More and more confusion over the timing of medical examinations for foreign nationals
Following a flurry of discontent and concerns that arose among foreign nationals and business communities, the Ministry of Health recently published interesting explanations of how frequently foreign nationals should have medical examinations in Russia [1].
Amendments to the law, which will become effective on December 29, 2021, require foreign nationals to have another medical examination and submit medical documents to the Ministry of Internal Affairs when the medical documents they previously received expire.
According to the explanations provided by the Ministry of Health, the previously published decree[2] did not set any validity term for medical documents (i.e. period during which they are valid) and only set the period during which medical documents can be submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
So, the question about the validity term of medical examination documents issued to foreign nationals remains open.
So far, no validity term has been set for such medical documents, so the Ministry of Health will probably provide additional explanations or official documents which will expressly set the validity terms for medical documents, so that foreign nationals can comply with the requirements of the law.
Nevertheless, a decree regarding HIV certificate, which will become effective on December 26, 2021, has already been issued[3]. This decree provides that HIV certificates are valid 3 months from their date of issue.
At the very least, we already now that highly qualified specialists are required to have a medical examination at least once every 3 years to obtain/renew their permit work.
Whether foreign nationals with a temporary residence permit or a residence permit in Russia are required to have a medical examination also remains unclear. At this stage, we believe that the rules on regular medical examinations will not apply to these particular foreign nationals. Anyone applying for a temporary residence permit or a residence permit will, as before, be required to have a medical examination once when they apply for their temporary residence permit or residence permit.
If you have any questions or you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to email Alexandra Yudina or Mika Kokkonen.
Truly yours,
[1] https://www.rbc.ru/society/16/12/2021/61bb26619a79470bd469ba89
[2] Russian Ministry of Health Decree N 1079n dated November 19, 2021
[3] Russian Ministry of Health Decree N 1060n dated November 17, 2021