VERY IMPORTANT

On arrival at the Russian border all foreigners should fill in a migration card. It is a small piece of paper perforated in the middle. A foreigner fills in the card and one part is to be taken by the passport control officer. A student keeps the other part for the registration and exit formalities. On arrival a passport control officer on the border should put a stamp on the migration card. This stamp indicates the date of arrival and is required for registration. These cards are available on board international flights and at airports at passport control control.

All foreign citizens must be registered within three days after arrival (weekends and holidays are included). Therefore we kindly ask all students to plan their trips so that they can come to our office (room 114 in Smolny) for the registration not later than on the third day during office hours. One must bring passport, visa and the migration card for the registration. "Registration" is a stamp on the migration card which confirms a person's legal stay in Russia. Our Center can register only visas which were issued according to our invitations. Registration can be arranged precisely for the period of your study contract. Registration expiration date is the last day when you can stay in Russia legally.

If a student extends his/her study contract, consequently the registration is also extended. For this a student should bring all necessary documents to the Center's staff in room 114 in Smolny Campus (we advise students to apply to the Center's staff in advance in order to find out all the extension details and avoid any misunderstandings)

We do not register or extend tourist, business or any other types of visa. Tourist visas can be registered at hotels of Saint Petersburg. Should you need some information on this point we will be glad to provide you with the necessary details. Though we can register only visa issued though our office we can and do accept foreigners on our programs with any type of visa if it is registered in the Russian Federation.

Russian police and migration services control the registration situation in the country. Therefore these services are allowed to check the documents of any person and anywhere, especially in the street. That is why students must follow these simple registration rules.