New registration rules for foreigners in Russia

  New registration rules were issued on January 15, 2007. Below you will find the detailed information.

   Foreign citizens visiting Russia on a tourist or business visa must register by the local migration authorities within the three days after they have arrived in Russia. All the necessary papers must be completed by the receiving entity which can be the actual host company, a person or a hotel a foreign citizen is visiting in Russia. Note that the receiving entity does not always coinside with the inviting organization or a hotel entered at the invitation.

   If a foreigner stays at a hotel, the hotel must take care of the registration. If a foreigner stays at a private apartment, the landlord must take care of it. That is, the landlord must register the visa as a tourist or a business one. This may be carried out at the local police precinct in Moscow and in Federal Migration Service (OVIR) in other cities. The landlord must fill out the notification form and also include the foreign visitor's passport and migration card details. After that he should send the form by registered mail to the postal address of the local police precinct/FMS office. Since the landlord will have to show his passport at any FMS office or at the post office, he should be registered at the same apartment in which a foreigner lives.

   Notification form consists of the main part and a tear off receipt which are separated by a puncture line. The former leaves with the authorities, while the latter must be kept by the foreigner until his departure and be presented to the authorities if requested. To prevent the unpleasant situation of the authorities thinking the visa is overstayed, a foreign visitor must hand in the tear off receipt to the landlord before leaving Russia. The landlord must take care of the receipt and submit it to the migration authorities within 24 hours.

If the actions described above are not carried out, there may be punitive sanctions. Thus, a foreigner and a receiving entity may be fined. What is worse, the visitor may be placed in one of the black lists maintained by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This can make future travels to Russia troublesome.

  To take care of the registration of a foreigner is the responsibility of the actual host company or hotel but not of an inviting organization listed in a visa support or a hotel listed in a voucher. The hotel entered at tourist vouchers of the foreigners traveling on a tourist visa is “paid in full”. This form is required by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No prepaid room will be provided to the customer until he has booked the hotel with the help of our company and has paid for it. An actual hotel booking is not included in the tourist voucher price. Actually, the previous registration procedure was more difficult in comparisom with the new one. All our clients should get a registration flyer with the contact information and a registration form (you can get it on the right hand side of your log in page). Feel free to contact us if you need any additional assistance. We are ready to help you with any issues connected with the registration.