The Russian Visa In Your Pocket - What You Need To Know Now If You Plan A Longer Stay In Russia.
It is not enough anymore to pay a couple of Rubles and a stamp on a piece of paper to be in possession of a proper registration in Russia. Since January 3rd, 2014 it is a legal crime to be registered in the so-called "virtual flat". But, you have at least the law on your side if you do not obviously break the rules.
Having mastered the first hurdle and holding your work permit and Russian Visa in your hands you feel a short moment of happiness. However, many visitors know the pain when they arrive in Russia. They have to register themselves with the Russian local authorities to avoid problems and fines when leaving the country. As most of the visitors are not familiar with the Russian language and don't like to spend time in queues with Russian administration offices, they use the services of local service companies which provide a registration paper for a couple of Rubles without any hassle. But this time is over now.
From a legal point, it was never allowed being registered at a fictitious address. However, it was tolerated. Now, being registered at a "virtual address" will be treated as a criminal offense. The person processing such a registration is facing huge fines from 2.000 to 5.000 Euro and jail up to three years. The person, being registered, will be sentenced guilty and fined as well, if it is provable that the person knew that the registration happened under a virtual address.
The registration of a person in Russia was and is still obligatory, but "being simply registered" is not enough anymore. The good news are: Being not registered has much fewer consequences than being incorrectly registered. And there are things you can do to be more on the legally save side. The Russian law says that non-registered migrants may not be fined at all, at least in theory.
What is important to know: It is the duty of the receiving side to register a foreign person in Russia. This can be the inviting person or institution. Usually this is the host or landlord as the place of stay factual counts as the decisive criteria. The good point is that you don't have to go yourselves to the registration office. The landlord should do that. Nowadays the registration can be done easily by public postal service. You are only required to hand over a copy of your passport and migration card you received at the border to Russia to your landlord.
In practice, there are some cases where the foreign person handed over a copy of the passport and migration card to the landlord and was sentenced guiltily for not registering properly. And, there are other court decisions where it was decided that the foreign person should not be sentenced as it provided the landlord with the required documents. As it happens from time to time, reality and legal entitlement are far from each other, doesn't matter that, by law the host or landlord is required the execute the registration of the hosted person. Unfortunately, in fact, you will hear at negotiation stage when renting a flat that the flat can be only rented without registration.
But you can do some things to be legally more save in such cases. You need to ensure that you fulfilled your part of the obligation, meaning you need to provide your landlord with a copy of passport and migration card. If the landlord refused to accept these documents, you should send it with registered mail with content list and receipt confirmation. You might think this is the best way to get thrown out of your flat. This is a dilemma one has to live with, but there is still the hope on the Russian legal system and with having a legal renting agreement in your hands no one can easily put on the street.
Having mastered the first hurdle and holding your work permit and Russian Visa in your hands you feel a short moment of happiness. However, many visitors know the pain when they arrive in Russia. They have to register themselves with the Russian local authorities to avoid problems and fines when leaving the country. As most of the visitors are not familiar with the Russian language and don't like to spend time in queues with Russian administration offices, they use the services of local service companies which provide a registration paper for a couple of Rubles without any hassle. But this time is over now.
From a legal point, it was never allowed being registered at a fictitious address. However, it was tolerated. Now, being registered at a "virtual address" will be treated as a criminal offense. The person processing such a registration is facing huge fines from 2.000 to 5.000 Euro and jail up to three years. The person, being registered, will be sentenced guilty and fined as well, if it is provable that the person knew that the registration happened under a virtual address.
The registration of a person in Russia was and is still obligatory, but "being simply registered" is not enough anymore. The good news are: Being not registered has much fewer consequences than being incorrectly registered. And there are things you can do to be more on the legally save side. The Russian law says that non-registered migrants may not be fined at all, at least in theory.
What is important to know: It is the duty of the receiving side to register a foreign person in Russia. This can be the inviting person or institution. Usually this is the host or landlord as the place of stay factual counts as the decisive criteria. The good point is that you don't have to go yourselves to the registration office. The landlord should do that. Nowadays the registration can be done easily by public postal service. You are only required to hand over a copy of your passport and migration card you received at the border to Russia to your landlord.
In practice, there are some cases where the foreign person handed over a copy of the passport and migration card to the landlord and was sentenced guiltily for not registering properly. And, there are other court decisions where it was decided that the foreign person should not be sentenced as it provided the landlord with the required documents. As it happens from time to time, reality and legal entitlement are far from each other, doesn't matter that, by law the host or landlord is required the execute the registration of the hosted person. Unfortunately, in fact, you will hear at negotiation stage when renting a flat that the flat can be only rented without registration.
But you can do some things to be legally more save in such cases. You need to ensure that you fulfilled your part of the obligation, meaning you need to provide your landlord with a copy of passport and migration card. If the landlord refused to accept these documents, you should send it with registered mail with content list and receipt confirmation. You might think this is the best way to get thrown out of your flat. This is a dilemma one has to live with, but there is still the hope on the Russian legal system and with having a legal renting agreement in your hands no one can easily put on the street.
About the Author:
Michael Haase is the owner and Managing Director of RUSCONSULT24 a Russia Consulting company based in Moscow. The company consults and provides services to foreign firms based in Russia. The services include the outsourcing of bookkeeping, application for work- permits and Russian visa and search for human resources. Visit RUSCONSULT24 at the links above for more information.
The Russian Visa In Your Pocket - What You Need To Know Now If You Plan A Longer Stay In Russia.
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