“Registration of Russian visas or registration of foreign citizens in Russia”
According to Russian law, every foreign citizen coming into Russia must be registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Russia. You must be registered in each place you stay if you stay in that place for 7 days or more. This registration is required for all foreigners regardless of their country of citizenship, immigration status in Russia, type of visa they have, or not needing a visa to travel in Russia. Even if your country is included on the visa-free list for Russia, all the registration rules are applicable to you.
All foreign citizens coming to Russia must be registered within 7 business days, not counting the date of entry. There are some exceptions for some countries. For example, citizens from Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have 30 days after the date of entry to register. For citizens from Tajikistan, they have 15 days to register. Foreign workers who have the status of being highly qualified workers, have 90 days to register.
Important – if you are staying in a hotel, you don’t need to handle your registration. Hotels are required by law to register all their guests. You only need to take care of your registration if you are staying in a private place. If you are staying in a private place, the owner of the place must register you. Without the registration, you can be fined and/or detained for questioning by the police. Also, without this registration, you won’t be able to take legal steps in Russia, like extending your period of stay, getting married, purchasing property, receiving an inheritance, etc.
How to get registered in Russia?
Temporary registration of foreign citizens is not a complicated process, but there are some details that you should know in advance. The registration can be made at the following locations:
- A local branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation which serves the address of the place of stay
- Multifunctional centers
- Russian post offices.
There is a special form which should be filled out by the owner of the place where the foreign citizen is staying. The owner of the place must provide the following documents for registration:
- Notification of Arrival of a Foreign Citizen to a Place of Temporary Staying
- Their valid Russian Internal Passport
- A document proving ownership or right of occupancy of the place
- Copies of documents of the foreign citizens, including copies of every single page of the foreign passport, copy of the visa, and the migration card.
After your host submits these documents, a perforated part of the form will be given with the signature of the officer who accepts the application and a stamp. Please keep this for your records, as it proves that you were registered.
