Russia: New Medical Requirements; Consolidated Summary of Recent Rules

• General rule description. All foreign nationals entering Russia for work, including highly-qualified specialists (HQS), patent holders and Eurasian Economic Union citizens must undergo medical examinations, fingerprinting and photographing within 30 calendar days upon arrival, when applying for a patent, or when collecting their work permit.
  • Non-employees. Foreign citizens arriving in Russia for purposes other than work (such as private reasons, tourist, business, humanitarian, etc.) for a period exceeding 90 days, including accompanying family members of HQS, must undergo new examinations/fingerprinting/photographing within 90 days upon arrival to Russia.
  • Pre-December 29 arrivals. Employees who were in Russia before December 29, 2021, must complete medical examinations and fingerprinting/photographing within 30 days upon their re-entry to Russia (the deadline for HQS dependents is 90 days).
  • Prior exemptions. Children under the age of six and Belarusian nationals are exempt from this rule.
  • New exemption. ​Recent industry publications have confirmed that foreign nationals entering for work for less than 30 calendar days are exempt from the medical examination, fingerprinting and photographing requirements. Though the government has not yet published this exemption, Fragomen is monitoring the situation and will send an update when an official decree comes into force.
• Process. The process for submitting this documentation is multi-phased and requires a number of documents, some of which must be notarized. Lastly, the personal appearances required for medical examinations can be time-consuming.
• Reminders.
  • Deadline for document submission. Foreign nationals applying for a new HQS work permit must submit medical documents issued by an approved clinic in Russia to the responsible regional migration authority within 30 calendar days of their entry date. Existing HQS Work Permit holders re-entering Russia must also submit medical documents within the same timeframe. Foreign nationals entering for non-work purposes must submit the necessary documentation within 90 calendar days. 
  • Fingerprinting/photographing. Foreign nationals and their dependents must also conduct fingerprinting and photographing procedures. This is a prerequisite for HQS applicants seeking to collect their work permit. This requirement also applies to foreign nationals who already had a work permit on December 29, 2021; these individuals will need to undergo a medical examination, fingerprinting, and photographing upon renewal or correction of their work permit or when they return from their next trip outside Russia. 
  • Approved clinics and fingerprinting/photographing centers.
    • The government has approved various clinics in each Russian region to conduct medical examinations and has published these lists in the form of decrees, which are available on the regional authorities’ websites.
    • There are two Immigration Centers in Moscow where foreign nationals can submit their medical certificates and conduct their fingerprinting and photographing: Sakharovo Multifunctional Migration Center, and the GBU Migration Center.

The medical examination requirements add delays of up to two weeks to overall immigration case processing times.

Failure to submit the documents by the applicable deadline can result in work permit cancellation, a reduced allowable stay in Russia, deportation or a ban from entering Russia for five years.

Applicants should obtain information from regional authorities regarding whether they need to schedule an appointment for the medical examination. While some clinics may require an appointment, other clinics do not. 

The law regarding medical examinations for work permit holders intends to unify the procedure for medical examinations for different categories of foreign nationals in Russia, whereas previously, various medical examination requirements applied for different categories of foreign nationals. 

The fingerprinting requirement allows the government to better track foreign nationals in case of criminal offenses. 

The laws do not provide for further medical examination requirements for other foreign nationals. However, given the rising cases of COVID-19 in Russia, more stringent health-related entry requirements are possible.

For more information on the medical requirements, join Fragomen’s webinar on this topic on February 2, 2022.