The Federal Tax Service is discontinuing paper TIN certificates for foreigners and stateless persons

From February 28, 2026, the Federal Tax Service will completely abandon paper TIN certificates for foreigners and stateless persons. Instead of paper documents, all data will now exist only in digital form.

What this means in practice:
If a foreigner registers for tax purposes, they will no longer be issued with a paper document. The only confirmation will be an electronic record in the tax database. An extract from this database can be downloaded or printed, but it is the digital format that now has legal force.

Who is subject to the rules (Expansion of the scope of persons):
The new procedure applies not only to “ordinary” foreigners, but also clearly regulates the registration of foreign entrepreneurs from the EAEU for the first time:

• Online sellers: Individual entrepreneurs from EAEU countries selling goods to individuals in the Russian Federation.
• Intermediaries: Owners of electronic trading platforms.
• Deadline: You must register with the Federal Tax Service within 30 calendar days of starting your business.

Deregistration (Tightening):
For foreign individual entrepreneurs from the EAEU, the deregistration procedure is now linked to tax audits:

Inspectors will deregister a foreign entrepreneur within one month, but only after completing a desk audit of the VAT return and collecting any outstanding debts.

Language and legalization:
The order contains an important administrative requirement: all documents from foreigners must be in Russian (or with a certified translation). Documents from foreign countries are accepted only if they have an apostille or legalization, unless otherwise provided by international treaties.

Document: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/document/0001202601280027?index=15