Foreign citizens will have to undergo migration registration within one day of arrival in Russia during the FIFA competitions.

The measures were introduced by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 202 dated May 9, 2017 "On the Application of Tightened Security Measures during FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 and FIFA World Cup 2018" (the Decree), which applies from 1 June 2017.

Recent developments

The Decree establishes tightened measures applicable during these events, particularly within the territories of Kazan, Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sochi from 1 June 2017 until 12 July 2017, and the territories of Volgograd, Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-On-Don, Samara, Saint Petersburg, Saransk and Sochi from 25 May 2018 until 25 July 2018.

The security measures include changes in the migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons at the place of temporary stay (or registration at the place of residence) and changes in registration and de-registration of citizens of the Russian Federation. They also contain restrictions on traffic and aircraft movements and create controlled and restricted zones and the procedure for access to these zones.

Consequences for employers

According to the Decree, in Kazan, Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sochi from 1 June 2017 until 12 July 2017, and Volgograd, Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-On-Don, Samara, Saint Petersburg, Saransk and Sochi from 25 May 2018 until 25 July 2018, the host party must carry out the migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons at the place of their temporary stay (or registration at the place of temporary or permanent residence) within one day after their arrival in the Russian Federation. Moreover, documents for the migration registration must be filed by the host party, foreign citizen or stateless person directly with the relevant territorial sub-division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Filing the documents by post is not possible.

The Decree clarifies that these restrictions are not only applicable to foreign citizens and stateless persons who are participants of the World Cup, the Confederations Cup and FIFA representatives, its affiliated companies, confederations and national football associations.

Currently, there are no official clarifications from the Ministry of Internal Affairs on enforcing the Decree. Therefore, all foreign citizens and stateless persons, including foreign citizens arriving to work in the Russian Federation and highly qualified foreign specialists, must comply with the requirements of the Decree.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.