Information for Foreign Students

The legal status of foreign citizens pursuing their studies in Russia has been specified in the Federal law No 16-FZ of February 6, 2020 “About Introducing changes into the Federal Law “About the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation” as a Part of Facilitating Process of Employment Foreign and Apartheid Students of Professional Educational Institutions and Higher Education Institutions in the Russian Federation” (the information is presented in Russian).

Foreign citizens studying on the intramural basis in Russian vocational institutions and higher education institutions and pursuing studies in an accredited professional degree program are allowed to work in their free time without any required permit. Your employment or commercial contract is to be terminated when you have completed your studies in Russia.

The above mentioned law is to enter into force on August 5, 2020.

Source: GARANT System (Система ГАРАНТ, the information is presented in Russian):

https://migrantmedia.ru/migracionnoe-zakonodatelstvo-rf/fz-16-federalnyy-zakon-ot-06-02-2020-16-fz-o-rabote-v-rf-dlya-inostrannyh-studentov/

How can a foreign student get employed before the amendments come into force?

To be able to work in Russia, a foreign student should be at least 18 years old and, as a rule, should independently get a work permit from the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However, according to the law, foreign students studying in Russian universities are allowed to work without getting a work permit in the following cases:

• In case you work during your holidays (item 4.6 of article 13 of the Federal Law “About the Legal Statues of Foreign Citizens in Russian Federation”) or do an internship;
• In case you work during your free time at the university where you study, i.e. a foreign student doing a course at the LUNN is allowed to work at the LUNN, all its institutes and departments as a regular employee without any specific permit;
• Students coming from the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) do not need any work permit at all.

In all other cases, foreign students studying on the intramural basis in a Russian university can independently make a request at the Ministry for Internal Affairs to get such a permit. You are to provide the following documents:

• application
• passport
• notarized copy of your passport
• migration card, registration
• copy of your migration card, a copy of the registration
• reference from your school confirming that you are a LUNN student
• employment agreement (not signed)
• state duty
• health certificate (general)
• certificate confirming you do not have any dangerous illnesses (HIV-negative certificate, etc.)
• digital photo
• reference confirming that you are a foreign citizen pursuing studies in a professional degree program

There are some prohibitions on a number of issues.

Firstly, foreign citizens cannot take the position of a chief accounting officer or any other position related to maintenance of accounting records of a Russian company. Only foreign citizens having permanent residence or temporary residence permit are allowed to work in accounting at a Russian company.

Secondly, foreign citizens are not allowed to be employed in the local and federal government sector or in security enforcement in Russia.

Job Placement at the LUNN

If a foreign student works in a structural unit of our university, work permit will not be needed; the university will not have to get a permit for employing foreign citizens either. Job placement of foreign students at the LUNN is performed as per standard procedure, without any limitations, according to the labor legislation of the Russian Federation, on the same terms as employment of Russian citizens providing a foreign candidate complies with all the above mentioned requirements regarding migration.

When applying, a foreign student is supposed to provide the employer the following documents:

• a passport or any other identification document, its copy and translation;
• employment record book (if it is your first job, the university will execute the required document);
• individual insurance account number (the university might provide you with it, if necessary);
• individual taxpayer number, registration and migration card;
• voluntary medical insurance contract valid in the Russian Federation;
• academic and professional credentials (in case you apply for a job requiring special knowledge or specific training);
• police certificate.

Job placement conditions for foreign students taking preparatory courses at the LUNN

Students taking preparatory courses may be considered to be students of higher education institutions, thus streamlined process of job placement at the university, i.e. application without special permits, may be applied to them as well. Legal background: according to article 2 of the Federal law No 273-FZ of December 12, 2012 “About Education in the Russian Federation” (later referred to as the Law), a student is defined as an individual pursuing studies as per certain curriculum. Depending on the level of the curriculum, type of education, attendance, students enrolled for preparatory programs at institutions of higher education also belong to this category (according to article 33 of the Law).

Conditions for doing an internship for foreign students

In order to do an internship, foreign students do not need to get a work permit, except from the cases mentioned in item 15 of the “Provision about Internship for Students Pursuing Studies in Professional Degree Programs” (as approved by order of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science No 1383, November 27, 2015). Letter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding internships.

So in most cases you do not need any permits in order to take part in an internship!