Asia and Oceania

 

All British passport holders must obtain a visa from their nearest Mongolian Embassy before entering the country.  A Mongolian visit visa is usually valid for a stay of up to 30 days stay within six months from the date of issue.

British passport holders need visas to enter China and Russia.  Many travellers have reported difficulties in obtaining Russian visas in Ulaanbaatar.  We advise you to obtain all necessary visas for your onward travel before entering Mongolia.  British passport holders may transit China without a visa provided they are in transit for less than 24 hours and do not leave the transit area.  However, not all airlines offer a transit facility and your transfer may therefore involve retrieving baggage and returning to the check-in hall.  Mongolian Airlines are in this category.  You should therefore consider obtaining a Chinese visa to smooth your journey.  British passport holders may transit Russia without a visa provided the route does not involve changing airports or leaving the transit area.

Your passport must be valid for more than six months after the date you intend to enter Mongolia.

 

 

Adults accompanying children other than their own should have a notarised letter from the legal guardians of the child confirming the arrangement. For further information please contact the Embassy of Mongolia in London.

 

 

You should register your stay in Mongolia with the Foreign Citizen’s Bureau in Ulaanbaatar within a week of arriving you if intend to remain for more than 30 days, or if you do not have an "Entry/Exit" visa.  You must also de-register before leaving Mongolia, at the Foreign Citizens’ Bureau.  After de-registering, you must obtain an "Exit" visa from the Consular Department of the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  If you do not do this, you will not be allowed to leave the country. You may also be fined.

 

The Office of Immigration, Naturalisation and Foreign Citizens is at:

 

11 Chinggis Avenue

Sukhbaatar District

Ulaanbaatar

 

Tel: 976 11 321704

Fax: 976 11 313259

Email: gihaea@mongolnet.mn

Web-site: www.mngimmigration.mn/

 

There are only six border points open to British passport holders.  They are at Ulaanbaatar’s international airport; the road/train crossing to China at Zamin Uud, the road crossing to Russia at Tsagaannuur in the far west; the train crossing to Russia at Sukhbaatar and the road crossings to Russia at Altanbulag and Ereen-Tsav in the north east.  You may not cross into China or Russia at any of the other border points, as they that are either seasonal or are open only to Mongolians and/or Chinese/Russians. 

If you are planning to bring a vehicle into Mongolia at any of the border crossings you should inform the tax authorities and border troops in advance.

You may encounter problems when entering Mongolia by train from Russia particularly with Russian border or customs officials who scrutinise documentation, and particularly customs declarations, carefully.  If you are crossing overland to or from Russia you are advised to you to read our travel advice for Russia and to be scrupulous about completing all the necessary paperwork. 

Passengers travelling across the China/Mongolia border should expect a delay of a few hours, because of the need to change the bogies, as the railways use different gauges.