Migration registration
How many days you have for your citizenship, what to hand to your host and which document to keep with your passport.
Step-by-step instructions for CIS citizens: the patent, migration registration, fingerprinting, the medical exam, the Russian exam, entry bans and working under a contract. In plain language, with deadlines and document lists.
Fingerprinting and the foreign citizen card
Two separate procedures that are often confused: fingerprinting is required for everyone everywhere, the foreign citizen card only in some regions.
Medical examination
Who needs it, by when, what it covers and where, and why the VHI policy is a separate document that does not replace the examination.
Russian language exam
Who is exempt, why there are only three attempts, how long the certificate is valid and why it pays to take the exam at home before you fly.
Patent
Who needs a patent, how to apply within 30 days, what to bring, which date the deadlines count from and how to pay so the patent doesn't lapse.
Employment notification
Two months from the patent's issue date, in person or through Gosuslugi — and why the employer's notification doesn't replace yours.
How to check an employer
Ten minutes before you sign: five checks, a check on yourself and the questions worth asking the employer directly.
Income and the patent: dates and how to prepare
Nothing changes for you on 1 October 2026. The income requirement comes later — here are the dates and how to prepare.
EAEU citizens
No patent and no exam, but registration, the medical examination and fingerprinting are mandatory — and that is exactly where EAEU citizens most often lose money.
Entry ban
The reason for a ban is usually minor and the person doesn't know about it. How to check before you fly and how long lifting a ban takes.
If you missed a deadline
A missed deadline almost never means it's all over. What can be done in each case and what to bring to the lawyer.