New requirements for foreign nationals to go through medical examination, fingerprinting and photo requirement
Amendments have been introduced to Federal Law N 115-FZ dated July 25, 2002 On the Legal Status of Foreign Nationals in the Russian Federation. These changes will be effective from December 29, 2021 onwards and will affect almost all foreign nationals who come to Russia to work or staying over 90 days in Russia. From then on, these foreign national will have to:
- Go through fingerprinting and photo requirements;
- Go through a medical examination to confirm that they are HIV negative, they do not use drug nor suffer from any harmful infectious disease.
Who will have to comply with fingerprinting and photo requirements?
- All foreign nationals staying in Russia for over 90 days OR
These foreign nationals will have to get fingerprinted and photographed within 90 days of their date of entry into Russia.
- All foreign nationals coming to Russia to work regardless of their status, i.e. under a patent, regular work permit, or highly qualified specialist (HQS) work permit
- Foreign nationals with an HQS work permit are to get fingerprinted and photographed upon receipt of their work permit;
- Foreign nationals with a regular work permit are to get fingerprinted and photographed within 30 of their date of entry into Russia;
- Foreign nationals with a patent are to get fingerprinted and photographed upon submission of documents for patent application.
Please note that the above obligations will also apply to accompanying family members of HQS or foreign nationals with a regular work permit.
Getting fingerprinted and photographed will need to be done only once according to the law.
Who will have to go through a mandatory medical examination to confirm the absence of HIV, drug use, and other dangerous infectious diseases?
We would like to point out that foreign nationals applying for a patent or regular work permit were required to go through a medical examination even before the new amendments were introduced. Highly qualified specialists have been required to fulfill this obligation since October 31, 2021.
- In addition to the abovementioned foreign nationals, from December 29, 2021 onwards, all foreign nationals staying in Russia for more than 90 days from their date of entry into the country will be required to go through a medical examination;
- It is important to note that (1) foreign nationals must have gone through the medical examination before contacting the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get fingerprinted and photographed, and (2) it takes on average 3-4 working days to get the medical examination results, currently.
As we interpreted the law, the accompanying family members of HQS or foreign nationals with a regular work permit will from now on be required to go through a medical examination.
Medical examinations need to be repeated within 30 days of expiration of previously issued certificates, which are presumably valid for a year.
What sanctions are provided for non-compliance with fingerprinting, photographing and/or medical examination requirements?
If foreign nationals fail to comply with the above requirements:
- The length of their stay could be reduced;
- Their work permit could be canceled (only if they fail to go through a medical examination or the results of their medical examination are positive).
If the medical examination results are positive, then a ban on entry into Russia could also be imposed on foreign nationals for a certain period.
Who will not be required to fulfill the above obligations?
- Foreign nationals staying in Russia for 90 or fewer days for purposes other than work;
- Nationals from Belarus;
- Children under the age of 6;
- Employees of international organizations, their family members, etc.
Open questions
It is not yet clear:
- How and where foreign nationals will get fingerprinted and photographed;
- When foreign nationals who already have a valid work permit, patent, and foreign nationals who have already been in Russia for more than 90 days should comply with these new requirements.
We can assume that the Ministry of Internal Affairs may request foreign nationals to comply with these new requirements when they apply for an extension of their work permit/patent, or when they collect their new/renewed work permit/patent.
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,