Educational Temporary Residence Permit in Russia

Beginning from January 01, 2023, student of Russian higher education institutions can get an Educational Temporary Residence Permit, also known as RVPO (Rus. разрешение на временное проживание с целью получения образования / РВПО). This novelty was introduced with the Federal Law dated July 14, 2022 N 357-FZ, which amends another, very important law for foreigners "On the Legal Status of Foreign Nationals in the Russian Federation". Before that, students from abroad could enter the country only on a special student visa, and this visa implies a lot of restrictions.

REQUIREMENTS

For a student to obtain an Educational Temporary Residence Permit, he/she should study intramurally (студенты очной формы обучения). Extramural students (студенты заочной формы обучения) and those who study in the mixed attendance mode (студенты очно-заочной формы обучения) do not belong to this category.

This includes bachelor's, specialist's, master's programs, residency, assistantship-internship programs (Rus. ассистентура-стажировка), and postgraduate studies.

The application to obtain an RVPO must be filed with the Main Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

EDUCATIONAL TEMPORARY RESIDENCE
VS STUDENT VISA
VS TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

The Permit brings a few considerable advantages in comparison with the visa.
- an RVPO is issued for a student for the WHOLE period of study and an additional 180 days after graduation. You do not need to extend it every year.
- A student having a Permit has the right to work without additional bureaucratic requirements. For example, he/she does not have to come under an annual physical exam.
- A graduate is eligible for applying for Permanent Residence. The foreigner that studied on a student visa can apply for it only if he/she was an excellent student.
- He/she has the right to seek FREE medical help.

If we compare the ordinary Temporary Residence Permit with an educational one, we can also notice the latter is more advantageous for those studying in Russia:
- an ordinary Temporary Residence Permit is provided for only 3 years and cannot be extended, while an Educational Permit is valid within the whole period of study + 180 days.
- an RVPO holder does not have to file a residence and income notices with the Migration Directorate annually. These are documents stating that the foreign national actually resides in Russia and has official income sources.
- the procedure for obtaining an ordinary Permit is quota-based, while to get an RVPO, you do not have to get a quota – your application is enough.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

- Application (you can find a template on the Internet, for example, here)
- Passport with notarized translation
- Photographs
- Police Clearance Certificate (for visa students) with notarized translation
- Your migration documents: Registration and Migration Cards
- The Higher Education Institution’s License, Educational Program State Accreditation Certificate
- Contract with the Institution
- Admission Order
- Health Certificate
Filing fee: 1,600 rubles


WHEN IT CAN BE REVOKED

The grounds are the same as for an ordinary Temporary Residence Permit, namely:
- the foreign national committed two or more administrative offences within one year, or one criminal offence,
- he/she supports terrorism,
- he/she submitted forged documents or provided knowingly false information about himself/herself;
- he/she stayed outside Russia totally for 6 months within a year, etc.

But in case of RVPO, the holder can be deprived of this document for moving to an extramural or mixed program, or being expelled.

An Educational Permit is not revoked if the student transferred to another institution to continue intramural study, or moved to a master’s degree program after a bachelor’s degree program. You should only provide evidence with the Migration Directorate officers.



Need help in applying for an RVPO? Do not hesitate to contact us:
Tel: +7 909 961-19-09
Email: legalsolutions@inbox.ru
Visit us: Moscow, Zubovskiy bulvar, building 4/1, office 308

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