Frequently Asked Questions

Documents that can be used to enter the Russian Federation:

• National passport (including in the form of an ID card), passport for travelling abroad, diplomatic passport, service passport, birth certificate (for children under 16 years of age);
• In the absence of identity documents, the issue will be resolved by the competent authorities at the border checkpoint.

Foreign citizens and stateless persons who resided on the territory of Ukraine:

• Starting from 5 March 2022, can enter the Russian Federation and leave the Russian Federation to the states of their citizenship or permanent residence without issuing a visa using valid identity documents recognized by the Russian Federation in this capacity, including expired identity documents;
• Have the right to stay in the Russian Federation for up to 15 days from the date of crossing the state border of the Russian Federation.

Anti-Covid restrictions on entry into the Russian Federation have been lifted.

Upon entry, it is required to obtain a migration card. Migration card forms are issued free of charge by border control officials.

• Persons from Ukraine have the right to temporarily stay in the Russian Federation without time limits, subject to mandatory state fingerprint registration, photographing and medical examination. In order to go through the procedure and obtain the relevant document, it is necessary to contact the territorial migration authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia within 90 days. Without going through these procedures, persons from Ukraine are subject to general rules, according to which the period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation of a foreign citizen cannot exceed 90 days during each period of 180 days.

Migration registration bears a notification nature and includes registration of foreign citizens at the place of residence and registration at the place of stay.

• It is necessary to register at the place of stay within seven working days from the date of arrival;
• The receiving party must submit a form of notification of arrival to the territorial unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in person or in electronic form, or through a multifunctional center, or send it in the prescribed manner by mail;
• The receiving party must give you a tear-off part of the arrival notification form with a notification receipt mark of the territorial unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
• Foreign citizens permanently or temporarily residing in the Russian Federation (on the basis of a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit) who have the right to use a dwelling located on the territory of the Russian Federation, must submit a residence registration application of a foreign citizen or a stateless person in order to register at the place of residence.

• Persons from Ukraine who arrived on an emergency basis from 18 February 2022 and beyond are distributed among the regions of the Russian Federation and temporary accommodation points based on quotas established by the Government of the Russian Federation. The procedure of reception and distribution is established by relevant regions of the Russian Federation.
• For information about accommodation, please contact the emergency service at 112 or call the EMERCOM of Russia help desk at 8 (495) 983-79-01.

• Obtaining temporary asylum in a simplified manner, the period of consideration is reduced.
• The application shall be submitted to the territorial migration unit  of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or through the Multifunctional Center for Provision of State and Municipal Services (MFC). In addition to the application, one will need a notarized translation of identity documents into Russian and two personal photographs 35×45 mm.
• To obtain temporary asylum, a free medical examination is required.
• It is issued for one year with the possibility of renewal.
• Exemption from the requirement to submit a national passport/identity document to the migration authorities for safekeeping when granting temporary asylum.

• According to the Russian legislation and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who is outside his or her own country and cannot return due to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
• The application for refugee status shall be submitted in person to the territorial migration unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place of stay. The period of consideration of the application on merits is 3 months with a possible extension of up to 3 months.

• TRP gives the right to temporarily reside, work without additional permits and get access to free medical care within the framework of Obligatory Medical Insurance (OMI) for three years, no extension is provided.

• The application shall be submitted to the migration unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place of stay.

• The period of consideration of the application is 2 months.
• The following documents shall be attached to the application:

1. Passport or other identity document with a notarized translation into Russian;
2. 2 photos 35×45;
3. Medical examination for the presence or absence of the fact of drug use; infectious diseases that pose a threat to others; HIV infections.

• Medical examination can be passed free of charge in medical organizations included in the list by regional authorities of the Russian Federation.
• Exemption from payment of state fee when submitting documents for TRP.
• Exemption from confirmation of knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history and legislation of the Russian Federation.

• PRP gives the right to permanently reside, work without additional permits, get access to free medical care within the framework of Obligatory Medical Insurance (OMI), as well as to obtain pension support. It is issued indefinitely.
• Citizens of Ukraine can obtain PRP bypassing the TRP stage.
• The application shall be submitted to the migration unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place of stay/residence.
• The period of consideration of the application is 4 months.

• The following documents shall be attached to the application:

1. Passport or other identity document with a notarized translation into Russian;
2. 4 photos 35×45;
3. Medical examination for the presence or absence of the fact of drug use; infectious diseases that pose a threat to others; HIV infections.

• Medical examination can be passed free of charge in medical organizations included in the list by regional authorities of the Russian Federation.
• Exemption from confirmation of knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history and legislation of the Russian Federation.
• Exemption from payment of state fee when applying for PRP.

• Primary medical aid, including provision with medicines supplied to the population in accordance with the List of Population Groups and Disease Categories (Appendix 1 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 30 July 1994 No. 890 Concerning State Support for the Development of the Medical Industry and Improving the Provision of the Population and Healthcare Institutions with Medicines and Medical Products), as well as specialized medical aid, including high-tech, emergency assistance in case of diseases and conditions included in the program of state guarantees of free medical care for citizens.
• Emergency medical aid in case of sudden acute diseases, conditions, exacerbation of chronic diseases that pose a threat to the patient’s life is provided to foreign citizens by medical organizations free of charge.

• All other medical care is provided for a fee or under an Obligatory medical insurance policy (OMI).

OMI policy can be obtained under any of the following legal statuses:

• Temporary asylum
• TRP or PRP
• Refugee status consideration certificate
• Refugee Status

In order to obtain OMI policy, it is necessary to contact any medical insurance organization providing services under OMI. Together with the application, an identity document (passport) of a foreign citizen, a certificate of temporary asylum / refugee certificate / TRP / PRP should be submitted.

On the day of applying to the medical insurance organization, a temporary certificate is issued confirming the formalization of the policy and certifying the right to receive free medical care.

The regional authorities of the Russian Federation establish the procedure for providing medical aid to persons from Ukraine based on their local regulatory legal acts.

Persons from Ukraine who arrived in the Russian Federation from 18 February 2022 and beyond are entitled to a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles (in a non-cash form).

Documents for receiving payment:

• Application (issued upon request);
• Identity document;
• Child’s birth certificate (if available);
• Bank details (if there is no account, you will be proposed to apply for opening an account in a branch of Sberbank of Russia);
• Individual insurance account number (SNILS) (issued on the day of application at any branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation upon presentation of an identity document);
• Migration card (if available);
• Migration registration (if available).

Where to apply for payment:

• To the social protection authorities/multifunctional center in the adjacent area.

The regions of the Russian Federation also implement various measures of social support, for example, free meals at schools, access to free recreation and organization of holidays in some regions.

• Persons from Ukraine who have obtained refugee status (for the period of its validity), as well as a PRP, are entitled to pensions in the Russian Federation.

• For all pension issues, please contact the territorial bodies of the Pension Fund of Russia at the place of stay/residence (https://pfr.gov.ru/press_center/~2014/12/29/2473).

• Persons from Ukraine who have obtained temporary asylum, refugee status, temporary residence permit or permanent residence permit in Russia can work without obtaining a work permit or patent.
• From 27 August 2022, persons from Ukraine without a legal status/patent may temporarily (until the established measures are cancelled) work without permits after performing the personal identification through fingerprints (palmprints) by the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or after carrying out fingerprint registration and photographing, as well as passing a medical examination. To go through the procedure and obtain the document, one should contact the migration unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place of stay .

To search for vacancies, you can use the all-Russian database of vacancies (https://trudvsem.ru/) or contact the state employment service at the place of stay (https://trudvsem.ru/czn).

Individuals can become self-employed if their activity does not require mandatory registration as an individual entrepreneur and if they do not have an employer and employees.

As a self-employed person, you can register or deregister through your personal account on the Gosuslugi portal or at the multifunctional center. (For more information, please see: https://www.gosuslugi.ru/situation/kak_otkryt_svoe_delo/become_self-employed).

• The right to exchange foreign driver’s license in a special manner – without passing the exams to confirm the right to drive vehicles.
• Exemption from payment of the state fee for the issuance of a national driver’s license of the Russian Federation.

Preschool Education

• Persons from Ukraine can apply to a preschool educational institution for admission of their children.
• The following documents should be provided:

1. Parent’s identity document;
2. A document proving the identity of the child and confirming the legality of the representation of the child’s rights;
3. A document confirming the right to stay in the Russian Federation.

• Admission can only be denied in case of lack of placements. In this case, the issue of enrollment in another general educational institution will be considered.

General Education

• A child can be admitted to school upon the personal application from the parent (legal representative) of the child or the applicant (for children over 14 years of age).
• It is recommended to enroll a child even if there are no required documents due to emergency circumstances at the time of enrollment.
• Upon admission to a school to obtain secondary general education (grades 10 and 11), it is necessary to provide a certificate of basic general education (on the completion of grade 9) in the established form.
• In the absence of a document on the education level , an intermediate attestation is organized, as a result of which the school accepts the child.
• For students with disabilities, education can be organized both jointly with other students, and in separate classes, groups or in organizations that implement adapted general education programs.

Secondary Vocational Education

• It is possible to enroll in an educational institution of the Russian Federation in the form of transfer from an educational institution of the country of origin.
• In the absence of documents confirming the completed education, recertification is arranged.

  Higher Education, Postgraduate Study

• Persons who received secondary general education and secondary vocational education in 2022 are admitted to study based on the quotas of the Government of the Russian Federation for the education of foreign citizens and stateless persons.
• There is a possibility of transfer from the educational institution of Ukraine and credit of subjects passed.

For persons arriving from Ukraine, recognition of education and (or) qualifications is carried out.

In the regions of the Russian Federation, free legal aid is provided to persons from Ukraine in order to settle their legal status.

• Participants of the state system of free legal aid are:

1. federal executive authorities and their subordinate institutions;
2. executive authorities of the regions of the Russian Federation and their subordinate institutions;
3. administrations of state non-budgetary funds;
4. state legal bureaus;
5. bar associations of the regions of the Russian Federation.

• Free legal advice to persons arriving from Ukraine is provided by the Association of Lawyers of Russia at: 8 (800) 300-80-86 (24/7).
• Hotline of legal aid on matters of competence of the notary: 8 (800) 234-34-17.
• For legal aid, you can also contact relevant UNHCR partner organizations in the Russian Federation: https://www.unhcr.org/ru/execpartners.

You can register on the Gosuslugi portal to receive information and available services in electronic form (https://www.gosuslugi.ru/foreign-citizen).

Telephone for psychological assistance of the Russian Red Cross

8 800 250 18 59

Telephone for psychological assistance of the EMERCOM of Russia

8 495 989 50 50

Unified Rescue Service – 112

Fire Department – 101

Police – 102

Ambulance – 103

Hotline of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation: +7 800 707 56 67

Hotline of the UNHCR in Russia: 8 (903) 792-22-79 [WhatsApp, Viber]

https://www.unhcr.org/ru/28617-helpforukrref.html

For issues concerning the search and restoration of family ties, please contact the Russian Red Cross at 8 800 234-07-07 or write an e-mail to [email protected]

Public reception center of the Russian Red Cross

Legal advice, socio-practical and psychological support for refugees, internally displaced persons, migrants and stateless persons from any country in the world.

You can get advice and support at this address: Moscow, 7 Krzhizhanovsky str., building 2.

Reception hours for people affected by the Ukrainian crisis:
Tuesday, Friday from 11:00 to 17:00

Reception hours for migrants and refugees from other countries:
Monday, Thursday from 11:00 to 17:00

Hotline: 8 800 234 07 07 (every day from 09:00 to 21:00)

Email: [email protected]

Reception center of the Civic Assistance Committee

Consultations on obtaining refugee or temporary asylum status in Russia, primary consultations with a general practitioner, humanitarian and psychological assistance.

Hotline: 8 (985) 310-08-26

Reception center of the St. Petersburg Regional Branch of the Russian Red Cross

Consultations on legal aspects of stay in Russia and execution of necessary documents.

Hotline: 8 800 333-00-16