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Legal
Status of Foreigners in Russia: Legal rights, Russian visa,
residency permits, personal taxes.
Most
of the information below has been provided by the Russian
law firm VISTA Foreign Business Support (www.vfbs.ru).
Rights
and obligations of foreign citizens
in the Russian Federation
Legal Status of foreign citizens in Russia first of all is
determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation
1993 (point 3 article 62). It says that foreign citizens
and stateless persons enjoy rights and bear responsibilities
on a par with the citizens of the Russian Federation, unless
otherwise provided by Federal Laws or International Agreements
of the Russian Federation.
This provision means that any restrictions or additional
requirements regarding legal status of foreigners could not
be established by legislative acts of the legislative or
executive bodies of the regions (states) of the Russian Federation.
Only adopting a Federal Law may worsen legal status of foreigners.
Here are the general principles of the legal status
of the foreign citizen in the Russian Federation:
1. Foreign citizens are equal without reference to their
origin, social and material status, race and nationality,
sex, education, language, religion, occupation, etc.
2. Russian Federation may establish restrictions and additional
requirements to the citizens of the countries, which established
correspondent restrictions and additional requirements to
the citizens of Russia.
3. Enjoyment of rights by the foreigner must not impair damage
to the interests of the society, government, citizens of
Russia and other persons.
4. Foreign citizens must observe the legislation of the Russian
Federation.
Freedom of movement
Foreign citizens enjoy the right of freedom of movement within
the boundaries of the Russian Federation for personal and
business purposes on the ground of the documents, issued
to them in accordance with the Federal Law “On the
legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”,
with the exception of territories, organizations and objects,
for an entry to which a special permit is required in accordance
with the federal laws.
Below is the list of territories organizations and objects,
for an entry to which a special permit is required (Instruction
of the Government # 754 dated 11.10.2002)
1. Areas of the closed administrative-territories of the
Russia Federation.
2. Areas restricted to visit for foreign citizens
3. Territories, where the state of emergency or the state
of martial law have been forced in.
4. Territories where special conditions or regime of residence
have been forced in as a result of danger of development
of contagion or mass non-contagion and intoxication of people.
5. Territories of closed cantonments.
6. Areas where contra terrorism operations are being conducted.
7. Environmental distress areas.
8. Borderland zones.
9. Objects and organizations of Armed Forces of Russian Federation.
10. Objects where public authorities and other authorities
and organizations are located in and which work with national
secret information.
11. Other territories, organizations and objects where Russian
nationals must obtain the special permit for visiting them.
Foreign citizen has no right to:
1. Be employed in the state or the municipal service.
2. Be a member of the crew of a ship, sailing under the State
Flag of the Russian Federation.
3. Be a member of the crew of a military air vessel of the
Russian Federation or of another vessel, operated for non-commercial
purposes, as well as of a flying aircraft of the state or
the experimental aviation.
4. Be the commander of a civil aircraft.
5. Be enrolled for a job to the objects and the organizations,
whose activity is involved in providing for the security
of the Russian Federation:
ÿ objects and organizations of the Military Forces of the Russian
Federation.
ÿ institutions that are responsible for the government secret
information
ÿ organizations that work with radioactive and nuclear products
6. To engage in another activity and to occupy other posts,
the federal law restricts an access to which of foreign citizens.
Russian
Visas
Note: This is a short summary especially designed for business
travelers and employers of foreign nationals. If you are
seeking a more detailed information on Russian visa rules
and legislation, please, refer to Way
to Russia Russian Visa Guide.
Foreign
citizen, temporarily staying in the Russian Federation – is
the person, who has arrived in the Russian Federation on
the ground of a visa or in the order not requiring obtaining
a visa (for citizens of the CIS, except Georgia and Turkmenistan),
and who has no residence permit or a temporary residence
permit.
Visa is the document issued on the basis of the invitation
for an entry to the Russian Federation. Visa determines a
period of a foreign citizen’s stay in Russia.
Types of visas: 1. Diplomatic;
2. Official;
3. Ordinary;
4. Transit;
5. Temporary residence visas
Ordinary visas are of the following types:
1. private;
2. business;
3. tourist, including group;
4. study;
5. work;
6. humanitarian;
7. asylum.
Necessity of Personal Registration
Note: This
is a short summary especially designed for business travelers
and employers of foreign nationals. If you are seeking a
more detailed information on Russian visa rules and legislation,
please, refer to Russian
Visa Registration section.
Foreign citizens, who have entered the Russian Federation,
are obliged to register within three working days as from
the day of their arrival in the Russian Federation. If foreign
citizen has changed the place of his/her stay in the Russian
Federation, he/she has to register within three working days
as from the day of arrival at the new place of stay. Registration
of children under 18 will be conducted at the same time as
the registration of their parents. The territorial subdivision
of the federal executive body, controlling the matters of
internal affairs, (PVU GUVD of Moscow) shall carry out the
registration of foreign citizens, who have entered Russian
Federation.
If foreign citizen has lost the documents on the basis of
which he/she entered Russia he/she won’t be registered
and has to leave Russian Federation not later then 10 days
after he/she obtained (upon his/her written request) the
document proving that he/she has lost his documents.
According to the Article 18.10 of the Administrative code
of the Russian Federation breach by the foreign citizen of
the above stated order of registration impairs fine in the
amount from 500 to 1000 rubles (15-30 dollars). The repeated
breach of the order of registration may result to deportation.
Temporary
Residence Permit for Russia
Note: This is a short summary especially
designed for business travelers and employers of foreign
nationals. If you are seeking a more detailed information
on Russian visa rules and legislation, please, refer to the Russian
Visa section.
Temporary residence is a document proving the right of a
foreign to reside in Russia before obtaining of Residence
permit. Temporary residence permit is issued for 3 years.
Temporary residence permit should be issued within 6 months
from the date of applying.
Temporary residence permit can be issued to a foreign citizen
within a quota established by federal government.
Disregarding quota Temporary residence permit can be issued
to the following people:
1. To the person that was born in USSR and was a citizen
of USSR or to the person that was born in the Russian Federation.
2. To the person declared disabled, who has a son or a daughter – citizens
of Russia.
3. To the person who has at least one disabled parent – citizen
of Russia.
4. To the person married to a citizen of Russia, who resides
in Russia.
5. To the person investing in Russia.
Procedure of obtaining Temporary residence permit is the
following:
1. Foreign citizen applies for a visa of a temporary residing
person (4 month single entry visa).
2. Foreign citizen applies for a Temporary residence permit.
3. After obtaining Temporary residence permit visa of a temporary
residing person is prolonged.
4. If a foreign citizen wants to exit Russia he/she should
apply for an exit/entrance visa.
Rights and obligations of Temporary residing foreign citizen:
1. Temporary residing foreign citizen can not change at his
wish place of residence within the territory of the region
where he/she obtained Temporary residence permit, or to reside
outside the region where he/she obtained Temporary residence
permit.
2. Temporary residing foreign citizen can not work outside
the region where he/she obtained Temporary residence permit.
Russia
Residence Permit
After obtaining Temporary residence permit and residing on
its basis no less than for a year foreign citizen may apply
for a Residence permit. Residence permit is issued to a foreigner
for 5 years and can be prolonged for another 5 years.
Residence permit enables foreign citizen to travel to and
out of Russia without visa.
Personal
Income Tax in Russia
The
taxpayers of personal income tax are individuals – residents
of the Russian Federation and individuals – non-residents
of the Russian Federation who receive income from the sources
on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Even a foreign citizen can be a tax resident of the Russian
Federation if he resides on the territory of the Russian
Federation not less than 183 days of the calendar year.
The tax rates for personal income tax in Russia are
the following:
- 13 % - for income received by tax residents;
- 30 % - for income received by tax non-residents on the territory
of the Russian Federation;
- 35 % - for certain kinds of income;
- 6 % - for income from share (stock) dividends.
An individual who is a non-resident of the Russian Federation
may be exempt from taxation by Russian tax authorities, provided
that he introduces (forwards) to Russian tax authorities
an official confirmation that he is a resident of the state
that has double taxation treaty with the Russian Federation.
It is also important to note that if the organization pays
for the lease of apartments for its foreign employee, the
latter shall pay personal income tax on 13 % or 30 % tax
rate depending on the period of time he resides on the territory
of the Russian Federation
Employer’s Withholding Obligations
Income tax should be withheld at source, by an employer who
is deemed to be a tax agent, with respect to all remuneration
paid to individuals (employees and individual contractors,
except for those who are duly registered individual entrepreneurs).
Under current rules, responsibility to be a tax agent lies
with Russian entities, individual entrepreneurs and permanent
establishments of foreign legal entities in Russia. In addition
to withholding obligations, employers are required to provide
information to the tax authorities on income paid and tax
withheld, and to notify the tax authorities about the amounts
of income received by individuals from which tax can not
be withheld.
Tax returns
And individual is required to file his/her annual tax return
with the Russian tax authorities in the following cases:
- he/she is self-employed;
- he/she received income from which Russian tax was not withheld
by a tax agent;
- he/she is a Russian tax resident and received income from
sources outside Russia;
- he/she is entitled to and intends to take an income tax deduction
provided for under Russian law.
> More information about tax
legislation in Russia (VAT, profits tax, assets tax, income
tax).
VISTA
Foreign Business Support provides consulting, law, and accounting
services for organisations and individuals.
Phone: +7 095 933 7822, Fax: +7 095 933 7823
E-mail: info@vfbs.ru
Web: www.vfbs.ru
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