What changed on September 1, 2026
Federal Law No. 162-FZ of June 10, 2026, passed by the State Duma on May 27 and approved by the Federation Council on June 3, came into force on September 1, 2026. It amends Law No. 115-FZ on the legal status of foreign citizens and Article 34 of the law on sanitary and epidemiological welfare. It comes down to one sentence: a foreigner coming to work, or coming for another purpose for more than ninety days, must complete the medical examination within thirty days of entry.
Before that text, the regime was looser and split in two: thirty days for those arriving to work, ninety days for stays of more than ninety days for any other purpose. It is that second category that has just been cut to thirty.
The rule applies to any entry, on a visa of any type as well as visa-free. Holders of a temporary residence permit (RVP) or a permanent residence permit (VNZh) fall under a different regime: the examination is part of their permit application file.
a one-year visa does not buy a year of peace. As soon as you come to work, or your planned stay exceeds ninety days, as on a family visa, the thirty-day clock starts at the date of entry, not the date you settle in.
Who has to take it, who is exempt
The duty covers foreign nationals and stateless persons entering Russia to work, whatever the length of stay, or for another purpose whenever the planned stay exceeds ninety days. It comes paired with fingerprinting, the official dactyloscopy, and a state photograph. Those two keep their own deadline: thirty days for those coming to work, but still ninety days for other stays of more than ninety days, since the 2026 law only shortened the deadline for the medical examination (Article 5 of Law No. 115-FZ). Since September 1, 2026, the medical examination produces an electronic certificate, which the clinic sends to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within twenty-four hours, with a paper extract on request (Article 4.2 of Law No. 115-FZ).
One confusion comes up constantly: the fingerprints taken at the border do not count. They belong to border control, not to the mandatory procedure, which is carried out at an authorised body once you are in the country.
Exempt are:
- holders of an RVP, a VNZh or a student RVPO;
- people coming for a purpose other than work and staying ninety days or less;
- children under six;
- citizens of Belarus;
- officials of international organisations who came to Russia for their duties and the staff of their representations, together with their family members;
- subject to reciprocity, diplomatic and consular staff, the staff of military attachés' offices and trade missions, and holders of diplomatic and service passports, together with their family members;
- refugees and people granted temporary asylum in Russia.
A foreigner who already took the examination, in the cases provided for by law, less than one year before entry does not have to take it again.
Everyone else takes it, including foreign spouses of Russian citizens who arrived on a family visa, and including retirees on long stays.
What the examination covers
This is not a wellness check. It screens for a set of conditions whose detection governs the right to stay: HIV infection, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, leprosy, and screening for narcotic and psychotropic substance use.
In practice you move through several consulting rooms within the same facility, with blood tests, a chest X-ray and a urine sample.
Children are covered from the age of six, with a pathway adapted to their age.
A positive result on one of the listed conditions is not a trivial matter: it can ground a refusal of a permit or a shortened stay. That is the point to anticipate for anyone on long-term treatment, particularly where it involves molecules classified as narcotics in Russia, codeine, tramadol or pregabalin among them, whose mere possession without a translated prescription is already an offence.
Where to take it, and why the choice of clinic decides everything
Only facilities on the official list of accredited bodies are accepted. An examination taken at a private clinic that is not accredited, however good, produces certificates the migration service will reject. This is one of the two most frequent errors Moscow firms report.
The second is more insidious: inconsistent personal data. If, after the examination, you change address or obtain a new notarised passport translation worded differently, the transliteration of your name or your address will no longer match the certificates. The certificates then have to be redone from scratch. The practical rule is to have the passport translation made first, the examination second, and to leave it alone thereafter.
The clinic sends the certificate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself. In Moscow, fingerprinting is done at the Sakharovo migration centre or at its representation, whose address changed on June 22, 2026 to the OKO tower, 1st Krasnogvardeysky Proezd.
Who pays, and for how long
The examination is paid by the foreigner, unless their employer or the client ordering the work covers it (Article 4.2 of Law No. 115-FZ). The law sets no fee: the price is the accredited facility's own and varies by region. Paid support from a firm is only worth it for those who do not speak Russian: it covers booking, an assistant present through the circuit, and a check of the data printed on the certificates before it is too late. How the examination fits into the full budget of a migration path is detailed in our 2026 breakdown of settling costs in Russia.
The one-year validity is not a formality. The examination must be retaken within thirty days after the anniversary of the previous one, as long as the stay continues (Article 5, point 19, of Law No. 115-FZ). A foreigner settled long-term on a long visa therefore retakes the examination every year, until they obtain an RVP or a VNZh, which exempt them. Highly qualified specialists are spared the yearly cycle: they retake the examination within thirty days of the extension of their work permit.
What you risk by skipping it
The main sanction is not a fine, it is a reduction of the authorised period of stay. The Ministry of Internal Affairs can decide that your stay ends earlier than your visa's validity, leaving you a few days to leave the country.
The other possible consequences are cancellation of the visa or work permit, an administrative fine, and in the heaviest cases expulsion. Since June 10, 2026, Article 18.11.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences, as worded by Federal Law No. 163-FZ, punishes refusing or evading the examination with a fine of 25,000 to 50,000 ₽, with or without expulsion.
In practice the gradation depends on how long the breach has run and whether it is isolated. One firm documents the case of a US national who arrived on a three-year tourist visa and stayed beyond ninety days without knowing the examination applied: the answer rests with the inspector, between a fine for a first violation and an actual reduction of the stay. The only sound advice in that situation is to put things right immediately, because elapsed time weighs in the assessment.
There is finally a knock-on consequence, often the costliest: the rest of the path closes. An RVP application and a VNZh application both require the medical examination, and failing to take it on time is a ground for refusing or cancelling an RVP, a VNZh or a work permit (Articles 6, 7, 8, 9 and 18 of Law No. 115-FZ, as worded by Law No. 162-FZ).
Frequently asked questions
My visa runs a year, do I have a year to take the examination? No. If you come to work, or for another purpose with a planned stay of more than ninety days, the clock runs from the date of entry and the window is thirty days, whatever the visa's length.
Do the fingerprints taken at the airport count? No. Those belong to border control. Mandatory dactyloscopy is carried out at an authorised body inside Russia.
I am the spouse of a Russian citizen, am I exempt? No, once your stay on a visa exceeds ninety days. The exemption covers holders of an RVP, VNZh or RVPO only, who take the examination as part of their permit application.
Can I use the private clinic I normally go to? Only if it is accredited: the federal register of accredited facilities is kept by Roszdravnadzor, the health watchdog, and each region sets its own list (Article 4.2 of Law No. 115-FZ). Otherwise the certificates will be rejected.
Are last year's certificates still valid? One year. The examination is retaken within thirty days after the anniversary of the previous one (Article 5, point 19, of Law No. 115-FZ).
From what age is a child covered? Six. Below that they are exempt.
In short
Thirty days from entry, no more, for anyone coming to work or to stay beyond ninety days. An accredited clinic, never another. A passport translation settled before the examination, so the data match. Certificates valid one year, to be renewed as long as the stay continues on a visa.
It is a short formality whose omission produces disproportionate effects: a stay cut short by administrative decision, and an RVP, a VNZh or a work permit refused or cancelled. It belongs in the first week, not the first month.
