Instruction for foreign citizens arriving to Russian federation

1. It  is necessary to  submit a  completed migration card at  the Russian Federation border checkpoint. Migration card forms are issued free of charge to the foreign citizens entering the Russian Federation by representatives of transport organizations (operating personnel of long-distance trains, airliners, sea and river vessels, etc.) The migration card is  completed in Russian. It can also be completed in  Latin letters corresponding to the data contained in the passport or another identification document. Both parts of the migration card should be filled in. In the «Purpose of entry» section the word «туризм» (tourism) should be underlined. Migration card consist of  two parts: «A» and «B». While passing through the state border checkpoint, Part «A» of the migration card is left with the Frontier Service officials and Part «B» is returned to  the foreign citizen. On  the reverse side of  Part «B» of  the migration card the border checkpoint officials must put a  mark of entry to the Russian Federation. In case of damage or loss of  the migration card, the foreign citizen must within three days apply to the nearest territorial office of  the Federal Migration Service in order to obtain a duplicate of the damaged or  lost migration card. At the same time documents allowing entry to the Russian Federation must be submitted. Migration card duplicate is issued free of charge.

2. Upon entry to  the Russian Federation territory the foreign citizen must within 7 workdays register in  the territorial office of  the Federal Migration Service at the place of sojourn. The procedure of  the migration registration implies informing (notifying) a relevant territorial office of the Federal migration Service of a foreign citizens arrival to the place of sojourn and must be carried out in the course of three workdays after the arrival of the foreign citizens to the Russian Federation. One should know that all the procedures of the migration registration are carried out by the Host Party.
The form of notification of the foreign citizen’s arrival at the place of sojourn.
Upon arrival at the place of sojourn, the foreign citizen shows to the Host Party his/her passport and migration card; the latter is completed upon entrance to the Russian federation. Taking away the passport and migration card of the foreign citizen is not allowed.
The Host Party may be represented by citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless person having permanent residence in the Russian federation (holders of residence permit), as well as legal persons, their subsidiaries or branch offices where the foreign citizen
actually resides (sojourns) or works.
When a foreign citizen settles in a hotel, the Host Party is the hotels administration which in the course of  twenty-four hours notifies the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service of the foreign citizens arrival and also takes all the necessary steps regarding the registration of foreign citizens; the administration is  responsible for observance of  the established rules of foreigners sojourn. All the measures necessary for the registration of a foreign citizen are takes by the administration of the hotel.
If you do not stop in hotel, your tourist visa should be registered in territorial office of the Federal Migration Service at the place of sojourn. As rules of registration in a private sector often change, please, contact our office immediately on arrival to Russia for reception of more detailed information on procedure of registration.

On the basis of the documents presented by the foreign citizen, the Host Party fills in a special form of notification of the foreign citizens arrival at the place of  sojourn (hereinafter Notification).
Then the Host Party in the course of twenty-four hours presents the said form along with copies
of the foreign citizens passport and migration card directly to  the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service or sends them by post.

The territorial office of  the Federal Migration service or  the mail service office which have received from the Host Party the completed Notification along with the above-mentioned copies put down a mark of reception in the Notification and return the detachable part of the Notification to the Host Party.

The Host Party gives the detachable part of the Notification to the foreign citizen. The fact that the foreign citizen has the detachable part of the Notification with the mark of reception confirms his/her migration registration.

Before departure the foreign citizen gives the detachable art of Notification to the Host Party for it to be submitted directly or by post to the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service. Such action must be taken by the Host Party in the course of two workdays since the departure of the foreign citizen.

Please pay attention that the time of sojourn of a foreign citizen in the Russian Federation is determined by the term of validity of the visa issued to him/her.

The time of sojourn in the Russian federation of a foreign citizen who has arrived to the Russian Federation according o an arrangement that does not require a visa cannot exceed ninety days except the cases envisaged by the Russian federation legislation.

The foreign citizen is obliged to leave the Russian Federation upon expiry of the authorized time of sojourn. To prolong the term of validity of the visa of the time of sojourn, it is necessary to address the bodies of the Migration Service in advance, before the above-mentioned period expires.

Violation of rules of migration registration may entail administrative responsibility of a foreign citizen, in certain cases accompanied with expulsion from the territory of the Russian Federation. A foreign citizen who has been administratively expelled may be further banned from entry to the Russian Federation for the period of up to five years.

Copies of the passport, migration card and detachable part of the Notification, in case of their loss or any other unforeseen circumstances, would help to confirm that the foreign citizen indeed has the documents and observes the rules of migration registration.