Information on the issuance of visas pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 702

Pursuant to paragraph 4 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 702 of 19 August 2024 “On Providing Humanitarian Support to Persons Who Share Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values” (hereinafter referred to as the “Decree”), persons referred to in paragraph 1 of the Decree may be issued single-entry ordinary private visas valid for a period of up to 90 days.

The above-mentioned visas are issued for entry into the Russian Federation from countries included in the list of foreign states and territories pursuing a policy that imposes destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes contrary to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, approved by Order No. 2560-r of the Government of the Russian Federation of 17 September 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “List”), for the purpose of subsequently applying to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for a temporary residence permit (TRP) without regard to the quota established by the Government of the Russian Federation and without submitting a document confirming proficiency in the Russian language and knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of Russian legislation.

The List includes:

Australia, Austria, Albania, Andorra, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom (including the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories), Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Micronesia, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, Slovenia, the United States of America, Taiwan (China), Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Czechia, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia and Japan.

The following documents must be submitted in order to obtain the above-mentioned visa:

1. Application by the foreign national or stateless person;
2. A foreign national’s passport valid for at least six months beyond the intended expiry date of the visa and containing at least two blank pages for visas;
3. A visa application form completed online, printed out and signed by the applicant;
4. One passport-size photograph measuring 3.5 × 4.5 cm;
5. A copy of a medical insurance policy valid in the territory of the Russian Federation and covering the period of stay in Russia.

Documents must be submitted in person only!

The fee for issuing a single-entry visa is specified in the consular fees.

Please note that, when applying for a visa pursuant to paragraph 4 of the Decree, and in order to avoid unforeseen difficulties when submitting an application to a territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for a temporary residence permit (TRP), prior to entering the Russian Federation it is necessary to obtain from the competent Irish authorities a certificate confirming the presence or absence of a criminal record. This document is to be enclosed with the application for a TRP under the Decree.

The document must be apostilled or, if issued in a foreign state that is not a party to the 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, legalised, unless otherwise provided for by an applicable international treaty of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the document must be submitted in the original together with a translation into Russian (including all pages, entries, stamps, seals, etc.). The accuracy of the translation or the authenticity of the translator’s signature must be notarised by an authorised officer of a consular post or by a notary in the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the procedure established by Russian legislation on notarial practice.

If the above-mentioned requirements are not complied with, or if more than three months have elapsed between the date of issue of the document confirming the presence or absence of a criminal record and the date of submission of the application for a TRP under the Decree, the foreign national may be refused acceptance of the application.

The following are mandatory requirements for the provision of the state service for the issuance of a TRP under the Decree by a territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia:

– submission, within thirty days from the date of entry into the Russian Federation, to a territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of medical documents, either in hard copy or in electronic form, confirming that the applicant has not used narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances without a doctor’s prescription or new potentially hazardous psychoactive substances, and that the applicant does not have infectious diseases posing a danger to others, as well as a certificate confirming the absence of HIV infection. The above-mentioned medical documents and certificate are issued following a medical examination carried out by medical organisations located in the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the procedure established by Order No. 1079n of the Ministry of Health of Russia of 19 November 2021. Where there are documented valid reasons, the foreign national may submit the above-mentioned medical documents and certificate at a later date, provided that such submission is made no later than thirty calendar days after the valid reasons have ceased to apply;

– undergoing state fingerprint registration and photographing at the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place where the TRP under the Decree is issued;

– payment of the state duty in the amount established by subparagraph 22 of paragraph 1 of Article 333.28 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation prior to the issuance of the TRP.