Starting from 2015, foreign citizens wishing to obtain a work permit, a patent, a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit must provide a certificate confirming a certain level of proficiency in Russian language, history and law (hereinafter - the possession of the Russian language).
The peculiarities of obtaining such certificates you may find below.
The only document replacing such certificate is the original of the diploma on secondary / higher education issued by an educational institution on the territory of the state that was part of the USSR before September 01, 1991, or the document on education / qualifications issued on the territory of Russia starting from September 1, 1991.
The following categories of foreign citizens are exempted from the procedure of confirming the knowledge of the Russian language when applying for a work permit:
- highly qualified specialists;
- journalists working in organizations that release mass media established especially for the provision of information in foreign languages;
- students of Russian education institutions and institutions of higher education with the state accreditation for basic educational programs.
The following categories of foreign citizens are also exempted from the confirmation:
- disabled or with special disability;
- under the age of 18;
- men who have reached the age of 65 and women who have reached the age of 60;
- participants of the state program on the assistance to the voluntary resettlement to the RF of compatriots living abroad and their family members, moving together to Russia;
- highly qualified specialists and their family-members who applied for a permanent residence permit;
- native speakers of the Russian language who applied for a permanent residence permit;
- citizens of the Union State formed by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus (citizens of the Republic of Belarus are exempted from the confirmation of the knowledge of the Russian language when registering a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit in Russia).
In other cases, the certificate is issued to foreign citizens in accordance with the terms presented in the table:
| Foreign citizens from | Work permit (general order) | Patent | TRP | PRP |
1 | Visa countries | 30 calendar days after receiving | - | when submitting documents | when submitting documents |
2 | Visa free countries | - | when submitting documents | when submitting documents | when submitting documents |
However, according to our practice, when applying for a work permit, including HQS, we observe a serious problem of work permits cancellations in the Department on Migration issues of Russian Interior Ministry in Moscow and Moscow region.
Thus, an employer who issues a work permit can provide a copy of a certificate confirming the knowledge of the Russian language within 30 calendar days from the date of obtaining a work permit. However, the administrative regulations of the Department on Migration issues of Russian Interior Ministry in Moscow and Moscow region do not involve any marks on receipt of such copies. Ant the staff do not enter any information on receipt of such copies to database.
Therefore, the work permit of a foreign citizen will be automatically canceled in case there is no information on certificate in database within 30 calendar days. Moreover, the employer who provided a copy of the certificate does not have any actual evidence that the certificate was provided within the statutory deadlines, as well as there is no opportunity to challenge the decision on cancellation.
In this connection, Confidence Group strongly recommends to provide a copy of this certificate along with the other documents when submitting documents for registration of a work permit. A copy of the certificate, among of other documents, will be included in the list of documents to be handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the corresponding application will be marked, which minimizes the risks of work permits cancellations.The following educational institutions conducting a comprehensive examination are legislatively approved:
- Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education (FSBEI of Higher Education) "The State Institute of the Russian Language of A.S. Pushkin";
- FSBEI of Higher Education "Moscow State University of M.V. Lomonosov ";
- Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education (FSAEI of Higher Education) "Peoples' Friendship University of Russia";
- FSBEI of Higher Education "St. Petersburg State University";
- FSBEI of Higher Education "Pacific National University";
- FSAEI of Higher Education "Volgograd State University";
- FSAEI of Higher Education "Kazan (Privolzhsky) Federal University";
- FSBEI of Higher Education "Tyumen State University".
The peculiarities of obtaining a certificate you can find below.
Testing for the knowledge of the Russian language is conducted in the head universities, local testing centers and testing centers abroad, created within the framework of the state testing system for foreign citizens. State testing of foreign citizens is carried out in Russian.
Requirements for the minimum level of knowledge required to pass this exam are represented by three sections:
Regarding Russian language, the foreign citizen must:
- be able to read small informational texts such as advertising and so on (for example, announcements, signs, descriptions, indexes, parts of interviews, short texts of a regional nature), to define the topic of the text, to understand the main and additional information contained therein for social, cultural and formal-business areas of communication;
- be able to fill out questionnaires, forms, notices (for receiving a parcel, postal transfer), write an application (for example, for hiring, enrolling a child in school), to easily deal with any types of texts for official, business, professional and social areas of communication;
- understand by ear the main content of the monologue and dialogue in speech situations, typical for social, everyday, professional and socio-cultural spheres of communication;
- be able to create logical oral monologues on the proposed topic in accordance with the communicative setting, as well as participate in dialogical communication in a limited set of formal, business, professional and social areas of communication.
Regarding Russian history, the foreign citizen must:
- know the basic facts and events of Russian history in accordance with historical chronology and the main monuments of history and culture associated with them;
- know the national, cultural and religious traditions of Russian society;
- know the names of prominent political and public figures, outstanding leaders of science and culture of Russia, their contribution to the history of the development of Russian society and world culture.
Regarding Russian law, the foreign citizen must:
- know the fundamentals of the constitutional system of Russia;
- know the basic rights, freedoms and duties of foreign citizens in Russia;
- know the rules for the entry of foreign citizens into Russia, stay and residence in Russia, as well as exit from Russia;
- know the basics of civil, family and labor law of Russia;
- know the procedure for interaction with government authorities of Russia;
- know the basis of legal responsibility of foreign citizens in Russia;
- know the basics of interaction of foreign citizens with diplomatic missions and (or) consular institutions of foreign states in Russia.
In order to determine the level of Russian language proficiency, a complex exam is conducted in combination of oral (in the form of an interview) and written (in the form of testing) forms, and the testing of Russian history and law is conducted in writing form (in the form of testing), including usage of computer and remote technologies.
The timetable and duration of testing is determined by the organization conducting the comprehensive exam. A comprehensive exam is conducted in classrooms equipped with means for recording audio and reproducing audio recordings. Each participant of the comprehensive exam is allocated a separate place for training.
To pass a comprehensive examination, foreign citizens submit to the organization conducting the comprehensive examination a written or electronic application.
Before the beginning of the examination, a member of the commission gives a briefing to foreign citizens, as well as informs them about the procedure and form of the comprehensive examination, the duration of the comprehensive examination, and the time to see the results of the comprehensive exam.
A foreign citizen who successfully passed a comprehensive examination and correctly answered 65 or more percent of the questions is given a certificate of proficiency in Russian, knowledge of the history and law of Russia.
The certificates issued by the above-mentioned universities are valid for processing of permits in the territory of all Russian territorial entities within 5 years.
The cost of testing in these universities is on average 5500 rubles.
Please note that there are special prices and conditions in certain regions of Russia.
For example, when a patent is issued in Moscow, the Multifunctional Migration Center in Sakharovo conducts testing and issues a certificate that is valid for processing a patent that allows the employment only in Moscow. Moreover, the validity of such a certificate is limited to one year. The cost of testing for obtaining such a certificate is only 700 rubles.
In the Moscow Region, the United Migration Center in Krasnogorsk (Putilkovo) also conducts testing of foreign citizens for knowledge of the Russian language. The cost of testing for obtaining a patent is 4,500 rubles, and the issued certificate is valid for 5 years, but only for registration of a patent, that allows the employment only in the Moscow region.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the procedures for passing the testing and obtaining certificates in the Migration Centers are much easier compared to similar procedures at the head universities.
We also would like to remind you that if a foreign citizen fails to provide a document confirming the level of knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and law within 30 calendar days from the date of issuing a work permit, it may entail the cancellation of the work permit and further termination of work in the organization.
