It is not sufficient anymore to pay a couple of Rubles and a stamp on a piece of paper to be in possession of a proper registration in Russia. Since January 3rd, 2014 it is a legal crime to be registered in a so called "virtual flat". But, you have at least the law on your side if you do not obviously break the rules.
Many of the visitors of Russia know the problem. They got their work permit and Russian Visa, which is already a hassle, and now they have to manage an even bigger problem. At arrival in Russia they have to register with the Russian local authorities. Otherwise there would be problems and fines on the border when leaving the country. In former times visitors simply used the services of a company providing registrations fast and uncomplicated. They avoided the long queues at the registration office and conveniently received their registration paper. But this has changed now.
Legally correct was such a registration never, but it was somehow tolerated. But now, starting from January 3rd, 2014, such a "fictitious registration" is treated as a criminal action and can lead to a fine from 100.000 to 500.000 Rubles (2.000 to 10.000 Euro). Persons processing such registrations can even be jailed for up to 3 years. Along with the person who made the fictive registration also the foreigner will be sentenced guilty if it can be proofed that he was aware that the address of registration was wrong.
Simply being registered, that doesn't work anymore since January 3rd, 2014. The registration is still obligatory, however, being not registered has much less consequences than being registered on a fictitious address. But to make it a bit more complicated: the Russian law about the registration of migrants says that non-registered foreigners even might not be fined at all, at least theoretically.
What is important to know: It is the duty of the receiving side to register a foreign person in Russia. This can be the inviting person or institution. Usually this is the host or landlord as the place of stay factually counts as the decisive criteria. The good thing is, that you don't have to go yourselves to the registration office. The landlord should do that. Nowadays the registration can be done simply by public post. You are only obliged to hand over a copy of your passport and migration card you received at the boarder to Russia to your landlord.
In reality there have been some cases where persons have been sentenced guilty for registering not correctly even when copies of passport and migration card had been provided to the landlord. And there also had been cases when persons were found innocent in the same matter. It is an unpleasant reality that legal entitlement and factual jurisdiction are from time to time far away from each other in Russia. Also, due to the fact that the landlord is obliged to run the registration of the hosted person you will very often hear at negotiation stage when renting a flat, that the flat can be rented only without registration.
What can you do now to be on the save side? If the landlord refused the receipt of passport copy and migration card you need to document that you fulfilled your obligation. This can be done, by sending passport copy and migration card by registered mail with content list and receipt confirmation. One could think that this is the best way to be thrown out of your flat, however, if you hold a legal binding renting agreement in your hands, this has even in Russia some legal power and you can hope that you cannot be set on the street easily.
Many of the visitors of Russia know the problem. They got their work permit and Russian Visa, which is already a hassle, and now they have to manage an even bigger problem. At arrival in Russia they have to register with the Russian local authorities. Otherwise there would be problems and fines on the border when leaving the country. In former times visitors simply used the services of a company providing registrations fast and uncomplicated. They avoided the long queues at the registration office and conveniently received their registration paper. But this has changed now.
Legally correct was such a registration never, but it was somehow tolerated. But now, starting from January 3rd, 2014, such a "fictitious registration" is treated as a criminal action and can lead to a fine from 100.000 to 500.000 Rubles (2.000 to 10.000 Euro). Persons processing such registrations can even be jailed for up to 3 years. Along with the person who made the fictive registration also the foreigner will be sentenced guilty if it can be proofed that he was aware that the address of registration was wrong.
Simply being registered, that doesn't work anymore since January 3rd, 2014. The registration is still obligatory, however, being not registered has much less consequences than being registered on a fictitious address. But to make it a bit more complicated: the Russian law about the registration of migrants says that non-registered foreigners even might not be fined at all, at least theoretically.
What is important to know: It is the duty of the receiving side to register a foreign person in Russia. This can be the inviting person or institution. Usually this is the host or landlord as the place of stay factually counts as the decisive criteria. The good thing is, that you don't have to go yourselves to the registration office. The landlord should do that. Nowadays the registration can be done simply by public post. You are only obliged to hand over a copy of your passport and migration card you received at the boarder to Russia to your landlord.
In reality there have been some cases where persons have been sentenced guilty for registering not correctly even when copies of passport and migration card had been provided to the landlord. And there also had been cases when persons were found innocent in the same matter. It is an unpleasant reality that legal entitlement and factual jurisdiction are from time to time far away from each other in Russia. Also, due to the fact that the landlord is obliged to run the registration of the hosted person you will very often hear at negotiation stage when renting a flat, that the flat can be rented only without registration.
What can you do now to be on the save side? If the landlord refused the receipt of passport copy and migration card you need to document that you fulfilled your obligation. This can be done, by sending passport copy and migration card by registered mail with content list and receipt confirmation. One could think that this is the best way to be thrown out of your flat, however, if you hold a legal binding renting agreement in your hands, this has even in Russia some legal power and you can hope that you cannot be set on the street easily.
About the Author:
Michael Haase is the owner and Managing Director of RUSCONSULT24 a Russia Consulting company based in Moscow. RUSCONSULT24 consults and provides services to foreign companies based in Russia. The services include the outsourcing of bookkeeping, application for work- permits and Russian visa and search for human resources. Visit RUSCONSULT24 by clicking at the links above for more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment