Passport and Visa Centre


The procedure for processing documents for entry into the Russian Federation

A foreign citizen for getting a higher education institution admission must

apply for an invitation. To receive an invitation, you must fill out the application form and attach a scanned copy of the first page of your passport, which must be valid for more than 1.5 year from the dead line of the intended date of entry.

After receiving an invitation, a foreign citizen applies to the embassy or consulate in the country of permanent residence for a single entry student visa.

The purpose of entry of a foreign citizen or a stateless person indicated in the migration card must coincide with the purpose of stay on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Important!

A foreign student arriving in the Russian Federation is required to have a voluntary medical insurance policy valid on the territory of the Russian Federation or to issue such a policy within 2 days from the date of arrival. The absence of a voluntary medical insurance policy is a violation of the rules of stay in the Russian Federation and encurs legal responsibility.

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The procedure of migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation

It’s foreign students responsibility for the compliance with the rules of migration registration of foreign citizens established by the Russian law and for the deadlines of submitting and receiving the necessary documents..

 Legal status and migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation are regulated by the following basic laws and regulations:

– Federal Law 115-FZ, dated July 25, 2002, “On the legal status of foreign nationals in the Russian Federation”

– Federal Law 109-FZ, dated July 18, 2006 “On migration registration of foreign nationals and stateless persons in the Russian Federation”.

– other laws and bylaws, as well as technical and administrative regulations of local authorities in the field of migration.

Important! Failure to comply with the established rules of migration registration is a violation of the Russian Federation laws and the University internal regulations, and may lead to disciplinary and administrative responsibility in the form of a fine in accordance with Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, deportation from the Russian Federation with a ban on re-entry. Important! All foreign citizens must live at the migration registration address.

We ask you to pay special attention to migration registration!
This means the following:

If you live in a private apartment (rent a flat, live with friends or relatives), the owner of the apartment is obliged to register you with the migration service at the address of the apartment. Before you move in, signing a rental contract and paying the rent, check with the owner of the apartment whether he is ready to regularly register you at the address of the apartment and whether he has the necessary documents for this.

If you live in a University hostel, the University is still responsible for registering you as a migrant (i.e. registering you temporarily). The address of the registration corresponds to the address of the hostel where you live.

If you concluded a residential lease agreement and you were registered in the hostel, but you do not actually live there – this is a violation of the law!

Important! The university is obliged to remove you from the migration registration at the address of residence after 10 days of absence in the university hostel (except for trips and other valid reasons which you must inform the university Passport and Visa center ahead).

If you live in a hotel or a hostel, the hotel administration is obliged to register you on the day of arrival and for the entire stay in the hotel, within a day! to give you the original registration with the signature of the employee and stamp of the hotel, the stamp of multifunctional center or inspector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Registration, issued by the hotel, becomes invalid on the day of departure from the hotel. After leaving the hotel, you have 3 calendar days to register at the new place of residence (in a hostel, in a private apartment, in another hotel).

Migration registration of foreign students living in hostels

Important to know:

– Every time you leave Russia and re-enter, your previous documents – migration card and temporary registration – become invalid, you need to re-submit documents for migration registration).

– When crossing the Russian border, be sure to check that your personal information on the migration card is correct, the date of entry is correct on the stamp of the Border Service, and the purpose of entry: “study” is indicated.

Remember! You must come to the Passport and Visa Center within 2 working days after crossing the border.

  • Do not lose your migration card, registration, passport, as the recovery of documents is a long and time-consuming process.
  • If you have not left the territory of the Russian Federation within one year from the date of migration registration, you must apply to the Passport and Visa Center to extend the registration 30 days before the expiration of the current registration.
  • The Passport and Visa Center does not provide copying and printing services – you must make copies of all pages of your passport and migration card yourself.
  • All information must be clearly visible on the photocopies. The photocopies must be at actual size 1:1.

Loss of documents

Procedure in case of documents loss (passport, visa, migration card, registration):

  1. Immediately contact the police department at the place of residence or the nearest police department where the document was allegedly lost.
  2. Get a certificate (coupon-notification of receipt of documents) from the police about the loss of a particular document; you must be issued a certificate immediately, without a certificate from the police your stay on the territory of the Russian Federation will be considered illegal
  3. Report the incident to the Passport and Visa Center.

Failure to report the loss of a foreign citizen’s documents to the police is a violation of the laws of the Russian Federation, including Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, and entails a fine with possible deportation from the Russian Federation and a ban on entry into Russia for 5 years.

 

Study visa extension

Visa extension is a procedure that allows you to extend the legality of your stay in Russia during 1 year.

The basis for entry into the Russian Federation of a foreign citizen or stateless person is a single-entry study visa issued for 90 days.

To extend your visa, you need to prepare a complete package of documents and personally submit it to the Passport and Visa Center no later than 60 calendar days before the visa expires.

A package of documents to extend a study visa

1. Passport + 2 copies of all pages of the passport

2. Migration card + 2 copies

3. Tear-off part of the notification of the arrival of a foreign citizen (registration) + 2 copies of both sides

4. 2 personal photossized 3×4

5. Receipt of payment of the state duty for visa extension in the amount of 1600 rubles (receipt form you can get from the Passport and Visa Center)

After extending the visa, a foreign student should renew the registration at the place of stay on the basis of a new visa (migration registration).

DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO!

There are amendments to the Federal Law dated 29 Dec. 2021, “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation” and “On State Fingerprint Registration in the Russian Federation” came into force, which introduced new rules for the passage of foreign citizens and stateless persons (except for citizens of the Republic of Belarus) medical examination, as well as carrying out activities for mandatory state fingerprint registration and photography.

Deadlines for these procedures:

Foreign citizens who arrived in the Russian Federation for purposes not related to the implementation of labor activities for a period exceeding 90 calendar days are required to under -go a medical examination, mandatory state fingerprint registration and photography within 90 calendar days from the date of entry.

Stages of passing the mandatory procedures:

The first stage – passing a medical examination in the established medical organizations (it is necessary to obtain a certificate of the absence of HIV infection, a medical certificate of the absence of infectious diseases, a medical certificate of the absence of the fact of drug use). The medical documents received at the same time have a validity period of 1 year from the date of issue.

IMPORTANT!!!

In a year from the date of receipt of medical documents and then annually! it is necessary to re-pass a medical examination in the established medical organizations and receive a certificate of the absence of HIV infection, a medical certificate of the absence of infectious diseases, a medical certificate of the absence of the fact of drug use.

The second stage – is the passage of mandatory state fingerprint registration and photographing with the presentation of medical documents confirming the passage of a medical examination.

The document received at the same time is issued once and is termless.

For avoiding the passage of these mandatory procedures (including repeatedly), administrative liability is provided for foreign citizens, followed by a decision to reduce the period of temporary stay on the territory of the Russian Federation and expulsion with the closure of entry into the Russian Federation for up to 5 years.

In accordance with Federal Law No357 by 14.07.2022, from January 1, 2023, foreign students will be able to obtain a temporary residence permit for the period of study (RVPO).

The RVPO will give foreigners who study in Russia the opportunity to temporarily acquire the status of foreigners temporarily residing in the Russian Federation. At the same time, unlike foreign citizens with a RVP, foreign students shouldn’t confirm it.

Only foreign students studying full-time will be able to issue a temporary residence permit for the period of study in Russia.

Important! To apply for the RVPO students who are in the Russian Federation on a study visa must provide a certificate of no criminal record, issued by the authorized bodies of their country of citizenship, legalized in the prescribed manner (apostille or consular legalization). The certificate is valid for 3 months from the date of issue.

The RVPO will be valid for the entire period of study, as well as for 180 days after graduation and graduation from the university. If a foreign citizen continues to study, the validity of the RVPO is extended.

After completing the training within 3 years, a foreign citizen who had the RVPO will be able to apply for a residence permit in Russia.

Contacts:

For all migration and visa issues, foreign students can seek advice from the specialists of the Passport and Visa Center:

Lenin Boulevard 5/7, building 2-A, 2nd floor, office 7-12
Phone: +7 (3652) 55-47-14
E-mail: visa.migrant@cfuv.ru