Update from Sakhalin

AUTHORS: ELENA SABIROVA, BISNIS REPRESENTATIVE,
AND MICHAEL ALLEN, ABC

DIRECTOR IN YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 1997. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES

SUMMARY

Russia is implementing new visa procedures that could affect many business travelers to the country. Among those that potentially will be affected are travelers who are carrying out professional/technical activities (repairs, technical service, working under contract) or who seek multi-entry visas and/or longer-term stays. Implementation of these new procedures appears to be region-specific for now, but is likely to expand in the future. This report provides basic tips on visas, registration, and work permits. Implications of new visa procedures for travelers to Sakhalin are discussed.

A possible symptom of new, more complicated visa procedures recently instituted in Russia is that more foreign companies on Sakhalin are reporting an increasing number of applications for multi-entry business entry-exit visas are being refused by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and instead only single, or at most double, entry visas are being issued. Moreover, it may now be required to surrender these entry visas upon registering in Russia, and separate application made for visas to leave. Though these procedures have only been instituted in a few regions thus far, these developments present a new bureaucratic maze for frequent business travelers.

This report gives basic tips on visas, registration, and work permits based on information from the authorities that govern these issues. The agencies responsible for visas and registration are the local office of the MFA and the Office for Visas and Foreigner Registrations (OVIR). The MFA deals with issuing visas (business, medical treatment, and student visas) and OVIR deals with visas of foreigners who stay in the region for a long period or/and work in Sakhalin. Visas for foreigners invited by individuals are processed by the Internal Affairs Visa and Passport service. Information on regulations were often contradictory from office to office, most likely because the new rules were instituted only recently, so it is advised that each traveler check procedures for his/her particular situation just prior to travel.

NEW COMPUTERIZED VISA INVITATION PROCESS

The MFA has developed a new computerized system of processing invitations for foreigners, which is gradually being introduced throughout the Russian Federation. The purpose of the new system is to prevent illegal immigration into Russia. The system has been in operation in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok, and (since 15 April 1999) Sakhalin has also switched over to this new system.

The term and type of visa are determined automatically, based on the purpose of the proposed travel as stated in the letter of invitation, and entered into the computer system. Once entered, there is no element of human decision-making. The issuing of visas and the registration of foreigners in Russia is governed by federal law, however that part of the law is only two paragraphs long and vaguely worded. As so often happens in Russia, the most important details are in the instructions and executive orders for implementing the law – internal documents not available to the public.

NEW VISA RULES

One significant new rule is that foreign citizens entering the Russian Federation with the purpose of carrying out professional activities as defined by the instructions (technical service, delivery, maintenance and repair of equipment or technology, hired labor under contract, etc.) are eligible only for a three-month single- or double-entry visa. Multi-entry visas will no longer be issued to such travelers. Family members of such individuals may also be granted visas for this same term/type. This will particularly impact the Sakhalin region which has many such travelers coming into the region to work on the oil and gas and related projects.

Importantly, this new rule does not apply to travelers coming for business or commercial purposes; they will still be able to obtain multi-entry visas. As defined by MFA, this includes travel for a specific negotiation with governmental or commercial agencies, meetings, consultations, conferences, discussions on conclusion of long-term contracts, extension of commercial agreements, etc. However, the inviting company must clearly demonstrate the requirement for more than one visit to the Russian Federation in the invitation in order for a multi-entry visa to be granted. "Convenience" will not longer be sufficient reason. In addition, the MFA also warns that no matter how long the term for which a multi-entry visa is granted, the foreign citizen’s stay at any one time in the territory of Russian Federation should not exceed three months.

As mentioned above, the visas must be surrendered upon registration with the City OVIR office, which by law must be done within three (working) days of arrival in Russia. Separate application must then be made for an exit-entry visa at Regional OVIR before one is allowed to leave Russia. The inviting company should submit an application for an exit visa within 10 days from the date of arrival, specifying a date within the 3-month period the visa is valid when the foreigner plans to leave the country. The documents needed for exit visa application are the company application, passport and two photographs, preferably on mat paper. While in Sakhalin, OVIR recommends that travelers always have extra copies of photographs, as it can be difficult at times to get pictures urgently done in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. OVIR can issue such a visa usually within three working days, and in exceptional circumstances only, within one hour.

VISA EXTENSIONS

If the traveler needs to stay within the Russian Federation longer than three months, the visa can be extended without leaving Russia by the MFA office or by Regional OVIR. The inviting company should clearly specify the reason for the extension. At MFA the cost is $250 for an extension of up to ten days, and $50 per ten-day period thereafter. OVIR can process a single-entry extension only upon submission of a valid Work Permit by the applicant (in addition to the other documents required, as listed above). All applications are forwarded to the FSB (former KGB) for background checks and approval.

Extensions to multi-entry visas are not allowed and one should exit Russia and re-apply for a new multi-entry visa. Emergency case exceptions were mentioned by authorities, but there is no information as to what an "emergency case" is.

WORK PERMITS

Multi-entry visas do not give automatic permission to work in Russia. Certain individuals are exempted from the work permit requirement, such as academic guest lecturers, or specialists who come for only a short period to install or perform emergency repair on equipment. However, if that same specialist will regularly perform scheduled maintenance on the equipment, a work permit will probably be required.

In order to receive a work permit, it is necessary to first obtain an entry visa (which is issued for a period of up to three months) and then apply at the local branch of the Federal Migration Service. The following documents are required:

• Letter of request

• Copy of the applicant’s national passport and visa

• Filled-out application form (available at the FMS office)

• Copy of the applicant’s contract with the company (often the order of the company’s chief executive appointing the applicant to his post is sufficient)

• Copy of the company charter and certificate of registration

• Bank statement confirming that payment (about $25) has been made to FMSSakhalin branch and to FMS Federal headquarters in Moscow.

After obtaining a work permit, the permit is submitted to OVIR with an application. The foreigner’s passport is stamped and no further visa is needed.

ISSUES FOR SAKHALIN

Sakhalin regional authorities recognize that these new visa regulations impose proportionately greater inconvenience on Sakhalin than elsewhere because of the number of foreigners going to that region in connection with the oil and gas projects and the nature of their work. Foreign businessmen on Sakhalin have raised a number of practical objections to these new procedures. Most important to the oil companies was the issue of worker safety and how, for example, would one get an exit visa at 3 am on Sunday if an operator on an oil platform is hurt and has to be emergency medivac’ed to Japan? There is no satisfactory answer to this; though OVIR keeps a person on duty 24 hours a day, it still takes time to process the permit. While no one doubts that MFA and OVIR would respond in a humanitarian fashion to an emergency situation, the new procedures create additional bureaucratic hurdles that could be life threatening when time is of the essence. Other non-emergency cases were also brought up, such as sudden business opportunities, urgently called meetings, deaths in the family, and other things that could require an expatriate to leave the country unexpectedly.

Clearly, one should apply with Regional OVIR for an exit-entry as early as possible, but this poses issues for workers who immediately depart for offshore platforms upon arriving in Sakhalin. The sheer volume and complexity of paperwork will be a bureaucratic nightmare for the oil companies, who frequently send large groups to Moscow via Hakodate or Seoul.

It will likely be daunting for smaller companies, and completely forbidding for inexperience new-to-market foreign businessmen who may find the American Business Center (ABC) in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk visa facilitation services helpful to spare time and efforts. This service has been popular with both newcomers and companies that have established presence on the island.

LIST OF GOVERNING LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Visa Issuance (MFA)

Appropriate intergovernmental multilateral or bilateral agreement (depending on citizenship)

• Russian Federal Law No 114-F3 of 15 Aug 96, "On the Procedure of Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation"

• Executive Order of the RF Government No 1142 of 1 Oct 98, "On Implementing Some Norms of the Federal Law ‘On the Procedure of Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation,’" which authorizes implementation of the following regulations:

• Ibid. "Executive Order On the Registration of Organizations with the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Purposes of Providing Organizations With Consular Services."

• Ibid. "Executive Order on Processing Invitations to the Russian Federation for Foreign Citizens and Individuals Without Citizenship."

• Executive Order of the RF Government No 495 of 15 May 1995, "On Introduction of a New Procedure for Processing Invitations for Foreign Citizens to the Territory of the Russian Federation."

• Executive Order of the RF Government No 89 of 24 Jan 98, "On Further Development of a Computerized System of Issuing, Processing and Controlling Computer-Readable Passports and Visas, and Computerized System Of Processing Invitations for Foreign Citizens."

Registration of Foreigners (OVIR)

• "Rules for Residence of Foreign Citizens in the USSR," approved by the USSR Council of Ministers on 26 Apr 91.

Work Permits (FMS)

• Decree of the RF President No 2146 of 16 Dec .93 "Recruiting and Hiring of Foreign Labor in the Russian Federation"

• Decree of the RF President No 847 of 29 Apr 94 "Additional Measures on Improving of Hiring Procedures for Foreign Labor in the Russian Federation,"

• Decree of the Governor of Sakhalin Region No 138 of 30 Mar 98 "On Temporary Regulations for the Recruiting and Hiring of Foreign Labor for Work on the Territory of Sakhalin Oblast, and the Territorial Waters and Continental Shelf Adjacent to the Administrative Boundaries of Sakhalin Oblast"