Important changes to the migration registration process for foreign nationals in Russia

On 27 June 2018, the Russian President signed Federal Law No. 163-FZ On amending the Federal Law ‘On registering foreign nationals and stateless persons with migration authorities in Russia’^[1] (“Federal Law No. 163”). The changes will cover all foreign nationals staying in Russia including highly skilled professionals and their family members. The law affects not only foreign nationals arriving for the first time but also foreign nationals already staying in Russia and falling within the scope of the rules for migration registration.

These amendments take effect on 8 July 2018.

What will change: key points

The system of registration with migration authorities of all foreign nationals arriving in Russia is about to change dramatically. Currently employers acting as host parties are allowed to register foreign employees whom they engage with migration authorities at their office address. But after the changes come into effect foreign nationals will only be allowed to be registered at the address where they are actually staying in Russia. Therefore, Federal Law No. 163 changes the definitions of the terms ‘place of stay’ and ‘host party’ which shall be understood to mean only ‘the place of actual stay of a foreign national’ and ‘a person (a company or an individual) in whose premises such foreign national is to stay’ respectively.

Since in practice opinions differ as to what should be regarded as a foreign national’s place of stay the Law specifies that a place of stay means the place which a foreign national regularly uses for his/her sleep and rest.

Pursuant to the adopted changes, employers will only be allowed to register foreign employees and family members accompanying them at the company office address if such foreign nationals are actually going to stay at the company office address in premises (including temporary ones) specially equipped for sleep and rest.

Implications for companies

Although the obligations with respect to migration registration are primarily transferred to persons in whose premises foreign nationals are going to stay, practical difficulties will undoubtedly arise owing to employers being eliminated from the process of supervision of the migration registration procedure. The issue of migration registration is particularly pressing during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ held from 25 May until 15 July 2018. For this period, the timelines for foreign nationals to be registered with migration authorities have been decreased to three days.[2]

The new rules for migration registration might create negative implications for both companies and their foreign employees. Among such implications are:

• the violation of statutory timelines for registering foreign nationals with migration authorities, with subsequent sanctions being imposed;
• a refusal of landlords to lease out their property to foreign nationals as landlords are not ready to take the responsibility for going through the migration registration procedure;
• a need for employers to somehow check if host parties fulfil their obligations to timely register foreign employees and their accompanying family members with migration authorities in order to minimise the risks for such foreign nationals;
• an increase in the number of violations of the registration procedure of foreign nationals and the associated risks of such foreign nationals being deported from Russia;
• a lack of clarity regarding the status of foreign employees who have already been registered with migration authorities by their employers at the employers’ office addresses.

Help from your advisers

Pepeliaev Group’s lawyers are ready to provide more detailed and comprehensive advice on the changes to the rules for migration registration.

We interact with state bodies and are ready to promptly update you on any approaches established by or any clarifications from competent authorities with regard to this matter.