Once upon a time it was sufficient to pay some Rubles and to have a stamp on a piece of paper to have an acceptable registration for Russia. But the times have changed and since January 3rd, 2014 it is a legal crime if you are registered with under a fictitious address. However, the law may be on your side when you are not obviously breaking the rules.
Having mastered the first hurdle and holding your work permit and Russian Visa in your hands you feel a short moment of happiness. However, many visitors know the pain when they arrive in Russia. They have to register themselves with the Russian local authorities to avoid problems and fines when leaving the country. As most of the visitors are not familiar with the Russian language and don't like to spend time in queues with Russian administration offices, they use the services of local service companies which provide a registration paper for a couple of Rubles without any hassle. But this time is over now.
Legally it was tolerated, but never allowed to be registered at a "fictitious address". Being registered with such a "virtual flat" became now a legal crime. People or companies providing such registrations can be fined from RUB 100.000 to 500.000 (about 2.000 to 5.000 EURO). Furthermore, there may be an imprisonment for up to three years for such activity. If it can be proved that the person to be registered knew about the "fictitious registration" it also can be fined and treated as guilty.
A virtual registration won't do anymore; however, the registration is still obligatory. The good thing is that not being registered is by far not considered such a strong crime than being registered under a fictitious address. The consequences are much milder. In theory, a non-registered migrant even may not be fined at all.
What you need to know: The obligation for registration of a foreign person in Russia is the duty of the housing side. It can, but doesn't have to be the person or institution, which invited the foreigner. The determining criteria is the factual place of stay. You don't have to go yourself to the local administrative office you are only required to handover a copy of the passport and the migration card, which you received on the border to Russia, to your host or landlord. The host or landlord can then proceed with your registration, which nowadays can be made by postal service.
In practice, there are some cases where the foreign person handed over a copy of the passport and migration card to the landlord and was sentenced guiltily for not registering properly. And, there are other court decisions where it was decided that the foreign person should not be sentenced as it provided the landlord with the required documents. As it happens from time to time, reality and legal entitlement are far from each other, doesn't matter that, by law the host or landlord is required the execute the registration of the hosted person. Unfortunately, in fact, you will hear at negotiation stage when renting a flat that the flat can be only rented without registration.
If you rented a flat already, there are things you can do to make sure you are more on the safe side than breaking the rules. What you need to do is handing over copies of migration card and passport to your landlord. If the landlord doesn't want to accept these documents, you should send them by registered postal service with receipt confirmation and stating a list of contents. The dilemma is that your landlord might try to put you on the street. But there is hope in the Russian legal system, and if you have a signed renting agreement in your hands this cannot be done easily and fast.
Having mastered the first hurdle and holding your work permit and Russian Visa in your hands you feel a short moment of happiness. However, many visitors know the pain when they arrive in Russia. They have to register themselves with the Russian local authorities to avoid problems and fines when leaving the country. As most of the visitors are not familiar with the Russian language and don't like to spend time in queues with Russian administration offices, they use the services of local service companies which provide a registration paper for a couple of Rubles without any hassle. But this time is over now.
Legally it was tolerated, but never allowed to be registered at a "fictitious address". Being registered with such a "virtual flat" became now a legal crime. People or companies providing such registrations can be fined from RUB 100.000 to 500.000 (about 2.000 to 5.000 EURO). Furthermore, there may be an imprisonment for up to three years for such activity. If it can be proved that the person to be registered knew about the "fictitious registration" it also can be fined and treated as guilty.
A virtual registration won't do anymore; however, the registration is still obligatory. The good thing is that not being registered is by far not considered such a strong crime than being registered under a fictitious address. The consequences are much milder. In theory, a non-registered migrant even may not be fined at all.
What you need to know: The obligation for registration of a foreign person in Russia is the duty of the housing side. It can, but doesn't have to be the person or institution, which invited the foreigner. The determining criteria is the factual place of stay. You don't have to go yourself to the local administrative office you are only required to handover a copy of the passport and the migration card, which you received on the border to Russia, to your host or landlord. The host or landlord can then proceed with your registration, which nowadays can be made by postal service.
In practice, there are some cases where the foreign person handed over a copy of the passport and migration card to the landlord and was sentenced guiltily for not registering properly. And, there are other court decisions where it was decided that the foreign person should not be sentenced as it provided the landlord with the required documents. As it happens from time to time, reality and legal entitlement are far from each other, doesn't matter that, by law the host or landlord is required the execute the registration of the hosted person. Unfortunately, in fact, you will hear at negotiation stage when renting a flat that the flat can be only rented without registration.
If you rented a flat already, there are things you can do to make sure you are more on the safe side than breaking the rules. What you need to do is handing over copies of migration card and passport to your landlord. If the landlord doesn't want to accept these documents, you should send them by registered postal service with receipt confirmation and stating a list of contents. The dilemma is that your landlord might try to put you on the street. But there is hope in the Russian legal system, and if you have a signed renting agreement in your hands this cannot be done easily and fast.
About the Author:
Michael Haase is the owner and Managing Director of RUSCONSULT24. RUSCONSULT24 is a Russia Consulting company. The company is specialized in business consulting and provision of services to foreign companies in Russia. The services include the outsourcing of bookkeeping, application for work- permits and Russian visa and search for human resources. Visit our website at the links above for more information.
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