On January 1, 2014, Russia amended its laws on “Exiting and entering the Russian Federation” and on “The legal status of foreign nationals in the Russian Federation.” Head of the State Migration Service of Armenia Gagik Yeganyan, in an interview with Civilnet, said it was too early to say what impact these changes will have on Armenian migrants. According to the new laws, citizens of those countries who had the right to enter Russia without a visa can now only stay in the country for 90 days within a 180 day period.
“It’s difficult to say how many people had resolved their residency issues before the changes were implemented, which is why it is difficult to say how many people will be affected by these new laws,” said Yeganyan.
Meanwhile he drew attention to the fact that starting from July 2013, this new approach by Russia has the sole purpose of denying entrance of foreigners into the country. To better illustrate the changes, Yeganyan noted that prior to the legislative amendments, if a foreign national broke a law he or she would not be denied entry into Russia. However, with these new changes in effect, even if you are responsible for a traffic violation, Russian authorities may use that as a pretext for denying entry.
“Prior to these changes, those foreign citizens who didn’t need a visa could stay in Russia for 90 days within a 365 day period. However, they can only now stay within 180 days. Also, prior to the changes a foreign national, who didn’t have a residency status, was able to exit and re-enter the border on the 90th day of his/her stay, and gain a new residency status. Now, as we understand it, these new changes are to put an end to this practice,” noted Yeganyan.
Those who who do not adhere to this new law will be denied entrance into Russia for three years.
