Work visa - what happens when you enter RU to get green card?

[bomzhara]

Hi all

So in the process of getting a work visa - invitation ready, should go to London etc. and have it issued.
My question is - what happens next about getting the 'green card' from FMS? What stuff do they need and is there anything you guys wish you'd known at the time but didn't?

Any info appreciated

Cheers!

[offskies]

Hi all

So in the process of getting a work visa - invitation ready, should go to London etc. and have it issued.
My question is - what happens next about getting the 'green card' from FMS? What stuff do they need and is there anything you guys wish you'd known at the time but didn't?

Any info appreciated

Cheers!

This is exactly why I signed up to the forums to ask this so also keen.
My overwhelming fear is that despite getting a visa to Russia I encounter a problem at the next stage in Russia and i'm stuck, fined etc when I didn't really know what to expect.

[Hans.KK]

Well "green card" do not exist in Russia, so end of story.

[Uncle Wally]

Well "green card" do not exist in Russia, so end of story.

They're talking about getting or starting the citizenship process I think.

[nicklcool]

Hi Bonzhara,
Welcome to the forum!

In Russia, the cards are red (j/k!), and they're called temporary and Permanent residency permits (TRP and PRP). Work permits don't become these automatically; there's a whole process, with quotas and exceptions to quotas- lots of residency permits info is available on this forum.

As for the plusses and minuses of your work permit (rabochaya visa):

Plusses:
One of the longest non-immigrant visas; you can stay in the country for a year
You can renew this visa in-ountry, provided you stick with the same employer

Minuses:
You're tied to the employer, and if as I assume you're working for a TEFL school, you'll be getting paid less than you would teaching privately, even after accounting for taxes. It's not as bad as our H1B employers who dangle prospective citizenship in front of the Indian and East European programmers at Facebook and Google to overwork them for low pay, but the employer here kind of has you by the balls since he controls your legal status in the country

If you switch employers, you have to leave the country to get a new visa. You can request a work visa invitation letter from a new employer while still in country, which if you time it right (4-6 weeks processing) could allow you to leave with the physical letter in hand (originals are required) and then apply immediately for your new visa upon arrival in the UK.

This is the other big downside (I think you mentioned being from the UK): because of reciprocity or whatever, as a Brit you can't just zip over to a neighboring country for a visa run, as we Americans can do. You'll have to go back to the UK to apply for your new visa, which I imagine greatly increases the cost of your decision to switch employers.

Of course, most of these downsides exist if you come on any other visa as well (tourist, "business," homestay, academic), and technically it's illegal to work on those visas, so in this sense my list is not so much about downsides as it is about unforseen factors to consider before trekking over here.

I wish you much Harmony & Prosperity as you prepare for this life-altering trip abroad to the land of hard souls, frigid weather, and hot women!

[Benedikt]

getting the 'green card' from FMS?

In Russia we do not call it green card. and the procedures are also quite different. first you get a temporary residence permit. than a permanent residence permit.
read up under the sections here on the site. it is well and lengthy explained. main thing though. if you are under 65 years of age you need an language proficiency test. and of course a medical check up. since you are in Piter i would have no idea where you should begin. so hopefully you find someone here who is from there and can tell you or show you. or check out the web -expats in St.Pietersburg- . you will find always people who are willing to help. good luck. one thing though is for sure. don-t throw good money into the claws of greedy helpers, also there are plenty websites who are -helping -. it still depends on the inspectors at the FMS for a yes or no....
a few words of advice though-
do your home work, get all documents as THEY request it. get all the translations as THEY request it. Make sure all copies are correct and readable. no copy of a copy of a copy where one sees only some dark and vague smudges.
they want four color photos, in one block-sheet, one specific size, not cut, so get them. do not cut them. and make sure all four are the same. remember, no headgear, no sunglasses, no smile like a cheesecake.
if in your passport or document only ONE letter is not Russian langauge, they will not accept it.
make sure your name is translated correct and written the same in ALL documents.
make sure you get all the documents in the right sequence. so one set is not expired, already, while hunting still for another. some documents have a time limit on them. medical certificates, police references and the likes.
never argue with the inspectors. they just close the shutters and you sit there. end of the story, come back tomorrow.
and remember, a friendly please and thank you, can get you far. even at the FMS.
after all they are also humans, have to listen to so much crap every day. while it IS frustrating, we should give them no reason to make it also hard on us.
( i have done visa, work permit, temporary residence, permanent residence permit every time by myself. with no -help- of any vultures or agency. it was frustrating at times. though needing to deal with officials for work reasons i found out, they are also human...)

[nicklcool]

Benedikt it's a very helpful post but you're being a little disingenous by advising against legal help.
Not enlisting the help of shady hucksters in the shadows of the new migration center, sure, don't do that, but a law office could help.
A legal office processed my HQS visa and I sure the heck wish I'd used a law office for my failed attempt at TRP through marriage. The mistake on my translation was so trivial and could have been easily corrected, but instead since I did the process myself, my police cert expired.
I lost so much in wages stress etc. running from office to office and waiting in line, waiting through lunch break to try to figure out the error in my docs that in hindsight even the high fees of a law office would have been justified.

So if you're paying someone to help you whom you wouldn't trust to give your Power of Attorney to submit docs on your behalf, yes, stay away from these "helpers"! But a legit law office? You'll save yourself a lot of headache, long lines, stress, and unpaid time away from work.

[Benedikt]

So if you're paying someone to help you whom you wouldn't trust to give your Power of Attorney to submit docs on your behalf, yes, stay away from these "helpers"! But a legit law office? You'll save yourself a lot of headache, long lines, stress, and unpaid time away from work.[/QUOTE]

i would agree only partially with your answer. the medical certificates one has to make anyway. and the law firm does not help there. at the MMZ it is done in an hour. fair enough one has to wait than for the results of the tests. As an HQS visa applicant one has to wait nowhere long in any line, not even at the MMZ. To my -defence- i might add, it is for sure helpful if one can read and write the local lingo, which might be not the case for a newcomer. than i would think, and if the company pays, even better, the help of a qualified law firm will be appropriate. but do they schlepp out to the MMZ or do YOU have to go there in person?

[Deana]

Benedikt it's a very helpful post but you're being a little disingenous by advising against legal help.
Not enlisting the help of shady hucksters in the shadows of the new migration center, sure, don't do that, but a law office could help.
A legal office processed my HQS visa and I sure the heck wish I'd used a law office for my failed attempt at TRP through marriage. The mistake on my translation was so trivial and could have been easily corrected, but instead since I did the process myself, my police cert expired.
I lost so much in wages stress etc. running from office to office and waiting in line, waiting through lunch break to try to figure out the error in my docs that in hindsight even the high fees of a law office would have been justified.

So if you're paying someone to help you whom you wouldn't trust to give your Power of Attorney to submit docs on your behalf, yes, stay away from these "helpers"! But a legit law office? You'll save yourself a lot of headache, long lines, stress, and unpaid time away from work.

You hired incompetent translator... and legal office can't help with most of TRP process. Personal visit is required for medical, fingerprints, collection of TRP stamp.

[markmarkov]

Hi Bonzhara,
Welcome to the forum!

In Russia, the cards are red (j/k!), and they're called temporary and Permanent residency permits (TRP and PRP). Work permits don't become these automatically; there's a whole process, with quotas and exceptions to quotas- lots of residency permits info is available on this forum.

As for the plusses and minuses of your work permit (rabochaya visa):

Plusses:
One of the longest non-immigrant visas; you can stay in the country for a year
You can renew this visa in-ountry, provided you stick with the same employer

Minuses:
You're tied to the employer, and if as I assume you're working for a TEFL school, you'll be getting paid less than you would teaching privately, even after accounting for taxes. It's not as bad as our H1B employers who dangle prospective citizenship in front of the Indian and East European programmers at Facebook and Google to overwork them for low pay, but the employer here kind of has you by the balls since he controls your legal status in the country

If you switch employers, you have to leave the country to get a new visa. You can request a work visa invitation letter from a new employer while still in country, which if you time it right (4-6 weeks processing) could allow you to leave with the physical letter in hand (originals are required) and then apply immediately for your new visa upon arrival in the UK.

This is the other big downside (I think you mentioned being from the UK): because of reciprocity or whatever, as a Brit you can't just zip over to a neighboring country for a visa run, as we Americans can do. You'll have to go back to the UK to apply for your new visa, which I imagine greatly increases the cost of your decision to switch employers.

Of course, most of these downsides exist if you come on any other visa as well (tourist, "business," homestay, academic), and technically it's illegal to work on those visas, so in this sense my list is not so much about downsides as it is about unforseen factors to consider before trekking over here.

I wish you much Harmony & Prosperity as you prepare for this life-altering trip abroad to the land of hard souls, frigid weather, and hot women!

nickcool, lots of respect for your post count and longevity on the forum but I really think someone could read your post and get their facts wrong.
I can only speak for my situation but the facts are:
-Work visa allows me to stay for 3 years continuously without exiting, not one year. This has nothing to do with the "3 year rule" for Americans. The visa is for the duration of the Employment Agreement. If my employment agreement happened to be for 2 years, the visa would be good for two years. But my Employment Agreement is for 3 years.
-I am entitled to PRP immediately upon picking up the Work Permit. TRP does not apply at all to this situation.
Again, I can only speak for my situation but if I read your post and did not know the correct facts I would get a totally wrong idea.
Mark.

[Judge]

nickcool, lots of respect for your post count and longevity on the forum but I really think someone could read your post and get their facts wrong.
I can only speak for my situation but the facts are:
-Work visa allows me to stay for 3 years continuously without exiting, not one year. This has nothing to do with the "3 year rule" for Americans. The visa is for the duration of the Employment Agreement. If my employment agreement happened to be for 2 years, the visa would be good for two years. But my Employment Agreement is for 3 years.
-I am entitled to PRP immediately upon picking up the Work Permit. TRP does not apply at all to this situation.
Again, I can only speak for my situation but if I read your post and did not know the correct facts I would get a totally wrong idea.
Mark.

There are two types of work permit visas, the one year visa which Nick mentions and the three year type for highly skilled specialist which you seem to have.

[Zaher]

why were you fined?
AFTER GETTING WORK VISA YOU MUST APPLY FOR WORK PERMIT

[DiscoverLearn]

nickcool, lots of respect for your post count and longevity on the forum but I really think someone could read your post and get their facts wrong.
I can only speak for my situation but the facts are:
-Work visa allows me to stay for 3 years continuously without exiting, not one year. This has nothing to do with the "3 year rule" for Americans. The visa is for the duration of the Employment Agreement. If my employment agreement happened to be for 2 years, the visa would be good for two years. But my Employment Agreement is for 3 years.
-I am entitled to PRP immediately upon picking up the Work Permit. TRP does not apply at all to this situation.
Again, I can only speak for my situation but if I read your post and did not know the correct facts I would get a totally wrong idea.
Mark.

Mark,
What documents do one need to get PRP while on HQS?