Russian Visa & Migration Procedures
To avoid violation of registration rules of the Russian Federation, be informed that your first visa registration should be made in Saint Petersburg (not in any other city of Russia!). If you are coming in Saint Petersburg from your country via Moscow please, note that you can stay in Moscow at least 1 day.
Your registration will cover only period of your contract with the University.
A visa to the Russian Federation is a document, permitting entry and exit withing the dates fixed in the visa. Please remember that you should plan to exit Russia before your visa expires.
The Russian Language and Culture Institute can provides full visa support.You must decide the duration of your study at the Saint Petersburg State University.
If the duration of your program is less than 90 days, complete the following steps to acquire a Russian visa (only for European Union students):
1. Complete the visa application.
2. We will mail you a letter of invitation. If the consulate requires the original invitation, we send it with express mail DHL/other (delivered within 3-5 days). It takes 2 weeks to arrange a letter of invitation.
3. Please note that you will not be allowed to extend your stay in Russia with this type of visa.
If the duration of your program is 90 days or more, complete the following steps to acquire:
1. Complete the visa application.
2. We will mail you a letter of invitation with express post DHL/other (delivered within 3-5 days). It takes 5-6 weeks to arrange a letter of invitation.
3.Your visa will be valid for 90 days only. When you arrive in Saint-Petersburg and sign a contract with our Institute - you will be allowed to extend you visa according to the duration specified inyour contract. Youmay extend your visa as many times as you extend your educational contract.You may extend your visa no later than 30 days prior to the expiration of your current visa.
Please keep in mind that the extension of your stay in Russia and theprocessing of the multi-entry visa are carried out by Migratory office within 21 days.
Please Do Not book your tickets before you receive the letter of invitation.
Upon arrival: Very Important
Upon arrival at the Russian border all foreigners must fill out a migration card. It is a small sheet of paper perforated in the center. Following the completion of the form, one part is of the form is taken by the passport control officer. The student keeps the other part for registration and exit procedures. Upon arrival the border passport control officer will stamp on the migration card. This stamp indicates the date of arrival and is required for registration. These cards are available on board international flights and at airports at passport control.
All foreign citizens must be registered the next business day after arrival. Therefore all students are kindly asked to plan their trips so that they can come to our office (room 307) for registration no later than the first business day before lunch. Passport, visa and migration card are required for registration. "Registration" is a stamp on the migration card which confirms a person's legal stay in Russia. Our Center can register only visas which were issued according to our invitations. Registration can be arranged precisely for the period of your study contract. Registration expiration date is the last day when you can stay in Russia legally.If the student extends his/her study contract, consequently the registration is also extended. For this the student should bring all necessary documents to the Center's staff in room 307 (students are advised to refer to the Institute's staff in advance in order to find out all the extension details and avoid any misunderstandings)
Tourist, business or any other types of visa are not extended. Tourist visas can be registered at Saint Petersburg hotels. Please contact us if you require more information regarding visa extension. Though only visas issued though our office can be registered foreigners on our programs with any type of visa registered in the Russian Federation are accepted.
Russian police and migration services control the registration situation in the country. Therefore these services are allowed to check the documents of any person anywhere, especially on the street. That is why students must follow these simple registration rules.
