Procedure for migration registration at the place of residence has been adjusted

On July 8, 2018 new rules for migration registration came into force, according to which the party receiving a foreign citizen or a stateless person in the Russian Federation is obliged to register them at the place of actual residence.

The deadline for registration is 7 work days from the date of arrival. This period is applied to highly qualified specialists¹ if more than 90 days have elapsed since their entry.

These amendments were made following the Judgement of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation² which pointed to the need to remove regulation that doesn’t allow for unambiguous understanding of migration rules and obligations to implement them.

In particular, there was uncertainty as to who is responsible for registration of migrants – the receiving party or the foreign citizen (or stateless person). In addition, there was no unified approach as to whether the registration is to be carried out at the location of the receiving party or at the place of actual residence.

In this regard, the said amendments determined the list of places of residence, including hotels, hospitals, etc., as well as employing companies, but only if a foreign citizen actually resides at the place of their location.

At the same time, if a foreigner lives in a hotel or is in a hospital, the deadline for registration is in any event 1 work day from the date of arrival.

For now, the most common situation is when an employee is registered at the location of their employer, but actually resides elsewhere. In connection with the new rules, the registration of a foreigner must be carried out by the party directly providing the place for actual residence.

Note that for legal entities the administrative penalty for failure to perform migration registration may be up to 500,000 rubles.³

Federal Law No.163-FZ “On amendments to Federal Law ‘On migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation’” dated June 27, 2018

¹ See Article 13.2 of Federal Law No.115-FZ “On legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” dated July 25, 2018.

²See Judgement No.22-P of the Russian Constitutional Court dated July 19, 2017

³ See Clause 4 Article 18.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences No.195-FZ of the Russian Federation dated December 30, 2001.