrets. All secret documentation is divided into categories:

• of special importance;
• top secret;
• secret.

Police representatives who, due to the nature of their activities, come across documents classified as “special importance” or “top secret” are automatically included in the category of citizens restricted from traveling abroad. These employees, as a rule, give a written undertaking not to leave the country for 5 or 10 years. If a police officer with access to classified information urgently needs to travel abroad, there must be extremely compelling reasons for this: the possibility of such a trip is considered on an individual basis by the regional leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Permission in this case can be obtained, for example, if the police officer himself or one of his close relatives requires urgent treatment abroad.

Russian police officers are limited in their ability to travel abroad in 2021

Among Russian police officers (who do not have access to state secrets), however, there is an opinion that the introduction of such restrictions is connected not only (and not so much) with the desire to protect representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from troubles, but also with the support of domestic resorts, where they are now forced to vacation security forces with families. At the same time, the cost of a holiday in Sochi or Crimea is comparable to prices, for example, in Turkey, although the level of service at Turkish resorts is much higher.

The reasons for the specific restrictions associated with the departure of police officers from Russia are not entirely clear.
The question arises of how weighty these reasons are, and what is the likelihood of a threat to the security of the country if police officers do not comply with these restrictions?! The departments that restrict travel from Russia associate these restrictions with the need to preserve state and military secrets. The new bans of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation are explained by the fact that employees of the department who are in the public service, which implies special responsibility, including a number of restrictions, are associated with the need to preserve state, official and other secrets protected by law.” There are different opinions, and one of them says that: “the decision to restrict travel from Russia was accepted by police officers with understanding, especially since there are enough places for recreation on the territory of the Russian Federation.” Evdokimova Olesya Sergeevna
https://www.eurasialegal.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7040:2018–07–12–09–18–23&catid=155:2012–10–04–05–12–32&Itemid =58

Cases in which departure is permitted

Police officers.

The legal framework recognizes serious illness or death of a close relative, the need for treatment in a foreign clinic, registration of an inheritance, and a number of others as valid reasons for lifting the ban on foreign travel of Russian security officials.

The decision on each individual situation is made by the leadership of the territorial division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Procedure for departure in exceptional cases for police officers

For police officers in public service in the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, the exceptional cases that allow the lifting of restrictions on foreign travel include:

1. The need for urgent medical attention. Confirmed by medical certificates justifying the intervention of foreign doctors.
2. Death of a family member. A death certificate of a close relative will be required.

The procedure for obtaining an exit permit consists of several stages:

• the approved report form is filled out addressed to the head of the territorial unit;
• The application is accompanied by a package of documents certifying a valid reason for traveling abroad;
• If the decision of the authorities is positive, the police officer receives his foreign passport from the personnel department.

A police officer returning from abroad is required to prepare a trip report with a detailed description of the route. The final stage is the return of the foreign identity card to personnel officers.

Procedure for departure in exceptional cases for FSB employees

For personnel of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the following are recognized as exceptional situations allowing travel outside the country:

• serious illness or death of a close relative;
• an official call from the parents of one of the spouses;
• entry into inheritance rights;
• alienation of foreign property;
• visiting burial places of family members;
• the need for medical care in a foreign clinic.

The legislative basis is clause 2 of the Instructions to Order No. 179, approved by the FSB on April 17, 2012.

What documents are required to obtain permission to travel abroad?

In a family emergency, when a close relative is seriously ill or has died abroad, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will need to obtain permission from management to visit a foreign country. To make a positive decision on the report, the security officer must submit to his superiors documents confirming the degree of relationship, a certificate of unsatisfactory health, or a death certificate of a family member living outside of Russia.

If foreign medical assistance is necessary, a civil servant is obliged to prepare:

• the result of a medical examination with an accurate diagnosis, carried out as part of compulsory medical insurance at a local hospital;
• official confirmation by a foreign clinic of its readiness to accept a Russian patient for treatment;
• a document from the health authorities indicating the helplessness of domestic medicine and the need for medical care abroad.

All certificates are drawn up in accordance with legal regulations and certified by a notary. It is allowed to present a certified telephone message from a foreign country as a documentary argument for permission to leave.