TESTIMONIALS – Since this Thursday, the Quai d’Orsay advises expatriates in Russia to leave the country. A hasty departure which does not always turn out to be an easy task.
“In one week, our life has changed“, confides, this Thursday, Christian * from Istanbul airport, while waiting for his next plane for Paris. This fifty-year-old is accompanied by his 17-year-old son and his wife. Each took a single suitcase from Moscow. “We left most of our belongings, our furniture, our memories in Moscow. We don’t realize what’s going on yet, it’s going too fast, but we hope we can come back“says this director of a subsidiary of a French company in Russia and who had lived there for 4 years.
Read alsoThe Quai d’Orsay ‘strongly’ advises expats in Russia to leave the country
Indeed, since this Thursday morning, the Quai d’Orsay advises expatriates in Russia to leave the country. “It is strongly recommended to French nationals, whose presence and that of their family is not essential in Russia, to make arrangements to leave the country by the still existing links.“, can we read on the website of the Embassy of France in Russia. According to the 2021 figures from the consular register of France in Russia, 4767 French people currently live in Russia.
The direct air links between Russia and France being closed, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises to take advantage of the connections “still existingand posted a list of indirect connections that allow you to return to France. “These alternative routes exist and we recommend them“, highlighted Anne-Claire Legendre, spokesperson for the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, this Thursday on France Info. For the moment, the possibility of setting up chartered planes for the return of these expatriates to France is not mentioned.
French expatriates in Russia who wish to return face a significant increase in the price of plane tickets. “It’s two to three times more expensive than usual but we were afraid of getting stuck if the borders ended up closing completely“, explains Christian. A Moscow-Istanbul flight now costs no less than 500 euros instead of the usual 150 and tickets are sold out. For example, for this Friday, no more tickets are available between Moscow and Istanbul. Faced with these exorbitant prices, Alex*, 26, who had been teleworking from Russia since the end of January, chose to go by land route. “I have booked a train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and then I will go by bus to Estonia to meet friends there. It will cost me around 100 euros“says this young creator of websites.
“It’s rough»
Beyond the price of plane tickets, there is also the problem of emergency moving. “We only took with us the most important things, administrative papers and clothes.“, says Louise *, mother of three children and who lived in Russia for 10 years and returned last week by the last direct flight from Moscow to Paris. “We have used a moving company to bring the rest of our belongings back to France but we hope that our belongings will be able to be brought to Paris by land.“. While waiting to find new accommodation in France, they will be welcomed by Parisian family.
In addition to the hassle of returning, there are sometimes major financial problems. Part of his savings, nearly 40,000 euros, could not be transferred from his Russian account to his French bank account. “I can no longer make a transfer between my Russian bank and my bank in France. We managed to withdraw some money but not all of it, we left in a hurry“says this forty-year-old. A waste of money which Louise would have done well, as she left Russia and also left her job behind. “It’s rough“, she admits.
Accompanying the financial sanctions imposed by the West, payment card issuers Visa and Mastercard are suspending their services to Russian banks. A decision with a direct impact in Russia: “With my Visa card, I can’t always withdraw money or pay“, explains Nathalie*, 25 years old and in VIE in a French company in Moscow. But fortunately for her, it was her company that paid for her return plane ticket to France. This young Frenchwoman is preparing to return to live with her parents in Haute-Savoie and hopes to be able to return to Russia as soon as the situation calms down. “I’m sad because of leaving. I can’t wait to come back.»
Read alsoTo leave or to stay: the dilemma of French expatriates in Russia
Despite the embassy’s recommendations, many French people choose not to leave. “I do not plan to leave the country, it would be unthinkable. my life is here“says Martial *, 62 years old and in Russia for seven years. Same story with Arnaud, in Russia for 13 years: “I live in Russia, my wife is Russian. I am here, I am staying here.»
*These names have been changed