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.
Two separate procedures that are often confused: fingerprinting is required for everyone everywhere, the foreign citizen card only in some regions.
These are two separate procedures, and they are often confused. Fingerprinting (дактилоскопия) is mandatory in every region. The foreign citizen card is issued only in some.
Fingerprinting — for everyone
This is a federal obligation and does not depend on citizenship: 30 days from the day of entry, for all foreign citizens, including EAEU citizens. You have to come in person and give your fingerprints.
Bring your passport and the tear-off part of the registration notification. Without completed registration you won't be accepted.
The fingerprint record is valid for 10 years on one condition: you pass the medical examination every year.
Foreign citizen card — Moscow and the Moscow region
This is a plastic card with a QR code that the «Амина» (Amina) app works through. Keep it with your passport and patent and show it when the police or your employer ask.
The card is not issued in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region. There you go through fingerprint registration, and that is enough — don't look for a card, the region doesn't have one. A patent application won't be accepted without fingerprinting in any region; the card is asked for only where it is issued.
Law and practice
The fingerprint registration obligation — Federal Law 115-FZ. The 30-day deadline and which regions issue the card — based on the practice of migration centres.
Read next
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.