The Ministry of Internal Affairs proposed to allow foreigners a short stay in the Russian Federation for 90 days a year

The Ministry of Internal Affairs, as part of its bill submitted to the government in September 2022, proposes to introduce a single period of short-term stay of foreigners in Russia. It will be limited to 90 days during the year, RIA Novosti was told in the department.

It is proposed to establish three migration regimes: short-term stay, long-term stay and permanent residence. Long-term implies that you can stay in the country for more than 90 days during the year without obtaining the right to permanent (indefinite) residence. For foreigners with the right to long-term stay (including students and labor migrants), the period of stay will be determined “depending on the grounds for obtaining such a right,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs specified.

Now foreigners can stay in Russia without a visa for no more than 90 days within six months. The continuous period of temporary stay for such citizens cannot exceed 90 days.

According to FinExpertiza, in 2022 the number of foreign citizens who came to Russia to work reached 3.47 million, which is a third more than a year earlier. In November, the government submitted to the State Duma a draft law on the reorganization of migration registration. It expands the use of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the services of the departmental Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Passport and Visa Service” and the specialized Moscow MFC for processing documents of labor migrants and their registration at the place of residence. The Presidential Council for Human Rights criticized the initiative.

Details can be found in the Migrant Rights Council material.

Laura Keffer