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Visa Saint Petersburg

Anyone seen any info on if we will need visa's for Saint Petersburg like we did for the world cup? Not sure how they would turn them around in time as we are obviously not confirmed to play there until a few days before.

85 Replies

  • Peter Titmus

    In reply to Nicholas Small:

    OK - thanks. I'll give that a go too in a few days.
  • Russell Duffin

    In reply to David Lilley:

    Dear David, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I've just sent a message in Russian to the Fan-ID helpdesk and am waiting for a reply. As soon as I hear back, I'll post the response here. Many thanks and best wishes. Russell
  • Russell Duffin

    In reply to Russell Duffin:

    One day later, and no reply as yet from the Fan ID helpdesk. I'll give them another 24 hours and, if they don't reply to my message, I'll phone them! Thanks again for your patience. Russell
  • Nicholas Small

    In reply to Russell Duffin:

    I asked the following:

    "I have a conditional ticket for the quarter final in St Petersburg. It seems I have to wait until my team progresses past the Round of 16 before I can apply for a Fan ID. In that event, I'll be in Copenhagen, and will need to collect the Fan ID before entering Russia. Will there be electronic Fan IDs as there were in 2018? Will it be possible to use these to enter Russia on the train from Helsinki?"

    In amongst the generic copy-and-paste response, there was an enlightening sentence:

    "A FAN ID in electronic form, containing personal data and a photo of the owner, will be sent to the e-mail address specified during registration for a FAN ID, in the form of a PDF file for printing on A4 paper before the start of the FAN ID validity period as an entry/exit document."

    Just not quite sure how long that will take to arrive.

    I'd certainly suggest everyone gets a photo ready which meets the validity requirements. It's the first step of the Fan ID application, and the website will say immediately if the photo you have is valid, without having to go through the whole application process. Then keep the photo on your phone.
  • Matthew Isle

    In reply to Nicholas Small:

    Nicholas Small


    I'd certainly suggest everyone gets a photo ready which meets the validity requirements. It's the first step of the Fan ID application, and the website will say immediately if the photo you have is valid, without having to go through the whole application process. Then keep the photo on your phone.

    I found getting an acceptable photo was incredibly difficult and time consuming blast time.

    A right palaver!

  • Andrew Coates

    In reply to Matthew Isle:

    Does a standard passport photo not suffice?
  • Matthew Isle

    In reply to Andrew Coates:

    If anything like last year - no.
  • David Lilley

    In reply to Matthew Isle:

    Matthew Isle

    I found getting an acceptable photo was incredibly difficult and time consuming blast time.

    A right palaver!

    For the World Cup 2018, I noticed that the walls of my local Asda supermarket were plain white and the lighting was good. So I got one of the customer service staff to take my picture against that background.

    Back home, I cropped the picture to a 'head and shoulders' shot. The Fan-ID website wouldn't accept it the first 2 attempts. Then, I noticed that the website specified limits for the vertical and horizontal pixel count were in the exact ratio 5:4. So, I recropped my picture to that exact aspect ratio and the picture was accepted.

    I've not yet looked at the specification for the photo, as given on the Euro 2020 Fan-ID website. But, if you submit a picture within the maximum file size, respecting the pixel count limit, and with the same aspect ratio as the pixel limits, then the submission is likely to be accepted.

  • Peter Titmus

    In reply to Nicholas Small:

    Just to be sure I understand that - you register now, with a valid photo. They will then email you a completed fan ID, based on the information you registered with, but only when your team has got through such that your conditional ticket is now an actual ticket? Is that broadly it?
  • David Lilley

    In reply to Nicholas Small:

    Nicholas Small
    It seems I have to wait until my team progresses past the Round of 16 before I can apply for a Fan ID.

    Have you had that confirmed ?

    Did the reply from the Fan-ID help desk say when the electronic Fan-ID would be approved and available for printing ? This is the critical question.

    My own circumstance is that I have a cancellable flight to St Petersburg which departs first thing Wednesday morning for a Friday match. I need the Fan-ID by Tuesday night and the Copenhagen R16 does not finish until late Monday night. (The option to cancel my flight and my St Petersburg hotel has to be exercised no later than Monday night, after the R16 match, which is likely to be before I know whether the Fan-ID will be approved in time.)

    Members who have not yet booked transport would really like to know when they're going to be in a position to book something. The more compressed is the time between issue of Fan-ID and the match, the greater will be the competition for flights, the fewer will be the available options and the higher will be the fares.

  • Peter Titmus

    In reply to David Lilley:

    I’m in a similar position David except that my cancellable flight leaves Thursday for the Friday game, so I’d need the fan ID by end Wednesday. However my accommodation would need to be cancelled by end Tuesday.
  • Peter Titmus

    In reply to Peter Titmus:

    I have gone onto the site and it lets me get so far until I reach the question about how the have my fan ID delivered. There are only 3 options - a fan ID distribution centre in Russia, a global VFS centre (eg London, Manchester..) or otherwise by post. For a conditional ticket, none of these options appear obvious except perhaps the first one, if that’s at the airport, or the post option, but only if they’ll send it early enough.

    Therefore, from trying this out and from reading the notes above, I am still none the wiser. The good news is that the order number worked, as did the photo (I used the same one as was accepted from 2018).
  • Nicholas Small

    In reply to David Lilley:

    Not had it confirmed explicitly, but I'm unable to apply for a Fan ID with a conditional ticket.

    I agree the timescales are important. As I say, I'm not just not quite sure how long that will take to arrive: the swiftness of receiving an electronic Fan ID might have been in one of the World Cup editions of Free Lions (which I don't currently have to hand).

    We'd be on a train to Stockholm the morning after the Copenhagen game, then boat to Helsinki and train from there to St Petersburg.
  • Peter Titmus

    In reply to Nicholas Small:

    Why do you say you can’t apply - what’s the part that stops you from doing that, just the delivery options or something else?
  • Nicholas Small

    In reply to Peter Titmus:

    I picked the VFS Global place in London, submitted the application and was told my order number was invalid.

    I expect the option we'll all end up using is to get an electronic Fan ID after the Copenhagen match, and collect at the distribution centre in St Petersburg.
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