The key terms used in Russian immigration legislation

Information from official documents

The key notions used in migration legislation, which are essential for foreign citizens arriving in Russia, are as follows:

foreign citizen is an individual with a citizenship other than that of the Russian Federation, having proof of citizenship (allegiance) in a foreign country.

invitation to enter the Russian Federation is a document serving as the basis for issuing a visa to a foreign citizen.

visa is a permit issued by a diplomatic mission or consular establishment of the Russian Federation to enter the Russian Federation with a valid identity document of a foreign citizen.

migration card is a document which contains information on a foreign citizen who is about to enter or has entered the Russian Federation on conditions of the visa-free regime, and his/her period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation.

temporary foreign visitor is an individual arriving to the Russian Federation on the basis of a visa (if traveling as part of the visa-free regime, an individual that has received a migration card), but without a permanent residence or temporary stay permit.

foreign citizen’s employment is a foreign citizen’s work in the Russian Federation under an employment or a civil-law work (service) contract.

foreign worker is a foreign citizen arriving to theRussian Federation for a temporary stay and performing labor activities subject to applicable regulations.

work permit is a document (plastic card) certifying a foreign worker’s right to perform temporary labor activities on the territory of the Russian Federation. The card is issued for a period of up to 12 months and specifies a migrant’s details: full name, date of birth, passport details, occupation.

Deportation means the expulsion of a foreign citizen from the Russian Federation in the event of the loss or termination of the legal basis for his/her continued stay in the country.

Foreign citizens’migration registration involves recording and summarizing data on foreign citizens and their relocations.

Moscow’s migration registration bodies are the Federal Migration Service of Russia and the Federal Migration Service’s Moscow Directorate.

The place of stay of a foreign citizen is a housing facility, which is not a place of permanent residence, as well as any other facility, institution, or organization with which the foreign citizen is placed, and/or whose address the foreign resident must use to register with the authorities.

A foreign citizen’s registration at a place of stay is the registration of data on the foreign citizen’s place of stay with the Federal Migration Service’s Moscow Directorate in accordance with applicable procedures.

The host party may be a Russian citizen, a foreign citizen having permanent residence in the Russian Federation or a legal entity.