Registration of foreign citizens and stateless people in the Russian Federation - Mazars - Russia

Today, Friday March 25th 2011, came into force the federal law # 42 FZ at 20.03.2011 on “Making amendments to the law on “Registration of foreign citizens and stateless people in the Russian Federation” and to other separate legislative acts of the Russian Federation”.

The changes are as follow:

• Registration of foreign citizens and stateless people: the registration place is no longer only the living place as it was stipulated in the Law # 385-FZ from 23.12.2010. Is now considered as registration place any other where is the foreign citizen or the stateless person, including the working place. Thus, legal entities have again the authorization to register their employees at their physical address.

• Registration period: the registration period of foreign citizens and stateless people to the migration services is now 7 working days from the entry day into the Russian Federation. Foreign citizens and stateless people being in Russia for less than 7 days don’t have to be registered. Highly qualified specialists and members of their family keep the right to stay in Russia 90 days without registration. However, at the end of this period they have to register within 7 days.

• Responsibility: according to the new law, foreigners that haven’t been registered within the established period of time, don’t assume anymore the responsibility for breaking the law. The responsibility will be assumed only by the foreigners that have to register by themselves, that is to say, owners of residential properties proceeding to their registration by themselves.

Highly qualified specialists obtained the following advantages:

• The new law gives to the highly qualified specialist, owner of residential properties, the right to act as inviting part to register the members of his family at the house address. We remind that the other foreigners owners of residential properties have only the right to register themselves.

• Also, the highly qualified specialists have the right to personally invite their family members. This kind of invitation gives to the family members the right to obtain a working multi-entries visa.

All these changes considerably ease the registration of foreigners working on the Russian territory, of the highly qualified specialists and their family members.