Every citizen of the Russian Federation who has citizenship or permanent residence of any other state is obliged to notify the executive authorities of Russia about this. This requirement is contained in paragraph 3 of Article 6 of the Federal Law «On Citizenship of the Russian Federation» dated May 31, 2002 No. 62-FZ. For violation of deadlines for filing or failure to submit a notification, fines and even criminal liability are provided.
Who is required to notify
Any citizen of the Russian Federation who:
- received permanent resident status or a similar document from a foreign country;
- received citizenship of a foreign country;
If you have multiple permanent residence or citizenships, you should notify each one.
- DOES NOT reside permanently abroad.
However, the legislation does not clearly define what “citizens permanently residing outside the Russian Federation” are. Being registered with a consulate abroad, not having a place of registration in Russia or having a foreign tax residence does not mean, according to lawyers, permanent residence abroad. Therefore, it is recommended to notify about your foreign residence permit or citizenship even for those who believe that they “permanently reside abroad.”
Notice deadlines
- 60 days from the date of registration of foreign permanent residence or citizenship, IF you will be in Russia for any period of these 60 days.
- 30 days from the date of entry into Russia after the expiration of the 60-day period from the date of acquisition of foreign permanent residence or citizenship.
In other words, if you have not been in Russia within 60 days after acquiring foreign permanent residence or citizenship, you have the opportunity to continue to stay abroad as long as you like, without submitting any notifications or violating anything. But the first time you cross the Russian border, you will have 30 days to submit such a notification.
Even if you will be in the Russian Federation for only one day, you need to find a way to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation about your foreign permanent residence or citizenship.
Who to notify
Notification of obtaining a foreign residence permit or citizenship is required to be submitted to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the regional or district level (migration departments of departments and police departments):
- at the place of permanent registration;
- at the place of temporary registration — only if there is no permanent registration;
- at the actual location — only if there is no permanent or temporary registration.
You can find out the addresses of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on migration issuesHere, tab «Territorial bodies and subordinate organizations», further — for each region.
How to notify
It is possible to submit a notification about obtaining a foreign residence permit or citizenship only while on the territory of Russia and only to the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
There are 3 ways to serve:
- Personally
- Russian Post
- By proxy
Mandatory papers
1. Notification of the availability of a document confirming the right to permanent residence in a foreign country. It is presented in 4 forms:
- for persons over 18 years old when submitting in person;
- for persons under 18 years of age or with limited legal capacity when submitting in person;
- for persons over 18 years of age when applying by proxy;
- for persons under 18 years of age or limited in legal capacity when applying by proxy.
All forms can be downloadedHere, then fill out (all data — only in Russian!), print and sign. Their forms can also be obtained and filled out at the territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Among other information, you will have to indicate the basis for obtaining foreign permanent residence or citizenship (work contract, marriage, birth of a child, etc.).
2. Passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and copies of all its pages.
3. Foreign passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and copies of all its pages.
4. A document confirming the right to permanent residence in the territory of a foreign state (permanent resident status, passport of a citizen of a foreign state or similar documents) and a copy thereof.
5. For minor citizens or persons with limited legal capacity, additionally required (original and copy):
- birth certificate of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- act of the guardianship and trusteeship authority on the appointment of a guardian or trustee.
If the child is under 14 years of age, they may be required to provide one of the following documentation:
- foreign, diplomatic or official passport of the parent, with information about the child entered there;
- birth certificate and marks made in this document by competent foreign authorities;
- a mark on the translation into Russian of a document issued by competent foreign authorities;
- insert for the child registration document issued by the competent foreign authorities.
6. If the notification is submitted by proxy, you will need to attach:
- power of attorney. Has the right to be notarized on the territory of the Russian Federation or registered at the Russian consulate abroad;
- identity document (passport) of the authorized person and its copy.
Whenpersonal submissionat the territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs you will receive a notification letter about obtaining foreign permanent residence or citizenship with a mark on the acceptance of papers. It must have the date, signature and seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
A completed notice stub indicates that you have filed a notice as required by law. But it does not confirm the accuracy of the information you provided.
Atsubmission via Russian PostThe postal employee will check the original documentation with copies, put the copies in an envelope and send it to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in a valuable letter with a list of the contents. You enter the address on the envelope yourself. You will receive a notification receipt of a foreign residence permit or citizenship with a note on the acceptance of documentation; it must be dated, signed and stamped by the post office. In addition, one copy of the investment inventory remains with you.
The date of submission of the notification if it is sent by mail is considered the date the notification is received by the postal employee from the applicant.
Filing by proxyIt is allowed to do this both during a personal visit to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and by sending documents by Russian Post. You must visit or send a notification by mail to the territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to which the applicant is attached, and not his authorized representative. By the way, a proxy can be a citizen of the Russian Federation or a foreign citizen legally located in Russia.
Without a power of attorney, each adult must file the paperwork for themselves. For example, a husband cannot file papers for his wife.
If you fail to notify or violate the notification deadlines
The grounds for administrative and criminal liability may be:
- violation of deadlines for submitting notifications;
- providing incomplete information in the notification;
- provision of knowingly false data.
First, you will be fined from 500 to 1,000 rubles.
When crossing the border of the Russian Federation, a border service officer is able to ask the question of what and, most importantly, on what basis have you been doing abroad for so long or on what basis are you heading to this or that country. Questions may arise if your child has a foreign place of birth. As a result, you will be sent to deal with the immigration service at the airport.
A fine can be issued by an employee of the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs when he looks at your passport and determines from the entry stamps that you have violated the deadline for filing a notification.
Further, Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be applied, which reads: «Failure by a person to fulfill the obligation established by the legislation of the Russian Federation to submit to the appropriate territorial body of the federal executive body… notification that a citizen of the Russian Federation has citizenship (nationality) of a foreign state or a residence permit or other valid document confirming the right to permanent residence in a foreign state is punishable by a fine in the amountup to two hundred thousand rublesor in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by compulsory work for a period of up to four hundred hours.
During legal proceedings, travel abroad has the right to be limited.