Russia Work Permit Visa

HQS Work Permit: Initial Process Overview

The Highly Qualified Specialist will have the opportunity to receive Russian work permit and work visa up to 3 years but the short term assignment (6- 9-12 months etc) is also possible for them. The foreign HQS must have a local labor contract with their Russian Employer and mandatory salary in Russian Rubles paid in the territory of the Russian Federation. This requirement is a must and cannot be avoided.

The Russian Employer is obliged to provide their foreign HQS (and their family members if any) with the voluntary medical insurance for the entire duration of the labor contract in Russia.

In accordance with Russian Laws the migration authorities must issue a work permit within 14 business days since the date of the documents submission. The assignee is not able to start the assignment in Russia till the Work Permit collection. Work permit can be collected by the assignee in Russia in person only. HQS is entitled to acquire the work permit which may be valid on the territory of several subjects of the Russian Federation.

Citizens who enter country on a work visa basis shall also acquire a Letter of invitaion besides a work permit. This document is required in order to obtain Work visa.

HQS status holders (as well as their authorized family members) can stay in Russia without migration registration for 90 calendar days since the day of entering the country (every time they enter).

Work permit for a foreign HQS can be renewed unlimited number of times for a term of one’s labor contract, but for no longer than 3 years for each renewal.

In case of termination of Russian labor contract, HQS’ work permit and visa will be valid within 30 business days. During this period HQS may search for a new employer and enter into a new labour agreement. If a new employer is not found within these 30 business days, HQS and his/her family members have to leave Russia within the next 30 business days.

Business visa with the “technical service“ purpose of entry

In accordance with Russian Law if a foreign employee (mechanic, technician, engineer etc) of the foreign legal entity (technical provider or supplier) comes to Russia for the installation, warranty service or postwarranty service of the technical equipment, provided by a foreign company, Russian work permit is not required – the business visa with the “technical service” purpose of entry is enough.

This type of visa can be issued for single/double entry for 1/3 months or multiple entry for 6/12 months. Maximum period of staying in Russia under this type of visa is 90 calendar days within every 180 day period.

The maintenance contract between the foreign legal entity (equipment supplier) and Russian client should be concluded and presented to the Migration Office in order to receive the Letter of invitation (LOI) for the “technical service” type of visa. The application for LOI should be submitted to the Migration Office on behalf of a Russian Host Company (recipient of equipment). This Russian legal entity must be registered (must have valid accreditation at the Migration Office) in order to have the right to apply for LOI.

The processing time for LOI obtaining comes to 21 business days from application date to the Russian Migration Office.

The foreign employee will receive the “technical service” business visa at the Russian Consulate in the country of their citizenship/permanent residence (on the basis of the above LOI).

Apostille procurement in Russia

Documents that have been issued and are legally binding in a certain country may only be used in other countries after their legalization in accordance with the established procedure. Currently two types of legalization are available, namely Сonsular Legalization and Apostilization.

Apostille is a special stamp that confirmes validity of an official document that has been issued in another country, upon the condition that both countries are signatories to the Hague Convention of 1961 (Apostille Convention). Russia joined the Hague Convention in May 1992.

Any document that bears an apostille is valid for using in all countries-members of the Hague Convention. Documents with apostille do not require any further legalization and can be accepted by the authorities of the States – Hague Convention Members .

Depending on the document origin different Russian authorities issue an apostille stamp.

Intermark provides the full scope of services related to apostilization all over Russia.

Consular Legalization in Russia

If the documents are going to be used in the non-members countries of the Hague Convention, the procedure of the consular legalization is applicable to them.

The legalization of Russian origin documents for abroad use (in such countries as Egypt, Lybia, the UAE, China, Angola, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc.) is usually done in the following way:

1) The Russian notary office attestates a copy of the document and its translation into foreign language;

2) The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation indicates the authenticity of the signature and seal of a notary;

3) Consular Department of Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirms authenticity of the seal and signature of the Russian Justice Ministry official;

4) After the legalization by the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, documents must be legalized by the Consular Section of the Embassy or the Consulate General of the country where they are to be used.

Intermark’s highly trained specialists provide full-service case management through effective and tailored immigration strategies

In order to legally work in Russia a foreign national must have a valid Work Permit, Work Visa and salary in Russian Rubles (Russian payroll).

If the Russian Employer is ready to provide the Employee with a salary not less than 167 000 RUR per month (approximately 2230 EUR) based on a local labour contract, the Employee is classified as the Highly Qualified Specialist (HQS) by the Russian Law. The processing of authorization documents for HQS status holders is easier and faster than the standard one. HQS work permit and work visa can be issued for up to 3 years.

If the Employee isn’t classified as the HQS, 1-year work permit and 1-year work visa is applicable.

Standard, non-HQS option comes with considerable restrictions and details:

  • The Employer should have a quota for hiring foreign nationals, which should be applied to authorities a year in advance.
  • The Employer should have a quota for hiring foreign nationals, which should be applied to authorities a year in advance.
  • The processing time for the work permit/work visa obtaining comes to 4,5 – 5 months from the very beginning of the process;
  • Non-HQS foreign employee must confirm the knowledge of Russian language, history of the Russian Federation and the basics of the Russian legislation. This requirement is mandatory and cannot be avoided.
  • The non-HQS foreign Employee has to pass medical tests in Russia and provide medical certificate in order to receive the work permit.
  • Work permit allows working only in the region where it is issued.

Russian Visa Application and Case Management Services include:

  • Quota application;
  • Work permit (including HQS) obtaining/extension;
  • Visa support (work, business, tourist, private, humanitarian etc);
  • Registration upon arrival to the Russian Federation;
  • Family members’ immigration support;
  • Taxpayer Identification Number obtaining;
  • General consulting/expertise of the documents;
  • Outgoing visas (entry visa to any country);
  • Legalization of the documents of Russian origin (Apostille procurement & Consulate’s legalization);
  • Police Clearance Certificate procurement;
  • Duplicates procurement at the Russian state bodies (Marriage Certificate / Birth Certificate/ References to Diploma);
  • Russian Birth Certificate obtaining (for the newborn foreign national born in Russia);
  • Personal Accreditation Card for employees of branches of foreign companies;
  • Consultancy on nonstandard cases;
  • Temporary Residence Permit obtaining;Permanent Residence Permit obtaining
  • Departure procedures (Exit Visa, Work Permit cancellation etc);

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