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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.

3 min read

A patent (патент) is a permit to work. Citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova need one. EAEU citizens don't need a patent.

Apply within 30 days of entry

The deadline runs from the date of entry on your migration card, and the card must state the purpose "work". The purpose can't be changed after entry.

Sakharovo requires an appointment

You can't come without an appointment. Book at mc.mos.ru/info/pz-patent; booking through Gosuslugi doesn't work.

The requirement has applied since 20 July 2026. The centre used to accept people without an appointment; from 1 October it doesn't. Don't count on being let in: the whole 30-day deadline depends on this trip.

What to bring

  • Your passport and its notarised translation, made in Russia.
  • Your migration card with the purpose "work".
  • The tear-off part of the registration notification.
  • The foreign citizen card — in the regions where it is issued.
  • The medical certificate.
  • A VHI policy for the region where you work.
  • The Russian language certificate or a diploma that exempts you.
  • Two 30×40 mm photos.
  • The receipt for the advance payment.

The patent application form is filled in by the centre's staff; you don't need to bring it.

Once you have the patent

All deadlines count from the date printed on the patent itself. The day you picked the document up doesn't matter. A gap of a week or two is common: issued on 23 January, handed over on 1 February — the count starts on the 23rd. Your payments, the two months for the employment contract and the employment notification all depend on this date.

The advance payment

Pay every month, by the day stated in the patent, and only in advance: at least for the next month, or for six months or a year at once.

Pay three days before the deadline. Payment data reaches the authorities with a delay of several days, and being even one day late means the patent stops being valid.

In Moscow the monthly payment is 10,000 ₽. Other regions have their own rate: check it with your migration centre.

If you paid late

In Moscow, in practice, the situation is resolved within a month. At Sakharovo, go to the patent consultation desk, say that you missed a payment and get a ticket to the MVD officers. A report is drawn up, the fine is paid at the police office inside the centre, and you come back to the same place with the receipt.

This is the procedure in Moscow. In another region, start with a lawyer consultation, not a trip.

If the patent was cancelled

You can get a new one a year after the date of cancellation.

Changing region

A patent is valid only in the region where it was issued. If you move, you need new migration registration and a new patent; in practice this ends with leaving and re-entering the country. You can't work in another region on the old patent.

Law and practice

The 30-day application deadline — Article 13.3 of Federal Law 115-FZ. The Sakharovo appointment, the late-payment procedure and changing region — based on the practice of migration centres.

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