Migration registration of foreigners is carried out within the framework of Russian legislation in the field of migration. With some exceptions, all foreigners must register at their place of residence within 7 days. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in a ban on entry into the country and even deportation. After the aggravation of the situation in the east of Ukraine, some liberal amendments were adopted when registering Ukrainians in the Russian Federation, the number of which at that time increased sharply. How migration registration is carried out for citizens of Ukraine and what has changed in 2021, read on.
Registration of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation
According to No. 109-FZ dated July 18, 2006, any foreigner who is in Russia temporarily or permanently must, after reaching his destination in Russia, within 7 days stand at the territorial body of the Main Department of Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (FMS) registration at the place of stay.
For citizens of some states, different deadlines are established: in particular, we are talking about registering citizens of Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (EAEU) for migration; they are given 30 days from the date of arrival.
These requirements apply to all foreigners who arrived in Russia for a period exceeding 7 days.
Migration registration of foreigners is carried out on the basis of the above-mentioned Law No. 109-FZ and No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002. These regulations include provisions regulating not only registration, but also storage, use, processing of information on the migration sphere, but also the procedure for maintaining the state information system for migration registration.
Find out more about how it works.
Permissible length of stay of Ukrainian citizens in Russia
According to Art. 5 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”, citizens of Ukraine who arrived in the Russian Federation have the right to stay on the territory of Russia continuously for 90 days in six months. The period of 90 days is counted not from the moment of registration with the Main Department of Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the place of stay, but from the moment of crossing the Russian border.
The period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation of a foreign citizen who arrived in the Russian Federation in a manner that does not require a visa cannot exceed ninety days in total during each period of one hundred and eighty days, except in cases provided for by this Federal Law, as well as in the case unless such period is extended in accordance with this Federal Law. In this case, the continuous period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation of the specified foreign citizen cannot exceed ninety days. The period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation of a foreign citizen who arrived in the Russian Federation in a manner that does not require a visa and is a highly qualified specialist, and the period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation of his family members are determined by the validity period of the work permit issued to such a highly qualified specialist in accordance with Article 13.2 of this Federal Law.
If a Ukrainian citizen needs to spend more time in Russia, he can use the procedure for extending the period of continuous stay of foreigners in the country.
How does registration work?
Due to the increase in the last few years in the number of citizens arriving in the Russian Federation from a neighboring country, the number of requests about how and where to register for migration as a citizen of Ukraine has increased sharply.
Current Russian legislation places this responsibility on the receiving party, which can be:
- an individual – the owner of the provided residential premises (or of a foreign state);
- accommodation facility – hotel, boarding house, holiday home, correctional facility, social institution;
- a legal entity that invites a foreigner to work and has residential premises on the balance sheet of the enterprise used to accommodate the foreign workers involved.
You can register at the departments of the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Russian Post or at the MFC.
Ukrainian citizens arriving in the country for tourism purposes or on a private visit for a period of less than 90 days are exempt from this procedure: this right is given to them not by the agreement between Russia and Ukraine on migration registration, which, by the way, does not exist, but by one concluded back in 1997 year
The only thing you need to have with you throughout your entire stay in Russia is an entry stamp.
It’s a completely different matter if Ukrainian citizens enter for the purpose of... In this case, it is necessary to register, since without it it will be difficult, and it is not at all necessary to do this within 7 days, as required by law for all other categories of foreigners. The same rule also applies to those who plan to stay in the Russian Federation for a longer period.
Thus, migration registration of citizens of Ukraine in 2019 includes registration at the place of residence for those who have or, and at the place of stay for the rest.
Required documents
Only a foreigner who already has a temporary residence permit or residence permit can register, and the law allows 7 days for this after receiving them. In addition, it will be necessary to present a document confirming the right to use the residential premises (title documents for the property), and the consent of all persons registered in it, if any, will also be required.
To register at the place of temporary residence, you only need a migration card. The latter should clearly indicate the purpose of the visit – “work”, since basically only Ukrainians who plan to work in Russia should undergo this procedure.
About deadlines
The deadline for registering Ukrainian citizens for migration in 2021 is seven days. The maximum period during which a foreigner is allowed to stay in Russia under the visa-free regime cannot exceed 90 days provided for by law. At the end of the period established by law, you must either leave the territory of the Russian Federation, or obtain permits for further stay in the country, or apply for their issue.
Registration at the place of residence is done for the period of issuance of a temporary residence permit or temporary residence permit.
About preferential conditions for residents of Donbass
From June 1, 2021, all privileges for residents of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions were canceled, and now, after 90 days, like all other Ukrainians, if they do not have a working patent, temporary residence permit, residence permit, they must leave Russia for a period of three months.
About the registration procedure
Let's consider what the law says on the registration of Ukrainian citizens in Russia, which, to be precise, is called “On the migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation.” It obliges all foreigners temporarily or permanently residing in our country to register at their place of residence, and those temporarily staying to register at their place of stay. In the first case, the foreigner does this independently in the territorial body of the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or in the MFC, in the second - the receiving party in any of the above organizations or in a branch of the Russian Post.
Temporary registration of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation at the place of residence is a mark in the temporary residence permit or residence permit with the address of the residential premises. It is done for the validity period of the issued permits for residence in the Russian Federation, and in most cases is stamped directly on the day of application. The migration service authority is obliged no later than the next working day to enter data about the foreign citizen into its registration documents and into the state information system.
The procedure for temporary registration at the place of residence of citizens of Ukraine is the submission of a special notification form, its tear-off coupon is proof of the fact of registration.
Read more about the entire procedure.
Grounds for extending the period of stay
Citizens of Ukraine have the right, on a general basis, to extend the period of continuous stay on the territory of the Russian Federation, for which they must contact the migration service (GUVM MIA) to re-register for migration for 90 days. However, not everyone will be approved for an extension; the grounds for extending the period of stay of a foreign citizen in Russia are:
- Admission to a Russian university.
- Obtaining a patent for work.
- Obtaining the official status of a highly qualified specialist.
- Documented expectation of a residence permit or receipt/extension of a temporary residence permit.
- The prospect of extending a work visa.
- Waiting to receive permission to work in the Russian Federation.
- Refugee or temporary migrant status was issued.
Extension of the period for registration of a foreign citizen at the place of residence for the legal stay of a citizen of Ukraine on the territory of Russia is also possible in the event of confirmation of illness or death of a close relative. To do this, you need to contact the department of the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a corresponding application and attach to it the necessary package of documents (passport, migration card, documents confirming the illness of a relative, etc.)
Rights of Ukrainians when carrying out migration registration in the Russian Federation
In accordance with Article 6 of Law No. 109-FZ, all foreigners, including Ukrainians, have the right:
- receiving, upon request, personal certificates from migration registration authorities;
- familiarization, protection, modification, correction of your personal data in the state information system for migration registration.
The procedure for crossing the border of the Russian Federation by citizens of Ukraine
In 2021, Ukrainian citizens will be able to cross the Russian border without a visa or even with an internal passport. When going through border control, you must be prepared to explain to the border guards the purpose of your visit to Russia, and also have valid identification documents (passport or international passport).
If, during passport control at the border (regardless of the type of transport on which the foreigner, including a Ukrainian citizen, arrived in Russia), problems with documents were discovered, or border service officers doubt the purpose of the foreigner’s visit, or the foreign citizen was previously issued a ban to visit the country for a certain period of time, he may be denied entry into the territory of the Russian Federation.
Results
Migration registration for citizens of Ukraine in 2021 consists of registration at the place of temporary stay or registration at the place of residence, while if Ukrainians arrived in Russia for a period not exceeding 90 days, they do not have to register. Those who entered the country for the purpose of employment and immigration are required to register, since without this it is impossible to obtain a work patent, obtain a temporary residence permit or residence permit.
A temporary residence permit in Russia for citizens of Ukraine allows you to live in the country and work without obtaining a patent for three years and is the first document on the path to obtaining a residence permit and citizenship. To issue a temporary residence permit, you must indicate the real purpose of the visit on the migration card when crossing the Russian border.
Entry and registration of Ukrainian citizens in Russia
Over the past 5 years, relations between Ukraine and Russia have seriously deteriorated, which led to natural changes in the rules for the entry of Russian citizens into Ukraine and, accordingly, vice versa. Ukraine has extremely tightened the requirements for Russian citizens, so according to the new rules, Russians can enter Ukraine only with a foreign passport, providing biometric data (fingerprints), even if the Russian foreign passport contains this data. It is extremely difficult for men with Russian citizenship aged 18 to 60 to enter the territory of Ukraine, to the point that a man of military age traveling from Russia to Ukraine will be denied entry even if he has an invitation from the Ukrainian side, a return ticket, proof of solvency and in general everything is in order with the documents.
After such a tightening of the Ukrainian side, many feared that Russia would respond by complicating the procedure for Ukrainian citizens to cross its borders, but this did not happen. As before, Ukrainian citizens can enter the territory of Russia both with an internal passport and with a foreign passport ; no age restrictions have been introduced either.
Since 2014, due to the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, there has been a preferential regime for the entry, registration and employment of Ukrainian citizens who left their country and are fleeing hostilities in the South-East of Ukraine. However, since 2019, the preferential regime has been changed; now a citizen of Ukraine has the right to stay in Russia for only 90 days out of 180, that is, no more than 6 months a year (2 times 3 months). Thus, from this year, Ukrainian citizens temporarily staying on the territory of the Russian Federation must comply with the requirements of Russian migration legislation that are standard for all foreigners. Foreigners temporarily staying in Russia include all foreign citizens who entered the country on the basis of a visa (tourist or any other), or in a manner that does not require a visa, but by filling out a migration card, and who do not have a temporary residence permit or residence permit in the Russian Federation .
