Visa Registration

Once you have moved along the red tape highway and passed through invitations and the actual visa issue you then face the next part of the journey - local registration. You must register your visa if staying more than 72 hours at (technically) any place you stop, or visit for this time period. You pay a local fee to do this. the fee varies across the country and has ranged from EUR1 to EUR30 per person. whilst visa registration has been a requirement for many years the actual procedure and its seriousness has increased over time. 'In the beginning' this was done once when you arrived and was a simple task. Then it evolved into a more complicated procedure.

The registration law is still confusing. In addition, recent press articles have inflamed this confusion even further.

One thing is known is that the authorities insist the registration papers are to be filled out by an actual inviting entity, i.e. a host, if the foreigner is staying at a private apartment, the actual hotel or the actual company that a foreigner came to do business with. Our local partners ensure this is done and assist with the process. This is part of our overall services. The visa must be registered in each city where a foreigner is staying for longer than three business days.

An inviting entity or host must fill out the registration form upon arrival of a foreign guest and submit it to the authorities. The tear off coupon part of the form remains with the foreigner for the duration of a trip but must be turned back in prior to departure. If the authorities do not receive that tear off coupon, they assume that a foreigner overstayed a visa and an inviting entity or host and foreigner may be subject to fines. In case of foreigners staying at hotels, the hotel will be performing all the necessary steps to complete registration.

Currently one form is not approved for use in all Russian cities so there may be some variations. Our local partners ensure the correct forms are available at each point. We do not suggest you use one form (that we believe can be obtained from the web). By our partners having these various forms will save you time finding the appropriate office when you arrive at a place and actually getting the form.

Naturally, as with all Russian Red Tape things can change, just after this is published!