Frequently Asked Questions

Please note that citizens of Ukraine who have not regularized their legal stay in Russia by September 10, 2025, are in violation of migration laws and could face legal consequences.

From 16 October 2023, Ukrainian citizens arriving from third countries may enter the Russian Federation only through Sheremetyevo Airport (Moscow Region). These restrictions do not apply to Ukrainian citizens under the age of 14 who enter the Russian Federation either independently or accompanied by their legal representative, guardian, or custodian who is a Russian citizen.

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.

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

You are required to make migration registration (registration of foreign citizens at the place of residence and registration at the place of stay) within seven working days from the date of arrival. The migration registration can be done either through the electronic portal of state services or during the visit to the multifunctional center or territorial branch of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) of the Russian Federation. The consent of the owner of the apartment/housing is required.

• 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 in a temporary accommodation point, please contact the emergency service at 112 or the Russian Red Cross at [email protected] or its regional divisions via the link.

• Please note that the procedure for obtaining temporary asylum for citizens of Ukrainian has been simplified by reducing the period of consideration.
• The application shall be submitted to a relevant MOI territorial branch at the place of stay.
• National passport/ID document translated in Russian and documents of your children. If you do not have a valid national passport/ID document, you need to undergo the identity verification procedure;
• 4 photos of 35×45 mm;
• Undergo identification, photography and fingerprinting;
• To obtain a temporary asylum certificate, a free medical examination is required.
• Temporary asylum is granted for a period of up to one year with the possibility of renewal. The application for extension must be submitted no later than 1 month before the expiration of the temporary asylum period. If you do not extend your temporary asylum status within the allotted time frame, you will lose your status and face of risk of being detained and expelled/deported. If the applicant has a valid reason for missing the application deadline, the deadline may be extended, but not more than 1 month.
• Ukrainian citizens are exempted from the requirement to submit a national passport/ID document to the MOI for storage when temporary asylum is granted.

NB: For detailed information on the procedure for applying for Temporary Asylum in the Russian Federation please see here

• According to the Russian legislation and the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who is outside his or her own country (or if stateless, outside his/her country of former habitual residence)  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 a relevant MOI territorial branch at the place of stay. The period of consideration of the application on the merits is 3 months with a possible extension of up to 3 months.

NB: For detailed information on the procedure for applying for Refugee Status in the Russian Federation please see here.

TRP gives the right to temporarily reside in Russia. TRP is granted for three years, no extension is provided. TRP is stamped in the identity document of a foreign citizen or stateless person or in the form of a separate document issued to a stateless person who does not have an identity document. The application shall be submitted by a lawfully staying person to a relevant MOI territorial branch at the place of stay. Citizens of Ukraine, stateless people from Ukraine who received a temporary ID of a stateless person in Russia, stateless people who permanently resided in Ukraine and obtained refugee status or temporary asylum in Russia are eligible to apply for TRP without a quota. The period of consideration of the application is 2 months.

The following documents must be attached to the application:

1. Passport or other identity document with a notarized translation into Russian;
2. 2 photos 35×45 mm; stateless people shall provide 5 photos;
3. Medical examination on drug use; infectious diseases that pose a threat to others; HIV infections. Medical examinations can be done free of charge in medical organizations included in the list by regional authorities of the Russian Federation.

Citizens of Ukraine are exempt from:

• Confirmation of knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history and legislation of the Russian Federation.

Payment of state fee for TRP.

PRP gives the right to permanently reside, travel abroad and return to Russia. It is issued for an indefinite period of time. Citizens of Ukraine can obtain PRP by-passing the TRP stage. The application must be submitted by a lawfully staying person to a relevant MOI territorial branch at the place of stay or residence.

The period of consideration of the application is 4 months. The following documents must be attached to the application:

1. Passport or other identity document with a notarized translation into Russian;
2. 4 photos 35×45 mm;
3.  Confirmation of income;

4. Medical examination on drug use; infectious diseases that pose a threat to others; HIV infections. Medical examination can be done free of charge in medical organizations included in the list by regional authorities of the Russian Federation.

Citizens of Ukraine are exempt from:

• Confirmation of knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history and legislation of the Russian Federation.
• Payment of state fee for PRP.

Citizens of Ukraine are eligible to obtain Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure.

• 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 free of charge to foreign citizens by medical organizations.

• All other medical care is provided for a fee or under the state obligatory medical insurance (OMI) free of charge.

You may obtain an obligatory medical insurance (OMI) certificate and register in a clinic at your convenience if you have one of the following legal statuses:

• Temporary asylum
• TRP or PRP
• Refugee status certificate of consideration on the merits
• Refugee Status

In order to obtain the OMI policy, it is necessary to contact any medical insurance organization providing services under OMI (https://www.ffoms.gov.ru/system-oms/territorial-funds/). 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 on or after 18 February 2022 are entitled to receive 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 Social 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 area of your stay/residence.

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.

Pension allowance

• For all pension issues, please contact the territorial branches of the Social Fund of Russia at the place of stay/residence: https://sfr.gov.ru/
• A refugee has the right to a pension (regardless of its type) only during the period of their refugee status, which is confirmed by a refugee certificate. Foreign citizens and stateless persons who do not have refugee status must prove 15 years of permanent residence in the Russian Federation in order to receive an old-age social pension. Foreign citizens and stateless persons who have been granted temporary asylum, as well as individuals with temporary ID for stateless persons, do not have the right to a pension.

Pension Verification Requirement for those Ukrainian Refugees who reside abroad

Due to recent legislative changes in Ukraine, all Ukrainian pensioners residing abroad must complete a verification procedure in order to continue receiving pension payments from the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

How to Complete Verification

You can complete the procedure through one of the following modalities:

1. Diia Application

Via Diia Signature on the PFU web portal or the PFU mobile app ( video guide is available here)

2. Videoconference Verification via the PFU Portal

You may request a video call via the PFU portal or by calling the hotline: 0800 503 753.
Calls are usually scheduled within 10–30 days and conducted via Google Meet, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Viber, or Zoom.
You will be asked to present your original passport/ID and pension certificate during the call.

Additional Requirement for Pensioners from territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions

If you are from these regions, you must confirm that you are not receiving a pension from the Russian Federation, by doing one of the following:

• Selecting the relevant declaration box in your PFU online account
• Stating this explicitly during videoconference verification
• Sending a written declaration by email or postal mail to the PFU

After completing all steps, please verify that your PFU personal account reflects the correct date of verification and declaration. You may check this online or by contacting the PFU hotline (0800 503 753).

Need More Help?

For more information and technical support completing the verification process through the Diia app or PFU portal please contact the UNHCR Regional Contact Centre (RCC). Additional information will also soon be available via the Ukraine is Home website: https://ukraineishome.org/

• People from Ukraine who have obtained temporary asylum, refugee status, temporary residence permit or permanent residence permit in Russia, including stateless people with a Russian temporary ID document, can work without obtaining a work permit.

• People from Ukraine 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 de-register 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).

• If people from Ukraine do not have any legal status in Russia, they need to obtain a patent to work and stay legally in Russia.

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 your stay/residence (https://trudvsem.ru/czn).

In accordance with the Russian legislation, foreign children can be enrolled to schools upon presenting documents confirming their legal stay in Russia and passing a Russian language test.