Support from arrival to graduation

Migration registration records your actual place of stay in Russia. It is required after every entry into Russia, when you move, when you get a new visa, and when your personal data or passport change.

• Living in a University dormitory: contact the Visa and Registration Office after you move in.
• Living in a rented flat: the owner registers you — check in advance that they agree to do it.
• Living in a hotel or hostel: the administrator registers you.
• After a new visa or an extension of your stay, renew your registration within 3 working days, even if the current one is still valid.
• A night in a hotel or hostel while travelling in Russia cancels your previous registration — register again when you return.
• If you are admitted to hospital, ask the staff to register you at the hospital address; register again after discharge.

Within 30 calendar days of entry, after your first migration registration, you must pass a medical examination. It is repeated every year — no later than 30 days before your previous medical certificates expire.

Fingerprinting and photographing are done once; repeat them only if you lose the fingerprint card or your personal data change. Always pass the medical examination first, then fingerprinting.

• The medical examination is done at your own expense in city clinics.
• Fingerprinting is free at the territorial migration office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at your registration address. Not all offices provide it and queues can be long.
• A paid alternative is the Multifunctional Migration Centre in Sakharovo or the Migration Centre office at 21/1 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proezd (Oko Tower).
• From September 2026 clinics send the results to the state system themselves. Ask the clinic whether it does — otherwise the inspector adds them during fingerprinting.
• Minors: procedures only with a parent or a representative holding a power of attorney notarised in Russia.

Exempt: citizens of Belarus, family members of staff of international organisations and diplomatic missions, and dual citizens with Russian citizenship. If you hold Russian citizenship, a temporary residence permit or a residence permit, tell the Visa and Registration Office.

Refusing or avoiding the medical examination can lead to a fine and expulsion from Russia; forged medical documents are a criminal offence.

If you complete the procedures at a Moscow Migration Centre (Sakharovo or Oko Tower), you may receive a foreign citizen's card. It confirms the medical examination, fingerprinting and photographing, and works as a Troika travel card on Moscow transport. It does not replace your passport, migration card, visa, registration or VHI policy.

Visa-free entry. The Ministry of Internal Affairs office in your district extends your temporary stay in 20 working days. Apply no later than 45 calendar days before your current stay ends; the extension is marked in your migration card. A new migration card does not cancel this obligation. If you plan to leave Russia and come back, extend your stay before leaving. If you rent a flat, you need a supporting letter — order it from the Visa and Registration Office.

Study visa. Extend it every year until the end of your studies. Apply at the Visa and Registration Office no later than 45 calendar days before your visa expires. You cannot leave Russia while your application is being processed. After you receive the new visa, you have 3 working days to renew your migration registration.

• If you study in Russia for more than six months, you can apply for a temporary residence permit for study purposes.
• It is valid for the whole period of study plus 180 calendar days after graduation.
• It lets you get a visa for its full term, live in Russia without yearly extensions, work, and use compulsory medical insurance (OMS) like Russian citizens.
• You must live in the region where the permit was issued; when travelling to another city, register your stay there.

Foreign citizens who enter Russia visa-free and do not extend their stay may spend no more than 90 days in total per calendar year (1 January to 31 December). If you used your 90 days and left on time, you can safely re-enter after 1 January of the next year.

Overstaying can lead to administrative penalties and inclusion in the register of controlled persons. Entering with the purpose “study” does not cancel an earlier overstay.

Foreign citizens who have lost the legal grounds for staying in Russia can be included in this register. The main reason is overstaying; another is missing medical examination records in the Ministry database — the University database and the Ministry database are different systems.

After your medical examination, check that the clinic has sent the results to the Ministry. You can check whether you are in the register using the online service on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Removal after a technical error takes up to 10 days; after a violation, at least a month.

When your studies end, you are expelled or you take academic leave, your permitted stay may end or be shortened. Without other legal grounds, you must leave Russia within 3 calendar days of the order.

If you plan to continue studying, your stay can be extended for up to 30 calendar days after graduation to apply for another programme. The safest option is to leave Russia and re-enter with a new migration card, then extend your stay on the basis of your new studies.

1. 1Go to the nearest police station immediately and get a receipt confirming your report of the loss.
2. 2Tell the International Cooperation Office.
3. 3Contact the consular section of your country's embassy and ask how to get a new passport.
4. 4Within three days of receiving the new passport, renew your migration registration; then transfer your visa (if applicable), extend your stay and get a new fingerprint card.