Moving to Russia is wonderful! It’s also hard. There’s so much that is different, so many new things to think about, there are so many potential pitfalls, and nobody wants to learn things the hard way…
Nearly seven years ago, my family and I made the big move. We left our home in America and we settled in rural Russia. We love it here! We also learned a lot of lessons along the way. If you follow these suggestions, you may be able to save yourself a lot of headaches:
1. Visit Russia before you move to Russia
In the long run, it will cost you less money, fewer difficulties, and fewer headaches, if you visit here before you move. That particular village, church, or neighborhood may not be what you expected. Those neighbors may not be what you expected. No matter how much research you do online, there are things you will never know about a place until you see it for yourself. While you are visiting Russia, you can check out multiple cities and towns in-person, and meet your future neighbors face-to-face. If you take the time to visit Russia and do some local research, you may find a location to live that is far better than where you initially thought you would go.
Visiting Russia seems expensive. It costs a lot of money to get a VISA, buy a plane ticket, take vacation, and spend two weeks in Russia. But this is only a drop in the bucket compared to what you will spend moving your entire family to Russia, getting a house or apartment, and spending the first several months getting settled in. After you arrive here, if you finally realize that you have overlooked something or made a mistake, you may find that it will cost you a lot more to resolve the problem, that it would have taken just to visit here and get things right the first time. As the old saying goes, it is better to measure twice, and cut once.
2. Open a Russian bank account before you move to Russia
While you are visiting Russia, you can open a bank account. If you are willing to wait for two weeks, you can also get a Russian debit card. Then you can practice transferring money to your Russian account. That way you will have everything all setup before you actually move here. This saves you from the trouble and expense of paying some third party to open accounts for you. You can also get a Russian SIM card and have your very own Russian cell phone number.
3. Figure out where you will live, before you move to Russia
While you are in Russia, you can go in person to check out apartments, houses, and land. You don't have to rely on photos and descriptions online, which sometimes can be inaccurate. In America, you wouldn't buy a house without looking at it first, and it is not advisable to do that in Russia, either. Look before you leap.
If you are not a Russian citizen, then before you can buy a home in Russia, you must have your own Russian bank account. Russia now prohibits foreigners from closing real estate transactions with cash. You must pay for real estate from your Russian bank account.
4. Figure out where and how you will be registered, before you move to Russia
Be forewarned, registration in Russia is a very important consideration. By law, you have to register your place of residence within the first week of being in Russia. If you own a home in Russia, and the home is legally zoned as "residential", then you can register yourself. Otherwise, if you stay in an apartment, your landlord is the one to register you.
Unfortunately, most landlords in Russia refuse to formally register anyone in their apartments. This is a huge problem, and it is widespread. This is not a major problem for native Russians, because many Russians live in places where they are not legally registered. The authorities usually don't bother citizens about it. But the rules are different for foreigners. If the authorities discover that you are living in an apartment where you are not legally registered, you risk losing your residency and being deported. So please take this consideration very seriously.
As long as you are staying in a hotel in Russia, the hotel can register you. But this registration is only good for as long as you are actually staying in the hotel. Of course, it would be very expensive to live in hotels for months, while you are figuring things out. And if you are applying for legal residency in Russia, hotel registration is NOT accepted. So it is good to have your house or apartment setup ahead of time, before you move. Don't move to Russia until you know for sure that you have a way to get registration.
5. Understand the residency process before you move to Russia
Read the 16 Steps to Legal Residency in Russia, so that you are well prepared ahead of time. Make sure you bring ALL of the necessary documents with you. If you are missing one of them, you may not be able to immigrate.
6. Do not pay anyone for “legal fees” or “immigration fees” before you move to Russia
In most cases, such fees are unnecessary. If you are moving to the American Village in the Yaroslavl region, for example, it normally does not cost anything to get quota. (There may be an administrative application fee, but it is nominal, just a few rubles.) You can take the language tests and get the medical tests done for just a few hundred dollars. For a little over ten bucks (1000 rubles), you can hire a local company to fill out your residency application in Russian. Of all the Americans who have come to live near Rostov Veliky, I have only known of one who needed legal services. You might need expensive legal services if you are setting up your own company in Russia. But if you simply plan to move here and take the normal path — getting temporary residency, then permanent residency, then eventually citizenship — then there shouldn’t be any need for legal fees.
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