A visa is one of the main documents that a foreign citizen needs to enter Russia. A foreigner is already planning his actions in Russia, some come to work, some to study, some to create a business.
However, a foreign citizen may be in for a surprise – he will be refused a Russian visa.
The foreigner receives a notification that says:
We hereby notify you that you are refused an electronic visa on the basis of the Federal Law of August 15, 1996 N 114-FZ “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entry into the Russian Federation”.
And of course, the foreigner does not know the reason and does not understand what to do. If you see your situation, we recommend reading this article in its entirety.
Reasons for refusal of a Russian visa
As we can see, Law No. 114-FZ is written in the notification. It is this law that is the legal basis for refusing a Russian visa.
According to this law, a foreigner may receive an entry ban, which is established by the authorities, if the foreigner has violated the law of the Russian Federation.
So, the foreigner first receives an entry ban and is therefore denied a Russian visa. And that is why, in order for a foreigner to receive a visa, the ban on entry into Russia must first be lifted.
We will talk about what entry bans there are, what the reasons are and how to lift and appeal them.
Useful links:
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Entry ban law
Let’s look at Law No. 114-FZ again.
An entry ban is an administrative procedure that is established by an authority, it can be established for a period or indefinitely.
During the period of the entry ban, a foreigner cannot enter Russia.
An entry ban can be established by: the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the Ministry of Justice, Rospotrebnadzor.
Find out the reason for the entry ban
Sometimes a foreigner receives a notice of entry ban, but often there is not enough information in it to appeal and have the entry ban lifted.
Most often, a foreigner must find out the reason for the ban himself or contact a specialist. Our professionals can find out the reason for the ban within 3 days.
To find out the reason for the entry ban, you can use the information resources of the authorities.
We’ll give a helpful list below:
- Ministry of Internal Affairs- here
- Rospotrebnadzor- here
- FSB – here
- Ministry of Justice – here
- Penitentiary Service – here
It’s worth starting with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, most often it is this authority that sets the entry ban.
We go to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and select “Checking the existence of grounds for not allowing foreign citizens to enter the territory of the Russian Federation”
You need to fill out the form, provide all the necessary information, and the service will give us the result.
In some cases, the database may not be updated and may not provide information, or show that “no data was found.”
In such a situation, it is necessary to make a written legal request to the authority. It is written according to Russian law, it is important to describe the entire situation that happened to the foreigner and ask for information about the entry ban.
The authority has 30 days to respond to the foreigner. In the response, the authority will write by whom the ban was imposed and indicate the article of the law, which again will be unclear to a foreigner.
Let’s give some advice to find out the reason for the entry ban.
- part 4. Article 26, part 8. Article 26, paragraph 12 and part 13 of Article 27 – Administrative offense by a foreign citizen.
- Clause 10. Part 1. Article 27 – debt to the state
- Clause 7, Part 1, Article 27 – Entry ban due to illness
- Clause 7 part 1. Article 27 – established by the Ministry of Justice if the foreigner had a criminal record in the Russian Federation.
Now it is necessary to talk separately about the most popular types of entry bans.
Violation of terms of stay in Russia
A foreigner who comes to Russia must comply with migration laws. If he violates it, he may receive an entry ban.
A foreigner should especially pay attention to the terms of stay in Russia. The law sets deadlines of 90 and 180 days, violation of such deadlines means a ban on entry.
In this case, the entry ban is established by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
To appeal an entry ban, you must follow the following instructions:
- An application to the authorities describing the fact and a request to lift the entry ban;
- Administrative claim in court.
What you should pay attention to?
We know the practice of considering applications by authorities and courts, and we can say that the connection of a foreign citizen with Russia helps to increase the chance of lifting the entry ban.
It could be:
- Close relatives in Russia (spouse, spouse, children, parents);
- Study in Russia;
- Work in Russia;
- Business in Russia;
- Real estate and other investments in the Russian economy.
If there are such facts, then they must be indicated in applications to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the court.
Application to the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Now let’s talk about the legal part of our instructions, namely about drawing up documents.
The application to the Ministry of Internal Affairs must be clear and correctly describe the entire situation. It must note all the legal facts that an entry ban has been established, provide information that the foreigner is not guilty and indicate the foreigner’s connection with Russia and demand that the entry ban be lifted.
A scan of the passport with a notarized translation and all documents confirming the correctness of the foreigner must be added to the application. The response period is 30 days.
Administrative claim in court
If the government authority has not lifted the entry ban, then such refusal can be appealed in court.
Writing an administrative claim to a court is more difficult than drawing up a regular application to a government agency. This requires knowledge of Russian procedural law, the best option would be to contact a lawyer.
The statement of claim also has a structure, it must be clear to the judge and must explain the position of the foreign citizen.
Particular attention should be paid to the main part of the statement of claim – this is a description of the main facts and legal position.
The foreign citizen must indicate all the events that occurred in the case, indicating the dates, and also describe why he is right from the point of view of the law.
When writing a claim, lawyers use international and Russian law.
For example:
“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference in his private or family life. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” -Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “Everyone has the right to privacy.”
Article 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation “family, motherhood, paternity and childhood in the Russian Federation are under the protection of the state.”
Art. 4 of the Federal Law of July 25, 2002 No. 115-FZ, “foreign citizens enjoy rights in the Russian Federation and bear responsibilities on an equal basis with citizens of the Russian Federation, except for cases provided for by federal law.”
At the end of the statement of claim, the request to lift the entry ban is indicated, and all necessary documents are attached. (Passport, applications, answers, etc.).
If the claim is accepted, it is considered within two months. As a rule, this happens within 3–4 months.
You can appeal the court decision to the appellate court. This can be done within a month after the decision was made by the first court.
Based on the results of consideration of the claim, the court will make a decision and may lift the entry ban, then the foreigner will be able to obtain a visa to Russia.
Ban due to debt to the state
Another of the most popular types of entry ban is debt to the state. It should be noted that an entry ban cannot be imposed due to a debt to the bank.
Most often, a foreigner receives a fine or does not pay a debt for taxes or utilities and forgets to pay it. Sometimes the fine arrives on the personal portal, and the foreigner does not even know about it.
This ban can be lifted. To do this you need:
- Find out which government authority has imposed an entry ban using our instructions;
- Write an application to this authority asking for details to pay the fine. You can use samples in the Useful links section;
- Pay the fine through a Russian bank or an application on your phone;
- Keep the receipt and send it with a statement to the authority that established the ban with a request to lift the ban, since the fine has been paid.
If the ban has been lifted, you should not move in immediately. You need to wait up to a month for the database to be updated.
Undesirability of stay and reasons for such a ban
Here we see another new term – undesirability of stay. This is a legal regime that is established in relation to a foreign citizen by an authority.
There are two reasons for establishing the undesirability of stay: criminal record and illness.
If a foreigner is subject to a regime of undesirability of stay, then there will be a ban on entry and refusal to obtain a visa.
Criminal record
If a foreigner violated the criminal code of Russia and the court recognized this and imposed a punishment on the foreigner, then this means a criminal record and undesirability of stay.
In this case, we will work with the Russian Ministry of Justice. The problem of undesirability of stay due to a criminal record is that the government may impose an entry ban indefinitely, the goal of the foreigner in this case will be to reduce such a ban to the term of the criminal record.
Here we need an order from the penitentiary service, and this is what we will appeal against.
First, we write a statement to the authorities, where we explain that the foreigner does not pose a danger to Russia and has connections with Russia (relatives, study, work).
If it doesn’t work out, you need to appeal through an administrative claim in court.
Example is here.
If you follow these instructions, you may be able to shorten the ban period.
Illness of a foreign citizen
Russia controls migration and pays attention to the illnesses of foreign citizens. There is a list of diseases for which entry into Russia is prohibited.
- Curable diseases. Tuberculosis, syphilis, leprosy.
- HIV.
With these diseases, a foreigner will receive an undesirable stay and a ban on entry.
Let’s talk about the case when a foreigner can recover from an illness.
- The foreigner must recover from the disease and confirm this with a medical certificate from his country. The certificate must have the seal of the institution, information that the foreigner has recovered, and the certificate must also be notarized into Russian;
- The certificate must be sent with the application to Rospotrebnadzor;
- After this, the authorities will temporarily open entry into Russia to confirm the fact of recovery. To do this, you need to write an application to Rospotrebnadzor, attach documents and undergo a medical examination in Russia.
When the medical commission confirms the fact of recovery, the undesirability of stay and the entry ban will be lifted.
If a foreigner has HIV, the situation is more complicated. HIV cannot be cured, but can be kept at a low level.
Here you need to follow the usual appeal procedure through an application and an administrative claim. It is necessary to explain that the foreigner is undergoing treatment, has connections with Russia and does not pose a danger.
Entry ban from the Republic of Belarus
There is an international agreement between Russia and Belarus on the enforcement of entry bans. This means that if a foreigner has received a ban on entry into Belarus, it will also be enforced in Russia.
The reasons for the entry ban are the same as in Russia.
We use the usual procedure to appeal such bans, but the difference is that we work with the Belarusian authorities.
Follow the link and go to the services section. Next, select “online services” and “check entry ban.”
As in Russia, the online service may not be updated and it would be better to write to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus. We write an official request in legal language. Here is an example.
We can use the appeal system. We need the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Republic of Belarus.
We are waiting for a response to your request. The response period is up to 30 days. When we find out the reason for the request, we begin work with the authority that imposed the entry ban.
We use the standard instructions for appealing, and send the response of the Belarusian authorities to Russia.
Entry ban from Russian security service
The most difficult type of entry ban, from which a foreigner may not receive a visa. It is related to ensuring the security of the country. Such a ban is established by the FSB of Russia if it has any suspicions against a foreigner.
Here you need the help of an attorney for two reasons:
- State secret. Only an attorney with status can gain access.
- An attorney ‘s request is required. Without such a request, the FSB of the Russian Federation will not provide information about the reason for the ban.
An attorney will also evaluate the entire situation, evaluate the chances of lifting the ban and help you appeal.
Some more reasons for the entry ban
- The foreigner provided false documents when obtaining a visa to Russia;
- Provided knowingly false information about himself or the purpose of his stay;
- Participates in an organization that is undesirable in Russia.
Conclusion
Refusal to obtain a visa to Russia may be due to an entry ban. As soon as the foreigner lifts this ban, he can try to apply for a visa again.
It is possible and necessary to appeal the entry ban. However, this is legal work, it is a search for legal facts and drawing up a legal position on which the result of the appeal depends.
Specialists from our team can help you appeal the entry ban. Extensive work experience, professionalism, knowledge of international and Russian law and also real practice – this is all about us.