Fingerprint registration, photographing, and medical examination

This page is for Turkish citizens going to Russia to stay, study, or work for more than 90 days. In Russia, these foreigners must have their fingerprints and photo registered and undergo a medical examination within specified periods after entry. Below you will find who must complete these procedures, when and where they must do so, and what happens if the deadlines are missed. Biometrics taken at the border are a separate procedure; we also briefly address them.

• According to Gosuslugi, since 1 December 2024, foreigners crossing the Russian border have their facial photograph and fingerprints taken. You must also show your passport.
• Since 30 June 2025, foreigners arriving without a visa have also been submitting an entry application in the ruID app or on Gosuslugi before entering. Turkish citizens entering with a visa using an ordinary passport are not subject to this pre-application requirement (see R1.6).
• The law additionally imposes on foreigners who stay for a long time or work the obligation of mandatory state fingerprint registration and photographing (обязательная государственная дактилоскопическая регистрация и фотографирование). The sections below concern this obligation.

• Those arriving for more than 90 days for a non-work purpose (such as students and those arriving for a long-term visa to visit family): within 90 calendar days from entry.
• Those arriving to work: within 30 calendar days from entry or when obtaining a work permit.
• Foreigners who may work without obtaining a work permit (for example, specialists working for an accredited IT company, see R3.3): when they change their purpose of visit to work, within 30 calendar days from the employment contract, but no later than 90 calendar days from entry.
• This registration is completed once. It may be requested again in exceptional cases determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
• The law also allows these procedures to be completed abroad before entry in countries determined by the Government of Russia. If you did not complete them abroad, you must complete them in Russia within the periods stated above.
• Exemptions:
  • children under 6 years old
  • citizens of Belarus
  • officials of international organizations and their families
  • those granted refugee status or temporary asylum
  • on the basis of reciprocity: diplomatic and consular personnel, persons arriving on official duty with diplomatic or service passports, and their families

1. You personally go to the migration unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the region where you are staying or to an authorized organization affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You can make an appointment through Gosuslugi.
2. You show your passport. Your fingerprints and photograph are taken.
3. When the procedure is complete, you receive a document showing your fingerprint registration. In some regions, this document is in the form of a chip card containing your facial image and two fingerprints. Government institutions can verify your identity using this card.
4. If you completed the procedure abroad, you personally go to a Ministry of Internal Affairs unit within the same periods after arriving in Russia. The document is issued to you after your identity is verified using your fingerprints.

• All groups required to register their fingerprints must also undergo a medical examination (медицинское освидетельствование):
  • those arriving for more than 90 days for a non-work purpose
  • those arriving to work
  • foreigners who may work without a work permit and change their purpose of visit
• Deadline: 30 calendar days from entry. If you underwent a lawful examination during the year before entry, this obligation does not apply at that time.
• Annual repetition: you must repeat the examination within 30 calendar days after one year has elapsed since your last examination.
• Highly qualified specialists (ВКС) and their families are not subject to the annual repetition requirement. They undergo the examination within 30 calendar days after the work permit is extended. If you are abroad when the extension decision is made, the period begins on the date of your entry.
• The exemptions are the same as for fingerprint registration (children under 6, diplomats, and others).

• The rules for the examination are set out in Article 4.2 added to Federal Law 115-FZ by Federal Law 162-FZ dated 10 June 2026.
• Three matters are checked during the examination:
  • use of narcotic or psychotropic substances without a prescription; a chemical-toxicological test is conducted for this purpose
  • infectious diseases that pose a risk of transmission to others (the list is determined by the Russian Ministry of Health)
  • HIV infection
• The examination is conducted only at authorized medical organizations. The governor of each region determines the list of authorized organizations in that region. The nationwide register is published on the website of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare (Росздравнадзор).
• You pay the cost of the examination. Your employer may also pay it.
• The results are prepared as an electronic medical report. The report is entered into the state health information system and sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within 24 hours.
• If you wish, the organization will provide you with a paper summary of the result.
• According to Gosuslugi, three documents are required when applying for a work permit: a report confirming the absence of dangerous infectious diseases, a certificate confirming the absence of HIV, and a report confirming the absence of drug use. If you are abroad when applying, your employer submits these documents to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within 30 calendar days from your entry.

• The period of stay is shortened for a foreigner who fails to fulfill the obligation to provide fingerprints or a photograph or to undergo a medical examination.
• A foreigner whose period of stay has been shortened must leave Russia within 3 days. If they do not leave, they are deported and entered into the register of “persons under control” (see R2.4).
• If the examination detects non-prescription drug use, HIV, or a dangerous infectious disease, the period of stay is shortened. In cases provided for by law, a decision declaring the person “undesirable” or banning entry may also be issued. The law provides for certain exceptions concerning HIV.
• Avoiding or refusing the medical examination was established as a separate administrative offense on 10 June 2026: a fine of 25,000–50,000 rubles; deportation may also be added.
• There are additional deadlines for work permit holders: failure of persons arriving with a ВКС permit to apply for fingerprint registration within 30 days, or to submit the language, history, and law certificate within 90 days, is grounds for cancellation of the permit (see R3.1).

• According to Gosuslugi’s page on the new entry rules, foreigners arriving in Moscow must provide fingerprints within 10 days and upload their biometric data to the Unified Biometric System (ЕБС). If they fail to do so, they cannot receive certain government services, such as extending their period of stay.
• This page primarily describes the new experimental entry rules introduced for foreigners arriving without a visa. The experimental registration system in Moscow and the Moscow Region also applies only to visa-free arrivals. For Turkish citizens arriving with a visa, the binding periods under the law are the 30- and 90-day periods stated above. If additional biometrics are requested for a service in Moscow, follow the instructions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs unit.
• In Moscow, foreigners may also be issued a QR-coded “Electronic Foreign Citizen Card” (электронная карта иностранного гражданина). The card shows your identity, registration status, purpose of visit, and period of stay. The card is issued at the Moscow Multifunctional Migration Center (ММЦ).

• Migration unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs — fingerprint and photograph registration, fingerprint registration document
  • You go to the unit in the region where you are staying. An appointment is made through Gosuslugi’s “Ministry of Internal Affairs appointment” service (account login required).
• Authorized medical organizations — medical examination
  • The list is published by the administration of the region where you are staying. Your employer or school will generally know which organization you should visit; nevertheless, make sure that the organization appears on the official list.
• Moscow Multifunctional Migration Center (ММЦ) — electronic foreign citizen card in Moscow

• Assuming that separate mandatory fingerprint registration is unnecessary because fingerprints were taken at the border.
• Counting the 30-day medical examination period from the date you start work.
• Having the examination at a private clinic that is not on the list. The report will not be considered valid.
• Forgetting to repeat the examination annually.
• Losing the fingerprint registration document or card and failing to report it.
• Avoiding the medical examination obligation. This is a separate administrative offense.

• I am coming for two weeks on a tourist visa. Are these procedures required? No. Mandatory fingerprint registration and the medical examination apply to those staying for more than 90 days and those coming to work. At the border, however, everyone’s photograph and fingerprints are taken.
• I arrived on a student visa. Which deadlines apply to me? Ninety days from entry for fingerprints and photograph, and 30 days for the medical examination. The examination is repeated every year (see R5.2).
• Can I undergo the examination in Türkiye? Under the law, the examination is conducted at authorized organizations in Russia. The HIV test required by the consulate for a work visa longer than 90 days is a separate document (see R1.3).
• Is it also required for my child? Children under 6 are exempt from fingerprint registration and the medical examination. Children aged 6 and over are subject to these obligations during a long stay.
• Is fingerprint registration subject to a fee? Fingerprint registration is not included among the migration fees listed in Article 333.28 of the Tax Code. If you apply through an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ask at the application location whether a service fee is charged. You or your employer pay the cost of the medical examination.

• Federal Law 115-FZ, Article 5: fingerprint, photograph, and medical examination obligations
• Federal Law 115-FZ, Article 4.2: rules for the medical examination
• Gosuslugi – New entry rules (biometrics, Moscow)
• Gosuslugi – Border crossing for foreigners
• Gosuslugi – Medical documents for a work permit
• Gosuslugi – Ministry of Internal Affairs appointment (account login required)
• Code of Administrative Offenses, Article 18.11.1: penalty for avoiding the medical examination