The issues of obtaining citizenship and employment of foreign citizens were discussed at Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University. On July 29, international students met with representatives of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic.

The employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs talked about the innovations in migration legislation that are of interest to young people from abroad who are studying in Russia. Thus, a new basis appeared in order to obtain a residence permit.


– This is the successful mastering of the full-time educational program of higher education in the Russian Federation with obtaining a certificate of education with honors. That is, as soon as you graduate from the university with a diploma with honors, you will have a chance to get a residence permit in the Russian Federation immediately, – said Larisa Shman, the head of the visa-permitting department of the Department for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Komi Republic.


From August 5, students who study full-time at the university with the state accreditation have the right to work on an equal basis with Russian citizens without obtaining additional permits.

The situation with coronavirus infection influenced migration processes and the ability to cross country borders. In this situation, the requirements for the validity of documents confirming the legality of the presence of foreign citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation have been simplified. If the period of stay in the territory of Russia for a foreign citizen ended from March 15 to September 15, 2020, then they are automatically extended by 185 days. In addition, now, in order to obtain any permission document, you need to attach a certificate stating that the person is not sick with coronavirus. Testing for the presence of this virus in our region is carried out by two institutions – the AIDS Center and the Komi Consultative and Diagnostic Center.

When a foreign citizen or stateless person receives any permit, they are checked for convictions and fines. Veronika Yarkova, senior inspector of the migration control department of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Komi Republic, spoke about such leverage as non-permission to enter Russia:


– Our legislation allows to prohibit the entry of foreign citizens for a period of three to five years for the commission of administrative offenses or crimes. When committing any administrative offenses two or more times within three years, a foreign citizen may be prohibited from entering the territory of our country for three years. The most common administrative offenses committed by foreign citizens and stateless persons are traffic violations, smoking in the wrong place, or being drunk in a public place. But for violation of migration rules two or more times within one year, entry into the territory of the Russian Federation has been banned for five years.


A lively discussion was caused by the issue of obtaining Russian citizenship. Currently, there are two ways to apply for citizenship. As a general rule, a foreign citizen must have a residence permit and reside in Russia for five years. The simplified form assumes that a foreign citizen has family members who are Russian citizens (wife or children). Also, in a simplified form, persons who graduated from an educational institution, have a residence permit, received a certificate of knowledge of the Russian language and officially worked in our country for one year can apply for Russian citizenship. According to the new rules, which came into force in Russia on July 24, 2020, there is no need to renounce the citizenship of the country of origin.

The meeting aroused keen interest among international students studying at the university, as evidenced by a large number of questions to representatives of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic.

Media Center VERBUM

Photo by Media Center VERBUM