Migration policy
Foreign applicants need to take a few simple steps to study and live in Russia:
1. fill out a migration card;
2. register for migration.
In the future, do not forget to renew your visa and migration documents. The first time is 3 months after entry.
Migration card
The migration card is filled out by all foreigners coming to Russia with or without a visa. Free forms are issued on the plane, train, and also before passing through passport control at the airport (train station).
A migration card is evidence that you crossed the Russian border legally. Along with a passport, it is an indispensable document for a foreigner to stay in Russia. In particular, without it it is impossible to register for migration. When filling out the card, try not to make mistakes, otherwise in the future you will have to spend a lot of time and effort correcting them.
How to fill out a migration card?
The migration card must be filled out in Russian (or in Latin letters if you do not know the Russian language), legibly, without erasures or corrections.
After this, the card is handed over to a border service officer. You will be given a tear-off part of the form - this is your migration card, which is important to keep until you leave Russia.
How long is a migration card valid?
The migration card is valid as long as you are in Russia. But if you leave the country, you hand it over at border control, and fill out a new one when you return.
Migration registration of foreign students
Foreigners coming to Russia to study (with or without a visa) must register with migration authorities within 7 days from the date of entry. The university handles this procedure; you only need to bring documents to the department for work with foreign students within 3 days from the date of arrival.
The place of registration must coincide with the actual residential address. If a student lives in a university dormitory, he will be registered at the appropriate address by the administration staff of this dormitory. If he is going to rent an apartment, then registration must be completed at its location.
The package of documents for migration registration includes:
- passport (or identity document)
- visa (if you are from a visa country),
- migration card.
Originals and copies of these documents are required. In the future, university staff will give you a detachable part of the arrival notice with a mark from the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. This is your migration registration document. It gives you the right to stay in the country for the period specified in it (initially - 3 months, later - 1 year). Then the notification will need to be renewed at the territorial office of the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
How to extend your arrival notice
Two weeks before the end of the notice of arrival period, you need to contact the university department for work with foreign students to extend it.
If a foreigner travels around Russia, checks into hotels, leaves and returns to the country, as well as changes in information, you need to re-issue an arrival notice through the relevant department of the university.
There is no state fee for registering for migration and extending the notification of arrival.
Loss or damage to migration documents
If you lose (damage) your migration card, you must contact the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, where you are registered, within three days. Upon presentation of documents (passport, visa, student card, tear-off part of the arrival notice, etc.), you will be given a duplicate free of charge.
If you have lost your part of the arrival notification form, then you also need to come to the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, where you are registered, and write a statement. After checking the information, you will be given a free duplicate of this document (usually within 3 days).
Employees of the university department for work with foreign students can also help with the restoration of lost documents. The main thing is to meet the deadline allotted by law - 3 days.
What are the consequences of violating the migration regime?
Failure to comply with migration registration rules may result in a fine. For example, for Moscow and St. Petersburg it is 5,000-7,000 rubles. In some cases, foreigners are expelled from Russia for lack of necessary documents. Thus, for two or more administrative violations within 3 years, a foreigner faces a three-year restriction on entry into the country.
