On April 5, 2018, the State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill No. 387044-7 significantly changing the list of duties and increasing responsibility of inviting party.
The draft law provides that inviting party shall take measures to ensure the timely departure of the invited foreign citizen beyond Russia after the expiry of the period of stay in Russia, as well as the observance by a foreign citizen of the stated purpose of entry into Russia, the list and procedure for the application of which are established by the Government of Russia.
The Confidence Group Сompany was invited to the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation as migration experts for zero hearings on this bill.
Representatives of Confidence Group proposed constructive criticism of this bill, offering various suggestions and arguments. Unfortunately proposals of our company, as well as representatives' of other organizations were not taken into account, and the bill was approved, and then passed by the State Duma in the first reading in its original form.
The norm that regulates the measures of inviting party, that is, its duties during the period of stay of a foreign citizen in Russia, proposed for inclusion in the text of Article 16 of the Federal Law "On the legal status of foreign Citizens in Russia" does not fit the subject of this article that regulates namely the relations arising in connection with the processing of an invitation to enter Russia.
It is not clear how the term "declared purpose of entry into Russia" used in the bill refers to the terms "purpose of visit", "purpose of entry", "purpose of travel" provided for in other normative acts of Russia - Federal Law No. 114-FZ as of August 15, 1996 "On the procedure for departure from Russia and entry into Russia", Resolution No. 413 of the Government of Russia as of August16, 2004 "On the Migration Card", Resolution No. 335 of the Government of Russia as of June 6, 2003 "On approval of the regulation on the establishment of a visa form, order and conditions for its execution and issuance", Resolution No. 9 of the Government of Russia as of January 15, 2001 "On the procedure of migration registration of foreign citizens and persons without citizenship in Russia".
Currently, the legal framework does not contain criteria for determining in which cases the actions/inactions of foreign citizens are considered as a violation of order of stay in terms of compliance with the stated purpose of entry. At the same time, it is quite obvious that these actions, as well as actions aimed at timely departure from Russia, directly depend on a foreign citizen, and the inviting party is not able to take measures listed in the bills promptly.
Regardless of the number of invitations issued from an organization, the above-mentioned legal gaps create significant risks for both inviting party, receiving party and foreign citizen.
On the one hand, expected penalties can force organizations to make carefully the decision to act or not to act as host for certain foreign citizens, which can lead to decrease the number of invitations, entries and, consequently, the number of violations.
Practice shows that the alleged penalties may affect the decision regarding bona fide organizations that care for their legal entity. Hardly the responsibility introduced by the draft law can affect the activities of unscrupulous one-day organizations, from which the largest number of invitations are issued for foreign citizens who knowingly intend to violate the rules of staying in Russia.
There are some examples from practice, which clearly illustrate the shortcomings of the bill:
- The inviting party has legally issued an invitation to a foreign citizen, its future employee or an employee of the partner. A foreign citizen issued a visa on the basis of this invitation and entered the territory of Russia, but did not contact the inviting party. As a result, in the event that a foreign citizen violates the permitted period of stay or the purpose of entry, the ineligible inviting party will be liable for failure to take measures to ensure timely departure. Obviously, in this situation, imposing liability on the receiving party is not fair.
- The inviting party issued a business invitation to a foreign citizen. A foreign citizen entered Russia on a visa issued on the basis of the above invitation, and indeed visited the inviting party. But also, this foreign citizen visited his relatives in Russia, and this can already be regarded as a violation of the purpose of entry. Obviously, in this situation, it is not clear what is considered to be compliance with the purpose of entry, and imposing responsibility on the receiving party is not fair.
- The inviting party issued a work invitation for a foreign worker. A foreign worker entered Russia with a work visa issued on the basis of the above invitation. This foreign worker carries out work activities, but it has a weekend (vacation), which can visit Russian sightseeings located in other regions of Russia, which can already be regarded as a violation of the purpose of entry. It is obvious that in this situation it is absolutely not clear what is considered to be compliance with the purpose of entry, and imposing responsibility on the receiving party is not fair.
With the most difficult situation faced organizations which provide hotel services for foreign citizens. Providing their guests with visa support they become the inviting party and will automatically hold the full responsibility for all of the possible violations regarding their guests. In this connection the representatives of the biggest Russian hotel associations are applying to the President of Russia for cancellation of this law.
Adoption of the bill in the proposed form will require changes to rules related to redistribution of responsibility from a foreign citizen to inviting party, which is not advisable due to the fact that these actions directly depend on the foreign citizen, and the inviting party is not able to take the measures listed in the bill.
Confidence Group assesses the bill as insufficient. In case of its adoption the practice of law enforcement can face serious difficulties.
For additional information, please contact consultants of Confidence Group.
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