Registration of foreigners in Russia: basic provisions

Each foreign guest of our country must register with the migration service upon arrival. This process is commonly referred to as registration. How is registration of foreigners in Russia carried out?

Depending on the documents available to the migrant, the following grounds for the stay of foreign citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation are distinguished:

• for those arriving from countries with a visa, this is a visa; the period of stay is limited by its validity;
• for labor migrants from countries with a visa-free regime - this is an agreement with the employer; the period of stay can be extended for the duration of the contract, but not more than one year;
• highly qualified specialists with a work permit can stay in Russia for up to three years;
• for those who do not get a job, this is a migration card, the length of stay is generally limited to 90 days in one half year;
• a refugee certificate allows you to stay in the Russian Federation for three years or more if the status is extended;
• in order to stay in the Russian Federation for more than 90 days or the visa period, it is necessary to issue a temporary residence permit (valid for three years);
• a residence permit is issued for five years, its holders, if desired, can also apply for Russian citizenship.

Persons with the last three permits do not need to go through the re-registration procedure each time: it is enough to notify the Federal Migration Service every year that their status has not changed. For all other categories, temporary registration of foreigners at the place of stay is provided.

The host

The main responsibility for registering a foreigner falls on the shoulders of the receiving party. Who can act in this capacity? This can be either a private person, for example, a relative or landlord, or a legal entity - an employer, business partner.

The presence of citizenship does not play a special role - people who have a residence permit in Russia can also receive and accommodate guests from abroad.

Do not confuse the host with the inviter. The inviting person is always the same - the one who sent the invitation required to obtain a visa. And there can be several hosts, because a foreign citizen can move to another housing, to another region.

Place of stay

As a rule, the place of residence of a foreign person is the housing provided by the host country. But if the employer is the host, he can register his employee at his legal address or at his place of work.

This is what distinguishes migration registration from the registration practiced before - you can register at any address, and this does not have to be residential premises. Thus, the place of stay of a foreign citizen is the address at which he is registered with the FMS.

The place of stay, in addition to the above options, can be:

• sanatoriums and rest houses;
• medical institutions;
• hotels and hotels;
• correctional facilities.

In general, it is necessary to register after seven days of stay, starting from the day of crossing the border. Some categories of citizens enjoy preferences: residents of Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan can postpone this procedure for 30 days, Ukrainians - for 90, citizens of Tajikistan - for 15. 90 days are allotted for registration of highly qualified specialists and their families.

There is no need to notify the FMS of your arrival to those persons who are in Russia in transit, or if their visit lasts no longer than seven days.

By the way, if a citizen stays in an institution, for example, in a hotel, then the host is the administration. Within a day after the settlement, its employees must notify the migration service authorities about this.

Procedure

So what should the host do? It is necessary to take from the guest copies of his documents - a passport and a migration card, and contact the FMS office at the place of residence. You will also need to bring your own identification documents with you.

At the office, you need to fill out a special notice of arrival, which indicates:

• personal data of the foreigner and the host;
• the address at which the foreigner will mainly be located;
• data of his documents.

The specialist of the migration service must accept the documents, check the correctness of filling, sign the tear-off part of the form and give it to the receiving person for transfer to the foreigner. It is this form that will be the proof of registration.

A situation may arise that the host party is not able to deal with the affairs of the guest who has arrived. If a good reason can be documented (for example, a certificate from the hospital), then the guest will be able to register himself on his own.

Also, registration of a foreigner in an apartment is possible without a host, if the foreigner is its owner.

By mail

If for some reason it is not convenient to reach the FMS office within seven days, registration is possible for foreigners at the Russian Post. Each post office has a special window in which your documents will be accepted, checked and a tear-off confirmation stub will be issued.

The differences are this: you need to fill out two copies of the notice, and you will need to pay a state duty for postage, while registration in the usual way is completely free.