WARNING ! New law for multiple entry business Visa's

[kerwat72]

I have a 180 day visa and was informed i could spend 90 days here in one half of the year then 90 days in the second 6 months. To cut a long story short i overstayed the first 90 days and was worried this would be a problem. After a chat with immigration before leaving for a holiday i was informed that it was no problem to overstay the 90 days and at most would be charged a small fine, However i was informed that if i overstayed the 180 days this would be much more serious . As it happened i was not fined and nothing at all was said at the Airport on departure and arrival back into Moscow.My 180 days are not up yet but soon. Hopefully my employer will now apply for a work visa . :-)

[DimoTupurkovski]

Thanks for the info

[highsmith]

What's the current situation?

[kazachka]

Unless you want to go broke doing visa runs every 3 months, you need to get a work visa (1 yr ME no 90/180 rule) or TRP...or have more than 1 passport...

[Samoht Dewes]

I'm slightly confused by all these rules. If, say friends/family from the UK, wanted to visit Moscow for a week or so. I'm guessing they would still need a tourist visa but is it possible to get very short term ones and how would they be able to get an invitation?

[AstarD]

This thread is about business visas, not tourist visas. If you search the site, you will likely find information about getting tourist visas for relatives.

[Benedikt]

The new rules could complicate life for expat English teachers, many of whom have multiple-entry business visas.

"If people have to come for 90 days and then leave, this will be very disruptive for the teaching process," said Helen Panovich, academic director of ITC, a company that hires English-language native speakers to give lessons to Russian businessmen.

Amy Cartwright, a spokeswoman for the Association of European Businesses, said most of AEB's member companies would not be affected because their foreign employees had work visas.

But she singled out expat English teachers as a potential trouble spot. "It's very worrying because it means that if you're a teacher, for example, and if you're on a business visa, you can't stay here," Cartwright said.

AEB has met with representatives of the Federal Migration Service to find out how the rules will be implemented, and one of the open questions is whether expats will have to return to their home country to obtain a business visa, she said.



you come to Russia to work and make money, get a work visa, get registered and pay tax. you can't have the cake and eat it. does not work that way. Not in the States or the EU or anywhere else i n the world. So, why so much fuss here? Russia does to -you- what other countries do to Russians. Nothing more or less. so, stop complaining and obey the law.

[AstarD]

Benedikt, English teachers have had a special deal with FMS whereby they have been allowed to work with business visas. Now that's changing. Russia of course has that right, but it's just discombobulating to have the rug pulled out from under you, especially in the middle of the school year.

[inorcist]

This article Benedikt was quoting is from way back in 2007! There are still plenty of foreign language teachers here on chain visas. Nothing has changed really.

Russia is still in a learning process of how to introduce law changes smoothly but in my opinion getting better in it. At least regulatory and legal changes in my profession are now being discussed with relevant stakeholders in advance and potential conflicts are being mitigated.

[N.Hoffman]

I just had an interesting conversation with an immigration lawyer. He told me that the 90 days rule has become very strict now. Also the 3 months visarun is not possible now anymore. Even the private visa is now restricted to 90 days in a 180 days.

The strict enforcement has just started now from the first of April. If course this is for kicking out the gastarbeiters. But everyone not on a student visa or Workvisa is on it.

[ezik]

Do you have an online source for this information?
My advice to those who do visa runs all the time (effectively residing in Russia): check your options for a residence permit!

[GarethM]

I would be interested to know if this is official or not as I am leaving for Russia in 3 weeks and plan to start my TRP. I was planning to apply then do a dash back and collect my TRP second time around.

Also, my wife is insisting that the lady at the UFMS office in SPT has said the application will take exactly 55 days to be completed. Does anyone know anything about that?