Responsibility for violation of migration laws in Russia

You will learn:

1. What types of liability and from what point in time can be applied for violation of the migration legislation of Russia?

2. Who can be held responsible for violation of the migration legislation of Russia?

3. The most common types of violations for which responsibility is imposed for violation of the migration legislation of Russia.

From the moment a foreigner crosses the Russian border, the Russian laws apply to him and the inviting party, which must be strictly observed. In Russia, serious measures of liability are established for violations of migration rules. The company, its management, employees, and the foreign citizen himself may be subject to administrative and criminal liability.

In practice, many companies disregard this responsibility, not realizing the real risks to their business. This is mainly because at the moment the supervisory authorities of Russia cannot physically hold all violators responsible. State control does not yet cover all companies, foreign citizens, and their violations. However, according to statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, hundreds of thousands of events are held annually to identify violations of migration laws, planned and unscheduled inspections of companies. Thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of foreign citizens are held accountable. Moreover, not only the receiving party and the foreigner, but also companies and citizens providing any services or assistance to a foreigner who violates Russian migration legislation can be held responsible.

The maximum criminal liability provides for 7 years of imprisonment. Administrative liability, on the other hand, provides for significant fines, prohibitions, and applies to violations against each foreigner individually. This means that in the event of any violation, for example, in relation to 3 foreign citizens, the Company and/or its CEO may be fined threefold.

In addition to the application of criminal and administrative liability, a foreigner may be prohibited from entering Russia for violation of immigration legislation. Such a ban occurs if the foreigner has been repeatedly held administratively liable in Russia within 3 years. The entry ban will be in effect for 3 years from the date the foreigner was held responsible.

The most common violations for which companies and foreigners are held liable include:

- Violation of entry rules into Russia or residence regime, failure to notify the migration service of their place of residence;

- Lack of documents confirming the right to stay in Russia (migration card, visa, etc.), and in case of loss of such documents - failure to notify the migration service of their loss;

- Evading departure from Russia upon the expiry of the visa;

- Non-compliance of the stated purpose of entry into Russia with the actual activities carried out;

- Provision of housing, transportation or any other services to a foreigner staying in Russia in violation of the residency regulations;

- Company's failure to timely notify the migration service of the arrival or departure of a foreign citizen for the purposes of their migration registration;

- Foreigner working in Russia without a work permit and hiring such a foreigner to work;

- Failure to notify about the conclusion or termination of a labor contract or service contract with a foreigner within the time period specified by law;

- Company's non-compliance with the restrictions imposed on foreigners for carrying out certain types of activities;

- Provision of false information about a foreigner or submission of forged documents by the receiving party.

It should be remembered that responsibility for violations in the migration sphere is closely related to responsibility for violations of labor legislation. Thus, during inspections of companies for violations of labor laws, compliance with migration legislation in relation to the company's employees is also checked. Often, violations in one sphere of legislation help to identify violations in another and also to hold the company, employees, and foreigners accountable for violations in both areas of legislation.

Next, specific types of responsibility for violating Russian migration laws are considered. If a foreigner does not have documents, he or she will be taken to a Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Citizens. It is desirable for the migrant to be deported back to his or her homeland as soon as possible. For this, he or she needs to tell the truth about himself or herself. Administrative and criminal liability is applied for violation of migration law. Due to changes in the law on the registration of migrants by actual place of residence, new articles have appeared in the Criminal Code.

Summary:

1. Administrative and criminal liability is applied for violation of Russian migration legislation.

2. Administrative liability provides for significant fines, restrictions and is imposed for violations in relation to each foreigner individually.

If a foreigner has been repeatedly (more than 2 times) held administratively liable in Russia within 3 years, he may be banned from entering Russia for 3 years.

The maximum criminal liability for violating migration legislation provides for 7 years of imprisonment.

3. Liability may be imposed on the foreign citizen himself, the Company, the partner involved by the Company, providing entry for the foreign citizen (through the leader and employees of the Company and partner), as well as companies and individuals providing any services or assistance to a foreigner who violates Russian migration legislation.

4. The most common violations of migration legislation for which liability is applied include: absence of necessary migration documents for a business trip or work in Russia, provision of false information about the foreigner and the purpose of his trip, failure to comply with obligations on necessary notifications to state authorities, provision of transport, housing and services to a foreigner who violates Russia's migration laws, etc.