From November 07, 2024, amendments to the Federal Law of 15.08.1996 N 114-FZ “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation” (hereinafter – “Federal Law № 114”), the Federal Law of 25.07.2002 N 115-FZ “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter – “Federal Law № 115”), introduced by the Federal Law of 08.08.2024 N 253-FZ will come into force:

  1.  It is established that the formation of information on foreign nationals (hereinafter referred to as IG) and stateless persons (hereinafter referred to as LBG) in the information systems of State bodies and organizations shall be ensured by means of a uniform translation of surnames and names contained in identity documents of the said persons from the Latin spelling to the Cyrillic spelling. The procedure for this translation of surnames and first names, including for the purposes of conducting experiments under Article 25.16-2 of Federal Law No. 114, shall be established by the Government of the Russian Federation. (part 4 of article 6 of Federal Law No. 114)

    *Not currently established.

  1. The grounds for issuance of a visa to a foreign national, unless otherwise provided for by an international treaty of the Russian Federation, have been supplemented. A visa may also be issued on the basis of:

– decision on granting the status of a participant of the State Program on rendering assistance to voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation or the status of a family member of a participant of the said State Program, adopted by a territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in accordance with the procedure established by the President of the Russian Federation (paragraph 4.3) of Article 25 of Federal Law No. 114)

  1.  Introduction of provisions on conducting experiments to test the rules and conditions of entry and exit of IGs (LBGs) to and from the Russian Federation that are not stipulated by Federal Law No. 114 (Article 25.16-2. of Federal Law No. 114):

The said experiments may be conducted by the Government of the Russian Federation. The Government of the Russian Federation establishes:

  • the procedure for organizing experiments and requirements for conducting them, including the purposes, places and period of conducting them,
  • peculiarities of entry/exit to/from the Russian Federation of IGs (LBGs) during the period and places of conducting experiments,
  • peculiarities of stay (residence) in the Russian Federation of IGs (LBGs) who entered the Russian Federation through the places where the experiments were conducted,
  • peculiarities of accounting and processing of information (collection, placement, transfer, storage, use, destruction of information), including information containing biometric personal data of such IGs (LBGs), including in information systems and (or) through the use of means of automation,
  • peculiarities of filing applications for the purpose of entry to the Russian Federation and stay (residence) in the Russian Federation shall be established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

If experiments are conducted with the involvement of executive authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation shall establish the powers of these authorities, the procedure, requirements and other features listed above, in coordination with the highest officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation who are in charge of the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which are involved in conducting these experiments.

If experiments on testing the rules and conditions of entry / exit to / from the Russian Federation of IGs (LBGs) are carried out with the involvement of the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, these authorities may provide assistance to the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in conducting voluntary state genomic registration by obtaining, storing, destroying biological material, as well as obtaining and transmitting genomic information. The procedure for providing such assistance, including the rules for obtaining, storing, and destroying biological material, as well as obtaining and transferring genomic information to divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, shall be established by the Government of the Russian Federation in coordination with the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. At the same time, genomic registration of IG (LBG) may be carried out with the consent of such persons and on a gratuitous basis. (part 2 of article 8, paragraph 5 of article 10 of the Federal Law of 03.12.2008 N 242-FZ “On State Genomic Registration in the Russian Federation”).

* At the moment there are no clarifications / Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding the above mentioned experiments.

  1.  Additions and adjustments were made to the wording of the norms on IGs who received the status of a participant in the State Program to assist voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation and the status of family members of such IGs:
  1. The above-mentioned IGs and their family members who have obtained the relevant status are entitled to obtain a residence permit without taking into account the quota approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. (subparagraph 9) of par. 3 of Article 6 of Federal Law No. 115).
  2. A residence permit is issued without obtaining a residence permit to the above-mentioned IGs and their family members who have obtained the relevant status as a repatriate[1] (subparagraphs 21-22) of paragraph 2, Article 8, paragraph 2 of Federal Law No. 115).
    An application for a residence permit may be submitted to a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation in the state where the application for participation in the State Program was submitted.
    A residence permit is issued by the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the constituent entity of the Russian Federation selected for resettlement within the framework of the State Program after compulsory state dactyloscopic registration and photographing, as well as submission of medical documents confirming that the foreign citizen has undergone a medical examination for the presence or absence of the fact that he or she is using narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances without a doctor’s prescription or new potentially dangerous psychoactive substances, infectious diseases, or other contagious substances. 8 FEDERAL LAW NO. 115. (Clause 5.2. of Article 8 of Federal Law No. 115)
  3. The above-mentioned IGs and their family members are exempted from confirming their proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of Russian history and the basics of Russian legislation when applying for a residence permit or residence permit. (subparagraph 5) of paragraph 5 of Article 15.1 of Federal Law No. 115)
  4. The above-mentioned IGs and their family members may have their residence permits and residence permits revoked in case of loss of their respective status (in addition to other general grounds). (p. 1.6. of Art. 7, p. 5 of Art. 9 of the Federal Law No. 115).