Earlier, foreign business associations opposed the new rules for medical examination of foreign specialists and their family members above the age of 7.

The Ministry of Health reported that their order was misunderstood: the 3 months mentioned in the order do not relate to the frequency of medical checks, but only to the validity period of the documents. This means that foreigners who are applying to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, cannot present medical documents that were issued more than three months ago.

We remind that the law, which prompted concern among foreign business associations, came into force on December 29^th, 2021. From this date, foreigners have to submit fingerprints and photos for biometric identification. This is a one-time procedure and needs to be completed within 30 days from the date of entry.

Additionally from March 1^st, 2022, foreigners will be required to undergo a medical examination with a check for drug use and the presence of a number of infectious diseases. This involves taking blood and urine tests, radiography or CT, PCR testing for Covid-19, as well as visiting a psychiatrist, dermatologist, infectious disease specialist, therapist and narcologist.

The law applies to all foreigners who:

• Enter Russia for work, including highly qualified specialists and other migrant workers;
• Those entering Russia not for work for a period of more than 90 calendar days.

Only children under the age of 6, citizens of Belarus, as well as all diplomats and their family members are exempt from the new rules.

Where you can get tested

The lists of medical institutions authorized to conduct medical examinations are posted on the official websites of the executive authorities of the regions. For example:

For Moscow
For Moscow region
For Saint Petersburg

What will happen if you do not fulfill the requirements of the law

In case of non-compliance by foreign citizens with the requirements of this law, it is possible to cancel or refuse to issue the relevant permits for temporary residence in the Russian Federation, residence permits, work permits.

The Ministry of Health of Russia clarified questions received regarding the validity of medical documents

Medical examination of foreign citizens and stateless persons for the presence or absence of narcotic, psychotropic, new potentially dangerous psychoactive substances and their metabolites in the body, as well as for the presence or absence of infectious diseases posing danger to others and disease caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection), was introduced by Paragraph 18 of Article 5 of Federal Law № 115-FZ of 25.07.2002 “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” (as amended by Federal Law No. 274-FZ of 01.07.2021).

The procedure of medical examination, including chemical toxicological tests is approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation № 1079n of November 19, 2021, which will come into force on March 1, 2022.

The timeframes specified in the new edition of the Order (three months) pertain to the validity of documents for their submission to the territorial bodies of internal affairs, and in no way mean the necessity of medical examinations once every three months.

A similar norm is stipulated in the Procedure for confirming the presence or absence of infectious diseases that pose a danger to others and constitute grounds for refusing or cancelling a temporary residence permit for foreign citizens and stateless persons, or a residence permit, or a patent, or a work permit in the Russian Federation (Order of the Russian Ministry of Health No. 384n of June 29, 2015), effective until March 1, 2022. 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has clarified the procedure for fingerprinting and photographing

The official site of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has published the procedure of dactyloscopic registration and photographing in accordance with the changes that come into force on December 29, 2021. 

The main conclusions of the given procedure: 

• after undergoing fingerprinting and photographing, the territorial Ministry of Internal Affairs issues a laminated form (card) with the photo image and identification data of the owner;
• the fingerprinting procedure and photographing is carried out once without payment of state fees and irrespective of the number of entries/exits from the Russian Federation;
• it will be possible to undergo fingerprinting in: the migration departments of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia; FGUP “PVS” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the regions; the main budget institution of the city of Moscow “Multifunctional Migration Center”;
• foreign nationals who have entered the territory of the Russian Federation before December 29, 2021 may undergo fingerprinting either at the next entry into the Russian Federation, or in advance – without waiting for re-entry.