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• FAQ - frequently asked questions

Registrationprint version

General Information

If you are a foreign visitor (i. e. you do not hold a Russian passport) and you are staying in the country for a period of more than 7 working days, the registration of your visa is compulsory and must be done within 2 working days. However, if you are staying in Russia less than 7 working days, registration is unnecessary.

Depending on where you register your visa and what kind of visa you have, the registration process might differ. The paperwork is to be done either by the inviting/host company, a hotel or a person you are visiting in Russia.

The host has to fill in a special application form and submit it to the local Migration Services. This can be done in person or by post. The application form itself has two parts. The first part is to be left with the Migration Services; the other part gets stamped, returned to the applicant and serves as a receipt. Because the above receipt has to be returned to the Migration Services within 24 hours after the departure of the visitor, in most cases the visitor keeps a copy of the receipt and the original stays with the host.

If you are moving about and visiting different cities (and you are staying for more than 7 working days), you are expected to perform a full registration procedure every time you change city. This means that you are expected to register (get yourself signed in) when you arrive and get yourself signed off via your registration receipt when you depart. However, for a full list of options please refer to our visiting more than one place section below.

Please note, that an attempt to leave the country without registration or without returning the registration receipt to the Migration Services considered an offence. This can result in visitor being fined and/or blacklisted which in turn might make any future travel to Russia rather difficult. To add to the above the inviting body will also get fined.

Registration with us

If you are travelling to Russia using our Tourist Visa service and you are not staying at hotel (i. e. you have booked private accommodation or you have accommodation of your own), please, come to us on the day of your arrival or the morning after and we will register you. This can be done in one of our offices either in St. Petersburg, Moscow or Irkutsk (please see addresses below). Please bring your passport, visa and your migration card. The above will be photocopied and returned to you. Your registration will be complete within next 24 hours. Please, return to our office the following working day after 5 p. m. and collect your registration receipt.

Please note: your registration (one for a single entrance visa and two for a double entrance visa) comes free with your invitation!

Please note: every additional registration is a subject to a 700 Roubles extra fee (sorry!).

If you cannot come to our office for registration, please, contact us immediately!

Please contact us if you have any questions about your registration

If you have booked a hotel

If you choose to stay at a hotel your registration will be done there right on your arrival. Simply come to reception with your passport, visa and your migration card. The above registration will only cover you for the period of your stay at the hotel.

Please note: you might be charged for the registration by the hotel. Please contact us for details.

Registration of Business Visa

If you are traveling on a Business Visa the process of your registration is similar to that of the Tourist Visa. Please see registration with us for details. However, some aspects must be looked into. Please, read carefully and don’t hesitate to contact us with any enquiries.

Double and multiple entrance visas should be registered each time you are entering Russia (as every time you get a new migration card). This means that each time you will be registered (signed in) and taken off the registration (signed off) via your registration receipt after you leave the country.

Your first registration in St. Petersburg or Moscow (up to 1 month) is included in the price of your invitation. In case of a double-entrance visa you will be entitled to two free registrations (one per entry). Each further registration is a subject to a 700 Roubles extra fee.

Please note: if you have a hotel booked, the hotel will take care of your registration. Please, see above for details.

If you are visiting more than one place

If you are going to be visiting more than one place, you are expected to register at every town you are visiting and notify the authorities about your departure dates. If you have booked a hotel, the hotel will deal with your registration.

If you booked hotels in all different cities, you will be registered in each hotel. Registration in hotels normally is free of charge, so this means you don’t really have to think about this problem. Hostels might have an additional fee for registration. If you booked them with us, registration in all cities will be included.

If you are using private accommodation, the best option for you is to register with us in one of our offices on your arrival and give us a breakdown of your route.

If you are planning to use both hotels and private apartments while moving from place to place, every time you check into hotel we will have to sign you off prior to checking- in as your hotel will need to register you. As soon as you switch back to private accommodation, we will have to register you again (sign you in) and so on and so forth.

Please note: every additional registration is a subject to a 700 Roubles extra fee.

We here in OST-WEST appreciate that the above rules are confusing and difficult to understand. Please, don’t hesitate to contact us if you require any additional information.

Ost-West Kontaktservice visa registration offices