Up-to-date information for foreign citizens
Frequently asked questions
According to the Protocol of the Meeting of the Operational Headquarters to prevent the import and spread of new coronavirus infection in the Russian Federation dated 27/08/2021 № 18кв, a new Algorithm for the entry of foreign students into the territory of the Russian Federation for study purposes has been introduced. The Algorithm allows citizens of all countries enter the Russian Federation if they are students of a Russian educational institution.
In order to enter the Russian Federation, students must notify the University at least 10 days before arriving in Russia through the student’s Personal Account (the application form “Entry to the Russian Federation” includes a copy of a foreign passport and a questionnaire). On the basis of these documents the student data will be transferred to the departmental segment of the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia of the State System of Migration and Registration (Gosuslugi).
PLEASE, SUBMIT THE APPLICATION AFTER YOU RECEIVE YOUR VISA TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
If you need a visa to enter the Russian Federation, you should first contact the Academic Office in your field of study to have your visa invitation issued and, only upon receiving a visa, apply for entry into the Russian Federation. To have your visa invitation issued, you must send a copy of the passport issued by your own country and a filled-in application form to the Academic Office in your field of study. Please, note that the passport should be valid at least 1,5 years from the planned date of entry to the Russian Federation.
Please note that the turnaround time for issuing your visa invitation is at least 5 weeks from the date of application submission.
It is necessary to wait for the confirmation from SPbU of your inclusion in the relevant lists.
Visa-free entry into the Russian Federation, regardless of the purpose of entry into the Russian Federation, is available for citizens of foreign states which the Russian Federation has signed relevant international agreements with. Among them are the CIS states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine (Article 1 of the Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan dated 30 November 2000). Citizens of the states of the parties, regardless of their place of residence, have the right to enter, leave, go in transit, move, and stay on the territory of the states of the parties without visas under one of the valid documents specified in the annexes to the agreement.
If you have any questions related to migration registration, email to pvo@spbu.ru
International students accommodated in the University halls of residence must contact the Passport and Visa Department within 3 (three) working days after their arrival. They must provide the following documents: passport and copies of all marked pages; migration card and its copy; and residential tenancy agreement.
International students accommodated at a private address must contact their ‘receiving party’, i.e. the owner of the property, within 3 (three) working days after their arrival. They must provide the following documents: passport and copies of all marked pages; and migration card and its copy. A copy of the document they receive must be sent to the Passport and Visa Department by email to pvo@spbu.ru
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus do not need to provide a migration card.
Please note that ALL international students must notify the Passport and Visa Department of their arrival within 3 (three) calendar days from their date of entry into the Russian Federation.
The procedure for foreign citizens who arrived at the University halls of residence after crossing the Russian border for the first time, and the procedure for foreign citizens who previously resided in a hall of residence and returned to it after crossing the Russian border are published on the St Petersburg University website.
Those residing in the isolation facility can move to the room in which they were previously accommodated after receiving a negative PCR test.
The teaching and learning process at the University is organized in accordance with the Recommendations for the prevention of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in educational institutions of higher education by Rospotrebnadzor.
At the moment, classes are being delivered in a blended format, combining traditional classroom classes, distance learning using information and communication technologies or e-learning, and a hybrid form. All up-to-date information on the format of the classes is posted on the electronic timetable.
Medical support for international students is provided under a voluntary medical insurance policy. Every student must purchase it at any health insurance company.
According to the Decree of the Rospotrebnadzor 'On the procedure for entry into the territory of the Russian Federation for students - foreign citizens' dated 16 February 2021, international students arriving in St Petersburg to study are allowed to study in classrooms if they provide two negative test results for COVID-19 using the PCR method.
The first test should be done no earlier than three calendar days before entering the territory of the Russian Federation. The second test should be done within three days after entering the territory of the Russian Federation. Before receiving a negative laboratory test for COVID-19 by the PCR method after arriving in the Russian Federation, international students must comply with the self-isolation regime: at a private address or (if accommodation in a hall of residence is required) in special places in the University’s halls of residence. The period of the self-isolation regime is until the results for COVID-19 using the PCR method are obtained. This may vary depending on the current epidemiological situation in St Petersburg and on the workload of laboratories and medical organisations working with the University halls of residence on a territorial basis. Currently, the University’s halls of residence do not provide for 14-day isolation of international students arriving in the Russian Federation.
Sampling is collected by the medical staff of St Petersburg University. Hall of Residence No 16 (64/4 Botanicheskaya Street, Peterhof; Hall of Residence No 19 (3 Kapitanskaya Street, Vasilyevsky Island) will be used as places for students to be accommodated for isolation.
To get inoculated, students in the Student's Personal Account (my.spbu.ru) fill out an application form 'About your potential interest in vaccination against coronavirus infection COVID-19', after they receive a letter via e-mail containing information on the date and place of vaccination.
After vaccination, 'Certificate of Preventive Vaccinations' is issued in Russian. If a foreign citizen has a passport or a leaf with personal data in English, the certificate can be issued in two languages: Russian and English.
The data on all vaccinated foreign citizens is entered into the 'Federal Register of the Vaccinated Against COVID-19', which is part of the Unified State Health Information System. This makes it possible to automatically receive a QR code.
Academic and professional credentials can be sent outside Russia by courier express mail: either at the expense of the graduate, whose documents are sent; or at the expense of their authorised representative (pursuant to the agreement between a foreign citizen and an authorised person with a courier delivery company, a copy of which is provided to the University).
To receive a diploma using courier delivery (express mail), a graduate must: conclude an agreement with a specialised company that provides courier delivery; pay for the delivery service; and send an application to the staff of the Academic Office of their field of study. The form of the application is attached below. A copy of the contract with the courier service must be attached to the application.
In the case of remote checkout from a hall of residence, campus staff vacate the room from the personal belongings of previous residents and draw up an inventory. The belongings are moved to a storage room, where they can be kept for up to one year. The service of using the storage room is paid. Please mind that in case of loss of bedclothes or other equipment provided for temporary use, their cost must be reimbursed. Personal belongings may also be received through an alternative option. You can draw up a notarised power of attorney and send it to an authorised person who will represent your interests in the hall of residence and will be able to pick up, pack and send your personal belongings.