Investments in the Russian Federation

Residence permit for a foreign citizen who has made investments in the Russian Federation and their family members

Certain categories of foreign citizens are entitled to apply for a residence permit (hereinafter, “residence permit”) in the Russian Federation, submitting the required documents, without first obtaining a temporary residence permit. These include a foreign citizen who has made investments in the Russian Federation, as well as their family members: spouse, children (including adopted children), children's spouses, parents (including adoptive parents), parents' spouses, grandparents, and grandchildren.

The specific criteria that a foreign investor must meet, the procedure for assessing compliance with these criteria, and the authorized federal executive body are determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Criteria for obtaining a residence permit without a temporary residence permit:
A foreign citizen or stateless person who has made investments may obtain a residence permit if they meet one of the following criteria:

1. Investments in socially significant projects: Investing at least 15 million rubles in socially significant projects of constituent entities of the Russian Federation during the 3 years preceding the application for a residence permit.
2. Establishing and operating a successful business:
3. Registration of a legal entity in the Russian Federation in the form of a business partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company with a sole founder, peasant (farm) enterprise, or business partnership.
4. The legal entity conducts business for 2 years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the residence permit application is submitted, and also during the calendar year in which it is submitted.
5. The foreign citizen is the sole participant (shareholder) of the company at the time the decision to grant a residence permit is made.
6. The annual amount of taxes, fees, and insurance contributions paid by the legal entity to state non-budgetary funds is at least 4 million rubles.
7. Investments in an operating Russian business: Investing at least 30 million rubles in a Russian legal entity (business partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, peasant (farm) enterprise, or business partnership) that:
8. Has conducted business in the Russian Federation for at least 3 years.
9. During the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the residence permit application is submitted, paid at least 6 million rubles in taxes, fees, and insurance contributions to state non-budgetary funds.
10. Investments in real estate: Acquisition of real estate of any type in the Russian Federation by right of ownership (shared ownership), while under construction or within 2 years after commissioning, and continuous ownership of it for one year before the application date for a residence permit. The following conditions must also be met:
11. The total cadastral value of the properties is:
    1. at least 50 million rubles — in Moscow;
    2. at least 20 million rubles — in the constituent entities of the Far Eastern Federal District;
    3. at least 25 million rubles — in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
12. No restrictions on rights or encumbrances may have been imposed on the real estate during the specified period of ownership.

Practical example:

 A German citizen purchased an apartment in a newly built residential building in Kaliningrad (no later than two years after the building was commissioned) for more than 25 million rubles. In this case, after one year of owning the property, they are entitled to apply for a residence permit under the simplified procedure, without first obtaining a temporary residence permit.

Document submission procedure: 

To obtain a residence permit under subparagraph 17 of paragraph 2 of Article 8 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of 25.07.2002 “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation”, a foreign citizen must apply to the territorial body of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at their place of stay.

The application processing period on this basis is 4 months.

The current list of required documents in .pdf format can be downloaded here

List of documents to apply for a residence permit for a foreign citizen who has made investments in the Russian Federation and their family members (spouse, children (including adopted children), children's spouses, parents (including adoptive parents), parents' spouses, grandparents, grandchildren). The criteria that a foreign citizen who has made investments in the Russian Federation must meet to be granted a residence permit in the Russian Federation without obtaining a temporary residence permit, the procedure for assessing whether the foreign citizen meets those criteria, and the federal executive body authorized to conduct that assessment are determined by the Government of the Russian Federation

The criteria that a foreign citizen who has made investments in the Russian Federation must meet to be granted a residence permit in the Russian Federation without obtaining a temporary residence permit, the procedure for assessing whether the foreign citizen meets those criteria, and the federal executive body authorized to conduct that assessment are determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

1. Application in 2 copies (printed double-sided).

The application must be completed electronically or by hand in legible block letters, in black, blue, or violet ink, without corrections, blots, or unofficial abbreviations. All fields required to be completed must be filled in.

If there are insufficient lines on the application form, additional information may be provided on a separate sheet attached to the application, following the format of the corresponding field and with the applicant’s first name, surname, and patronymic (if any) stated on the attachment.

If the application is submitted in hard copy directly to a migration unit, the applicant must sign it in the presence of the official receiving applications.

2. Document proving the applicant’s identity.

(At the time the application is submitted, the document must remain valid for at least the application processing period). 

3. Migration card and the detachable portion of the notification form for the arrival of a foreign citizen or stateless person at their place of stay — migration registration.

4. Birth certificate.

5. Documents confirming changes to personal name details.

(Marriage certificate, divorce certificate, or certificate from the civil registry office in cases of repeated surname changes, or a certificate of name change).

6. A document confirming the absence of a criminal record or, if applicable, containing information about the offense for which the applicant was convicted.

This must be submitted by a foreign citizen who has reached the age of fourteen. The certificate is valid for 3 months on the date the application is submitted.

This document is not required from a foreign citizen who entered the Russian Federation under a visa-free regime.

(If applying for a residence permit after a temporary residence permit, this certificate does not need to be submitted again.)

7. A document confirming that the foreign citizen can support themselves and their family members in the Russian Federation at no less than the subsistence minimum, without relying on state assistance (except for foreign citizens recognized as disabled), in an amount of at least 4 regional subsistence minimums (if the certificate is from Sberbank, it must be form 297).*

* Such documents include:

- an income and personal income tax certificate (formerly 2-NDFL);

- pension certificate;

- a certificate from the territorial body of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation confirming that a pension has been granted;

- confirmation of receipt of alimony;

- an income certificate for the person supporting the applicant;

- a certificate confirming a bank deposit, stating the account number and deposit amount;

- another document confirming income from an activity not prohibited by law or disability.

8. Documents confirming that the foreign citizen does not have drug addiction or infectious diseases that pose a danger to others, as well as a certificate confirming that the applicant does not have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

9. One of the following documents confirming that the foreign citizen knows Russian, the history of Russia, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation: *

- a certificate of proficiency in Russian and knowledge of the history of Russia and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation at a level corresponding to the purpose of obtaining a temporary residence permit or residence permit;

- a state-standard education document (at a level no lower than basic general education), issued by an educational institution in a state that was part of the USSR before September 1, 1991;

- an education and/or qualification document issued to persons who successfully passed the state final examination in the Russian Federation from September 1, 1991

- a decision recognizing the applicant as a native Russian speaker, adopted before October 26, 2023 by a commission of the federal executive body in charge of internal affairs or its territorial body for recognizing a foreign citizen or stateless person as a native Russian speaker.

10. A document confirming that the foreign citizen belongs to the category of foreign investors (if the application for a residence permit is submitted by a foreign investor or a member of the foreign investor’s family).

    • A document confirming the marriage (if the civil status record was registered by a competent authority of a foreign state), issued by the competent authority of that foreign state — if the residence permit application is submitted by the foreign investor’s spouse.

    • Documents confirming the degree of relationship (documents confirming registration of birth, marriage or divorce, or change of name (if the civil status records were registered by a competent authority of a foreign state), issued by the competent authority of that foreign state — if the residence permit application is submitted by family members of the foreign investor.

11. Personal photographs, 35x45mm — 4 copies (matte, black and white or color).

Stateless persons must submit two photographs.

12. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

13. A document confirming that the foreign citizen has residential premises on a basis provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, where the rights are not registered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate,

- if the foreign citizen applies for a residence permit after three years from the date of entry into the Russian Federation.

All the documents listed must be submitted as photocopies together with the ORIGINALS.

Copies of original documents must be of good quality, easily legible, and contain all the information shown in the original. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut with scissors to match the size of the original.

The period for providing the public service is 4 months.

When residence permit documents are accepted, a certificate confirming that the application has been accepted for consideration is issued.

If the residence permit application is not accepted, a certificate stating the reason is issued. 

    • If different spellings of geographical names appear in the documents (passport, birth certificate, etc.), documentary confirmation of a renaming may be required. Such a certificate can be obtained, including by power of attorney, from the Russian State Library.

All official documents issued by foreign authorities in a foreign language must be legalized, translated, and notarized.

For countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention:

• The original document must be apostilled in the country where it was issued.

• The document and the apostille affixed to it must be translated into Russian.

• The translation must be certified by a notary in the Russian Federation.

 For countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention:

• Documents must undergo consular legalization through Russian consular offices abroad or the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Documents drawn up in a foreign language must be translated into Russian.

If a document is drawn up in several languages and none of them is Russian, a translation from one language chosen by the applicant must be submitted. The accuracy of the translation or the authenticity of the translator’s signature must be notarized in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries.

* The following are exempt from confirming their knowledge of Russian, the history of Russia, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation when submitting an application:

    • foreign citizens who are legally incapacitated or whose legal capacity is limited;

    • foreign citizens under the age of eighteen;

    • foreign citizens who are men aged sixty-five or older;

    • foreign citizens who are women aged sixty or older;

    • foreign citizens who have been granted participant status under the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation of Compatriots Living Abroad, or family member status of a participant in that State Program;

    • foreign citizens who are highly qualified specialists and members of their families and who have applied for the residence permit specified in paragraph 27 of Article 13.2 of this Federal Law;

    • foreign citizens who are citizens of the Union State formed by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus;

    • foreign citizens applying for a residence permit who have a parent (adoptive parent, guardian, or trustee), son, or daughter who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and permanently resides in the Russian Federation;

    • foreign citizens who are citizens of Ukraine;

    • foreign citizens specified in subparagraph 8 of paragraph 3 of Article 6 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ (those who have enlisted for military service) and subparagraph 20 of paragraph 2 of Article 8 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ (foreign citizens who, during the special military operation, signed a contract to serve in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or military formations for a term of one year (hereinafter, a military servicemember), and their family members, including in the event of the servicemember’s death. Family members of a servicemember include their spouse, children (including adopted children), and parents (including adoptive parents).

    • When applying for a work permit, foreign citizens who are highly qualified specialists working under the procedure established by Article 13.2 of this Federal Law, and foreign citizens who are journalists working for organizations established specifically to produce and publish mass media in foreign languages, are exempt from confirming their knowledge of Russian, the history of Russia, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Pursuant to Article 8, paragraph 2, subparagraph 17 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation