Passport has to be valid for at least another 6 months.
No visa was required! (I know this sounds incredible, but it is true at
least for Swiss citizens.)
Insurance
They did not check if we had valid insurance (we didn't).
Drivers Licence
Did not get checked, but I am sure that you are required
to have one.
Motorcycle papers
We had to show our 'Technical Passport' as they call it,
which is the vehicle registration papers from home. (Fahrzeugausweis)
Licence plates
Licence plates from home country are sufficient.
How it went
As you leave the Turkish border you drive up to a little
booth on the left hand side. This is the immigration office. Here we had
to show our passports. The officer at first was very surprised to see
that we did not have a visa (which made my heart stop!). But then he checked
a list, which seemed so confirm, that Swiss citizens don't need a visa.
So our passports got stamped an we were waved up to the customs building.
Here we were greeted by an official who spoke a little English. He filled
in a slip of paper for each bike which contained the licence plate numbers
and waved towards an office to the side. While Khim stayed outside with
the bikes I went into this office. The office was packed, but of course
there was only one guy behind the counter hiding behind a computer. As
it turns out you have to hand in the slip of paper, passport and motorcycle
papers to this guy to get the necessary paperwork for your vehicle. As
I said, the office was packed and tempers and the temperature were running
high. Soon an argument broke out over who's turn it was. But just as soon
everybody was more interested in the girl with the motorcycle (me) and
my papers were handed to the guy behind the counter ahead of everybody
else's. After a half hour of entering data, three copies of vehicle papers
were presented to me and I had to sign all three copies. Very
important: the exit border is listed on this document and you can only
exit through the border listed on this form! So make triple sure that
the right border is mentioned! The permit for the bikes were
issued for 15 days, which was more than enough for us.
Once I got out of the office with the vehicle papers we had to show these
to the guy who had handed us the slip with the licence plate numbers.
He was surprised to see me back so soon, but upon checking the papers
waved us on to the gate.
Between the customs office and the gate there is a bank where we changed
our Turkish money into local currency without any problem.
At the gate passport and vehicle papers were checked again and that was
it, welcome to Georgia!
Point of Exit
Krasny Most to Azerbaijan
How it went
As this was the 'right' border, meaning the one listed in
our temporary import papers it was no problem. (The day before we had tried
exiting through the other border to Azerbaijan and there was no way they
could be persuaded to let us pass!) Beside the temporary import papers we
also had to show our passports. These only got stamped after the Azerbaijan
visa had been scrutinized thoroughly!
Additional Information
Neither entry or exit costs a single dime!
INFOS
These
are the details of the border crossing into this particular country.
The information is correct as of the date on which the border was
crossed. But, due to the stability and vagaries of the regimes involved,
it is prudent that you get additional data directly from the embassy
involved, preferably in your own country. Also you should keep in
mind that the procedure can vary depending on exactly who is on duty.
So never assume anything is a particular way, and regardless of what
anyone says, the impossible is often possible if you are in the right
place at the right time. Good Luck.
