Relevance of the issue
The Russian Federation, like any other economically developing state, requires additional labour force, it can be both qualified professionals and all foreign citizens who want to work in Russia.
However, not all foreigners receive the necessary entry permit, as follows from the report of the executive authority for January-February 2023, 26,182 foreign citizens and stateless persons were denied entry into the country.
Nevertheless, do not worry, enough entry bans can be lifted, appealed, or reduced. In this article, we will tell you that there can be many such reasons, you just need to responsibly approach the matter and do everything right.
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The article will tell you about the order of the ban, the reasons, give a brief instruction on what points you should pay attention to and whether it is possible to lift the ban.
The law firm Delo Chesti (In English means Honor) has been studying and working with the topic of imposing a ban on entry into the Russian Federation for 10 years, our experience allows us to competently work with executive authorities and get the necessary legal solution.
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As you will learn further from the article, in order to lift the ban, it is necessary to take a number of actions, including finding out the reason for the ban from a notification or a request from the authority, assess the possibility of lifting such a ban, compare with the actual practice of such cases, draw up a competent legal statement to the authority or a lawsuit.
For foreign citizens who find themselves in a situation of a ban on entry into the Russian Federation, our law firm can offer the following:
- Analysis of received documents;
- Assessing the possibility of lifting the ban (not all cases allow this);
- Development of an optimal way to appeal against the decision of the authority;
- Legal development of an application for lifting the ban;
- Sending an application with the necessary list of documents to the executive authority.
Grounds for entry ban
So, now in simple terms it is worth noting the complex legal issues. In the Russian legal system, public relations are regulated by federal laws and by-laws.
The ban on the entry of a foreign citizen into the Russian Federation is an administrative coercive measure that is not equal to holding a person liable for an administrative offense in the field of migration legislation. In order to make a decision on non-permission to enter the Russian Federation, the authorized body must establish and evaluate, among other things, the marital status of a foreign citizen and the consequences of the decision for his family life.
All reasons why a foreigner may receive a ban on entry are regulated by Federal Law No. 114-FZ. The very process of making a decision on not allowing entry is reflected in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 12 of January 14, 2015. Legal grounds arise in accordance with 114-FZ, then Decree No. 12 is applied by the authorities.
Let’s turn to our Government Decree and find out which executive authorities can decide on a ban on entry. It is important for a foreigner or his lawyer to know with whom he will interact. Based on the norms of the Decree, a ban can be imposed by the Russian Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Federal Customs Service, the Penitentiary Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service.
The most common case of entry ban is by decision of the General Directorate for Migration under the Ministry of the Interior. It is important to remember that the Federal Migration Service has not existed since 2016, it has become part of the Russian Interior Ministry.
The notification is handed to a foreign citizen at the border — at the border checkpoint: at the airport of arrival, when you are already in the Russian Federation, at the land border, when you are standing at the border of the Russian Federation. However, if this did not happen, it is worth writing to the authority yourself.
Decisions of executive authorities, based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the principle of separation of powers, can always be appealed in court or the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation. However, in the topic we are considering, issues are resolved by drawing up and filing a statement of claim with the court.
Now it is worth noting the possible reasons for the ban on entry. As mentioned earlier, there are more than 15 reasons and it is necessary to pay attention to the most common ones.
Prohibition after bringing to administrative responsibility
A ban may be imposed if a person has been brought to administrative responsibility two or more times within the last three years. The ban will be in effect for three years. Clause 4 will be the legal basis for the authority. Article 26 114-FZ and the last decision on bringing to administrative responsibility.
In this situation, the lawyer determines the reason why the ban arose, which body imposed it, all this information is usually contained in the notification. The document that must notify a foreign citizen or stateless person will be a notification. The specialist prepares an application for appeal or an appeal to the authority, the law sets a period of 30 days for its consideration.
The question of evidence depends on the circumstances of the case. For example, if a ban was imposed due to a cancelled decision to bring to administrative responsibility, then it is necessary to provide confirmation of the cancellation — a judicial or other act of cancellation.
If we turn to practice, an important fact that will help lift the ban will be the presence of close relatives in Russia (citizens of the Russian Federation), they are considered a spouse, children and parents. Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, while recognizing the right of everyone to respect for his private and family life, does not permit interference by public authorities in the exercise of this right, except in cases where such interference is prescribed by law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security and public order, the economic well-being of the country, in order to prevent disorder or crime, to protect health or morals, to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation is not a member of the Council of Europe, the main provisions of the convention are included in national law.2 Other factors, such as real estate in the country, brothers or sisters, will also be a plus.
The decision can also be appealed in court. The specialist will write a claim and file it with the district court at the location of the authority, or at the place of registration. The lawyer will pay attention to the deadlines for filing, as they are limited to three months from the day the person learned about the ban. However the practice is such that the court does not pay attention to the missed deadline and consider the case.
Within three days after the filing of the claim, the judge decides whether to accept the claim for proceedings. If the claim is accepted, it is considered within two months. Although in fact it takes all 3-4 months. You can appeal the decision to a higher court within a month.
After the ban is lifted, it is not recommended to enter immediately, the base of the Russian Interior Ministry is updated a little longer.
Entry ban due to forged documents
A common ground for a ban on entry is paragraph 9. part 1 of article 27 114-FZ due to the presentation or discovery of forged documents. It is important to know that fictitious registration belongs to the category of fake documents and a ban due to such registration occurs very often. It is also necessary to remember about criminal liability under Art. 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for forgery of documents.
Removing the ban on this basis is much more difficult than in the first case. Most cases indicate that the term of the ban is more often reduced, since initially the decision is made on an indefinite period. The problem arises due to the fact that the term is not established by law, so there is a similar practice.
Information from the migration register is really important for a foreigner, as it contains the address where the person will be and the period during which the foreigner can stay in the Russian Federation.
The courts, when considering cases, take the position of the Constitutional Court and form the practice according to paragraphs 9 of part 1. article 27. Judges, if the authority has not set the term of the ban, can reduce it to a certain period, for example 3 years. In addition, the court draws attention to the presence of family ties in Russia, places of work, real estate. These facts make lawyers understand that a foreigner has something to bind him to the country.
It is also worth understanding that when deciding on an entry ban, circumstances worthy of attention cannot take precedence over other constitutional values, and even the presence of a family does not guarantee immunity to foreign citizens from lawful coercive measures by public authorities.3
Entry ban due to violation of the terms of stay in the country
Of course, all foreign citizens and stateless persons must comply with the statutory periods of stay in the Russian Federation. Violation of the deadlines may be the basis for a decision to ban entry. The legal basis for this will be subparagraphs 12., subparagraphs 13 of part 1 of article 27 of 114-FZ. violation of a stay of 90 and 180 days entails a sanction of 3 and 5 years of a ban on entry.
The lawyer, in this situation, analyses the documents of migration registration. It is important for him to determine whether there were violations in the issuance of a ban by the authorities, to find evidence that the foreigner did not violate the rules of stay in Russia. The specialist determines whether it is possible to obtain a result on appeal. The choice of method is also quite important, the judiciary, according to the Constitution, is independent and there may well be advantages to filing a claim under the CAS procedure.
It is important for the court to understand what connection a foreigner has with the Russian Federation. The facts of having close relatives, real estate, work will be a plus for those who wish to enter Russia.4
Undesirability of the stay of a foreign citizen
As mentioned earlier, the Ministry of Justice and the Penitentiary Service can also impose a ban on the entry of a foreigner. A distinctive feature here is the conviction of a foreign citizen for a crime committed in the Russian Federation. A conviction lasts after serving the sentence, the terms are mentioned in Article 86 of the Criminal Code.
Undesirability of stay is a legal regime in relation to a foreign citizen or stateless person, arising by decision of an authority and prohibiting a person from being on the territory of the Russian Federation for reasons established by law.
The meaning of the ban on this basis is to restrict the convicted foreigner from the society of the country in which the crime was committed for the purposes of public safety, the prevention of new crimes on the territory of Russia.
It is worth noting the position of the Supreme Court, which is that the ban on entry on the grounds of paragraph 7. Part 1 of Art. 27 is a temporary measure and must be valid for the duration of the conviction. It will be possible to appeal against the decision of the service for the execution of sentences on lifelong undesirability in the Russian Federation and, of course, the decision of the Supreme Court will be key for the court.
Reducing the period of undesirability of stay to the term of a criminal record is also possible from the position of the Ministry of Justice, which explains that the order of the penitentiary service must contain information on the term of the ban on entry equal to the term of expiration of the criminal record.
Therefore, if a foreign citizen or stateless person has an indefinite ban due to a criminal record, then it can be reduced by at least the term of a criminal record. In the case when the term of the criminal record has expired, the order is no longer valid. This will have to be done in court.
It is possible to cancel the decision on undesirability, even if it is for the term of a criminal record, if a foreign citizen has close relatives on the territory of Russia — citizens of the Russian Federation. There is no unconditional order, but this is a good reason to cancel the order completely.
You can remove the decision on undesirability when removing a criminal record — this is a special procedure for its termination ahead of schedule, before the expiration of the repayment period. That is, first, through the court, the conviction is removed ahead of schedule, and only then the order is cancelled.
The lawyer writes an administrative statement of claim, filed at the location of the territorial division of the Federal Penitentiary Service (the body that made the decision). The claim indicates all the circumstances that are relevant to the case (for example, the presence of close relatives — citizens of the Russian Federation, or indicate that your order is valid indefinitely, and this is illegal.
Undesirability of staying due to illness
Undesirability of stay may be issued by the health surveillance authority in relation to a foreign citizen who has a disease from the Order of the Ministry of Health of November 19, 2021 N 1079n. Such diseases are tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis, HIV.
The authority decides on the undesirability of the stay. If a person does not appeal this order and leaves the country on his own, he will be deported.
The decision on the undesirability of stay is made within a period of not more than 1 month from the date of receipt by the authority from the medical organization of a medical document confirming the detection of an infectious disease in a foreign citizen or stateless person that poses a danger to others
The presence of tuberculosis in a person is the basis for a ban on entry. A foreigner goes medical diagnostics, of course, the health of the population is one of the most important topics for the state, however, there may be a situation when minor signs qualify as a disease and prohibit entry. Tuberculosis can also be cured on the grounds of 114-FZ and clause 6 of Government Decree No. 551 of May 5, 2018. The ban can be lifted after gaining health
The application for suspension of the decision on the undesirability of stay must be accompanied by medical documents confirming the passage in the territory of another state of the appropriate treatment for the disease that served as the basis for the decision on the undesirability of stay, and containing information on the treatment and its results, issued no earlier than 3 months before the date of filing (sending) the said application, as well as the original translation of these documents into Russian.
The document is not an ordinary certificate, but a medical report issued by a state medical institution. Then the authority should temporarily open the entrance for you, so that you pass the same examination in the Russian Federation, then the ban will be lifted completely. If it is not possible to lift the ban through the authority, apply to the court with a statement of claim.
A similar situation with the ban on entry due to syphilis. After treatment, a foreign citizen must undergo a medical examination, request all the necessary conclusions from a doctor and send an application to the Federal Service. Examples of certificates and application can be found at the link.
As you can see, the application contains a description of the main facts, the position of the applicant, the legal basis for the requirements, indicating the specific provisions of the law, as well as documents confirming the presence of relatives and the original medical document with information about the absence of the disease. The application is quite voluminous and complex, the preparation of such requires the professional skills of a lawyer specialist in the field of migration.
The situation with a foreign citizen with HIV is more complicated. The reason for this is that the disease is completely incurable, only support at a low zero level is possible. The fact of complete recovery cannot be. The presence of close relatives with citizenship of the Russian Federation can help here. This fact must be mentioned in the application to the authority or the statement of claim.
In general, it is important for the state to understand whether a foreign citizen has a connection with Russia, whether there is a need for his stay in the country. That is why it is important to mention the presence of relatives, real estate, work, education in a higher educational institution when writing an application to the authorities or to the court.
Entry ban due to debt to the state
Every citizen of the Russian Federation, a foreign citizen must pay taxes, duties, fees established by law, and fines. This financial issue is necessary for staying in the country. A person’s debt to the state always has legal consequences and sanctions. The ban on entry is such and is applied to prevent the unwilling to pay.
In simple terms, a foreign driver forgot to pay fines at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (STSI) and after some time received a notice of a ban on entry. This notice will indicate subparagraph 10 of part 1 of Art. 27 and the term of limitation is indefinitely (sometimes they write for 1 year, sometimes they write for 99 years).
In this case, everything is solved quite simply. It is enough to send a request to the authority that made the decision to ban entry and receive details for payment. Paying off the debt would mean the possibility of lifting the ban. To do this, send an application, scanned passport and payment receipt. The ban will be lifted within 30 days. By the way, such a period is established for all public authorities 59-FZ.
A problematic question on this basis is how to find out to which authority the debt arose, often it can be a territorial authority. The second question will be the preparation of the application, the description of the main facts, the correct statement of the requirements. It will be difficult and for a long time for a foreigner to understand the system of Russian law and the legal Russian language, which is why it is worth contacting migration lawyers. Practice shows that it takes a specialist from two weeks to two months to lift the ban.
Entry ban from the Federal Security Service
The security service may make a decision to ban entry into the territory of the Russian Federation on the grounds of paragraph 1. part 1 of article 27. This case can be noted as special, because the ban is issued in order to ensure the defence capability and security of the state, public order and public health.
Most likely, the security service has information about the real danger of a foreigner to the state with proof of his guilt. Litigation in this situation will be mandatory with a lawyer. This type of ban is quite serious, here it is worth considering the interests of the state and public safety, which is why it is quite difficult to cancel the decision to ban entry from the Federal Service.
Entry ban from the Republic of Belarus
As is known, the Russian Federation and Belarus are partners in the international economic system. The countries cooperate within the framework of the Union State and have a large number of agreements and treaties. In particular, there is an agreement on ensuring equal rights of citizens of countries to freedom of movement, place of stay, and residence on the territory of states. On the topic we are considering, Belarusians have the possibility of simplified entry into Russia, but the requirements of migration legislation are mandatory for everyone. Almost all grounds for a ban on entry are applicable to citizens of Belarus.
Imagine a situation, a Turkish citizen was flying Antalya-Minsk-Moscow. In the Republic of Belarus, he was stamped on entry, but not on leaving the Russian Federation. And Belarus considered him to have exceeded the period of stay and put a ban on him, and the Russian Federation also fulfils this decision.
In this case, the lawyer finds out the reasons for the ban. Only knowing the reasons and the article on which the ban was imposed, it can be lifted. Information can be obtained by sending a request to the competent authority.
First, we send a request to the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Belarus, and then to the Russian Federation. The application must be approached very seriously, because it depends on whether the ban will be lifted or not. In the document we list all the factual circumstances that are relevant to the case, we refer to the regulations
Brief instructions for foreigners who have received an entry ban
So, we have found out all the most common legal grounds for making a decision to ban entry to a foreign citizen or stateless person. Now it is worth paying attention to the procedure for obtaining a ban.
First of all, as mentioned earlier, a foreigner must receive a notification, it contains information about the authority that imposed the ban, its name. Then the document contains an article and a paragraph of the law that became the basis for this measure, as well as the term of the ban.
However, there may be a situation in which the foreign citizen did not receive the document, or the notification does not contain the information we need. In this case, you should go to the official website of the Russian Ministry of the Interior and fill in the data. (http://сервисы.гувм.мвд.рф/info-service.htm?sid=3000) Here you will not find out the very reason for the ban, but you will understand which region is the initiator. Well, if your name is on the lists on this site, you will at least understand which body imposed the ban.
The official website may report that no grounds were found preventing entry, this does not always mean that they really do not exist. The system contains only information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, other bodies have their own sources, they must be contacted separately.
A foreign citizen can only know the region where the ban came from. In this case, it is worth writing an appeal for a specific territory. The request can be sent using a special form from the Ministry (https://мвд.рф/request_main). The appeal must be understandable to the employee, which is why it is necessary to indicate the last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, telephone number, postal address, citizenship, passport data. , did not commit illegal acts, complied with all the requirements of Russian legislation. A copy of the passport must also be attached to the request.
Not every foreign citizen will be able to make a legally competent request to the authorities. Here we leave an example request.
At the top of the document, you must indicate the relevant territorial authority, you need to write it not in the text of the appeal on the website of the Russian Ministry of Interior, but attach a signed request, where you also indicate consent to the processing of personal data (as in our example). The foreigner himself writes the request, otherwise the legislation requires the application of a power of attorney.
So, you need to download an example of a request, fill it out on your behalf, take a picture or scan it and send it to the Russian Ministry of Interior, then confirm your email.
As already mentioned, the authorities are required to respond within 30 days, otherwise it is worth contacting the supervisory authorities.
The instruction can help a foreign citizen determine the simplest moments of a ban on entry: find out the reason, find out which authority made the decision. Drawing up a legal position, analysis of practice and current legislation, assessing the possibility of withdrawal will be more difficult for a person who is not familiar with the Russian legal system. That is why, in order to save time and achieve a better result, it is worth contacting migration lawyers who have been working with this issue for more than a year and ha