Article is prepared by Olga Makarova, a consultant of Confidence Group, 28.03.2016
The tightening of Russian immigration legislation, the great number of actions to legalize the stay of a foreign citizen in Russia, the significant increase of the costs on permits, as well as continued cuts in quotas on attracting foreign labor, force more and more foreign citizens to seek for alternative ways of legalization in Russia.
The temporary residence permit (hereinafter the TRP) is the most effective, reliable and affordable, but at the same time, one of the most complex methods of the foreign citizens’ legalization.
Some categories of foreign citizens may apply for the TRP on non-quota basis, such categories include those foreign citizens who were luckily born in the RSFSR and have the former Soviet Union nationality, the other foreign citizens married to a Russian citizen, foreign citizens who have parents who are Russian citizens and live in Russia, foreign citizens received higher professional education after 01.07.2002 in Russia. In these cases the possibility to obtain the TRP is almost 100%. As a rule, the only reason of refusal to issue the TRP may be administrative violations of the foreign citizen or the provision of incorrect / misleading information.
All other foreign citizens are supposed to obtain the TRP on usual quota basis. The quota for the TRP is annually approved by the Russian Government for each Russian territorial entity.
Thus, in accordance with the Resolution of the Russian Government as of October 29, 2015 N 2197-r, the approved quota for the issue of the TRPs with the distribution within Russian territorial entities is in the amount of 125 900 foreign citizens in 2016.
The quota for Moscow in 2016 is 2000 people, the quota for Moscow region - 8000, the quota for St. Petersburg - 1500, for the Leningrad region - 400, etc.
By the end of the year, the Russian Government will have issued an order to increase the quotas of the TRP, but these increases are not such significant.
As for Moscow, this small annual quota for the region is approximately the same for the several years, however, the number of foreign citizens wishing to get a "precious quota" considerably exceeds the number of quotas mentioned above. The endless queues in FMS mean the same. We would note, that particularly in Moscow and the Moscow region, the quota is so desired; the situation with queues is relatively calm in other regions of Russia.
But for all that, what are the action items to get the mentioned quota? Is there a guaranteed option of getting it? What are the action items to increase the chances to get it by a foreign citizen?
We may assume that there are guaranteed ways to get the TRP. At least the Internet offers a great number of ads of companies providing assistance in obtaining quotas for the TRP, the cost of such services ranging from 60,000 to 200,000 rubles. But the vast majority of these companies are scams. If one is fortune, they may guide you through the standard procedure of obtaining a quota for the TRP, if worst comes to worst, they will charge money and disappear.
In recent years, the quota allocation procedure, including the TRP quota, became more transparent. A large number of concerned parties make the decision and the responsibility for possible violations may be crucial to the career of any official, causing the decline of the violations in the distribution of quotas over the past few years.
Another way to get the quota for the TRP is an application to the FMS in person on a common basis. Any foreign citizen can try the luck and it may save extra money, but certainly will lead to lose of the time and nerves spent in long queues. However, in case of positive decision of the application for the quota, which is usually taken within 1 month, the issue of the TRP will be possible, in practice, with a guarantee.
Please have a look at the procedure of receiving the TRP quota, as well as at the series of recommendations that would increase the chances of a foreign citizen to receive it.
In order to apply for the TRP quota it is necessary to fill in the prescribed form and attach the following documents:
- copy of passport or a notary-certified copy of its translation;
- a copy of the migration card;
- a copy of the notification of arrival to the place of residence;
- copies of documents confirming the information specified in the profile (e.g., certificate of education; documents confirming kinship with living in Moscow by right of the TRP or the PRP, or Russian citizens who are family members or close relatives of the applicant; a work permit / patent, employment contract, certificate of state registration of property rights to housing, account statements, etc.).
Documents are considered on a monthly basis by a special Commission consisting of a number of the committee chairman, deputy chairman of the Commission, the secretary and members of the Commission, approved by the order of the Federal Migration Service.
The term of consideration of the application is approximately one month, right after that the FMS posts lists of the quota, indicating the name and nationality of the TRP owners. Foreign citizens who have received a treasured quota shall submit the documents for the TRP to the Federal Migration Service within two months.
The law does not provide grounds for granting or refusing the quota, and therefore the law does not provide any clear criteria that would guarantee the receipt of the TRP quotas. That’s why it is impossible to appeal the decision to refuse the quota in a court.
The Commission also takes into account the following factors when considering applications for the quota to a foreign citizen:
- reasonability of living in the region, taking into account the economic, demographic, ethnic, cultural and other conditions;
- the state of the labor market, social, demographic, ethnocultural, and the crime situation;
- the need to ensure the migration safety, sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, inter-ethnic and inter-confessional consent;
- there are applications from companies, organizations, diaspora, national-cultural autonomies, state agencies;
- there is a personal information on a foreign citizen that may be relevant to the consideration of the application for the TRP;
- there are close relatives (spouses, parents, children) of foreign citizens residing (staying) in the region, who have the TRP or the PRP, with the able-bodied parents – Russian citizens;
- there is a housing accommodation by right of ownership;
- there are significant savings, other movable and real property in Russia.
If a foreign citizen has a place of residence, correct migration registration, if a foreign citizen fully complies with the terms of stay and timely extension, it will seriously affect the receiving of the TRP quota.
The provision of notification on migration registration at the addresses of so-called “rubber apartments” (apartments where the number of registered persons greatly exceeds the real number of people living there) will significantly reduce the probability of obtaining the quota. It also may lead to the dire consequences such as the administrative expulsion.
Regarding the timing of applying for the TRP quotas, we recommend to apply at the beginning of the year, immediately after the start of reception of documents at the FMS, so the chances of a foreign citizen to get the quota at the specific region increase substantially.
Please note that in case of failure to get quotas, a foreign citizen has the right to re-apply for the quota unlimited number of times during the year.
Anyway, even if a foreign citizen follows the standard procedure complying with the above conditions and under the successful circumstances, it doesn’t guarantee the quota for any foreign citizen.
A large number of judgmental factors such as the level and quality of bilateral relations with the state of nationality of the foreign citizen at the moment, a change in the migration policy of Russia depending on the prevailing foreign policy situation and many other factors affect the decision on the allocation of quotas. However, it would be a good thing to try applying for the quota.
The assistance of professionals, such as the Confidence Group specialists, would significantly increase the chances of a foreign citizen to obtain the quota, would save the time and reduce problems arising when interacting with government authorities. It also definitely ensures 100% compliance with Russian migration legislation.
