How to Get Your Russian Investor Visa / Business Startup Visa

A person who is not a Russian citizen or does not have a citizenship from any country can get a residence permit in Russia without first getting a temporary residence permit if they invest in the Russian economy. This is one of the points made in Federal Law No. 357-FZ, "On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in Russia' and Certain Legislative Acts of Russia," which was passed on July 14, 2022. Law 357-FZ's rules about businesses started to be in effect on January 11, 2023.

Following these rules in the law, an order from the Russian government's December 31, 2022, dated No. 2573, was made public on January 4, 2023. It was called "On approval of the criteria that a foreign citizen who has invested in Russia must meet in order to issue a residence permit in Russia without obtaining a temporary residence permit."

These standards are:

- at least 15 million rubles worth of investments in socially important projects in the parts of Russia for three years before the application is turned in

- the person ran a business in Russia for two years straight before the calendar year in which a person from another country applied for a residence permit. This could be as part of a business partnership, a limited liability company, a joint-stock company with one founder, a peasant (farm) economy, or an economic partnership. At the same time, when a person applies, they must be a foreign national and the only founder of the company. Also, the business must pay at least 4 million rubles a year in taxes and insurance to the Russian government's non-budgetary funds.

- an investment of at least 30 million rubles in a Russian company that has been doing business in Russia for at least three years in the form of a business partnership, a limited liability company, a joint-stock company, or a peasant (farmer) economy or business partnership that paid at least 6 million rubles in taxes and insurance to Russia's non-budgetary state funds in the year before applying.

- getting the right to own (shared ownership) of real estate for any purpose in Russia, either while it is being built or within two years of it being finished, as long as the applicant has owned it for at least one year before applying for a Russian residence permit.

At the same time, the total cadastral value of things owned by a foreign citizen can't be less than the following amounts in rubles: 50 million in Moscow, 20 million in the Far Eastern Federal District, and 25 million in the rest of Russia. Also, during the specified period of time that a foreign citizen owns these objects, there can't be any restrictions on rights or encumbrances, including a mortgage pledge.

A foreign investor's family member is his or her wife, children (including adopted children), children's partners, parents (including adoptive parents), parents' spouses, grandparents, and grandkids.

A foreign investor must do the following when they want to get a living permit:

a form for getting a residence permit in two copies (as described in Russia's Administrative Guidelines for Residence Permits)

- the person's ID who is applying

— a paper that proves a non-citizen is a foreign investor (if the person applying for a residence permit is a foreign investor or a relative of one)

- papers that prove how closely related the family members are to one another. This includes birth, marriage, or divorce certificates; name change documents (when civil status acts are registered by the competent authority of a foreign state); and documents showing that the competent authority of a foreign state issued them.

– if a civil status act is registered by the right agency in another country, it is a paper that proves the couple is married. This is what happens when the spouse of a foreign investor applies for a residence permit.

—a certificate of no criminal record or, if there is one, information about the crime the applicant was found guilty of, issued no less than three months before the application date by the appropriate authority in the state where the applicant permanently lives (this requirement does not apply to foreigners under 14 years old, foreigners who can enter Russia without a visa, or foreigners living in Russia on the basis of a temporary residence permit, if such a document was given when applying for a temporary residence permit).

— a paper (one of the papers) that proves that a foreign person can support himself and his family in Russia at or above the minimum living level without getting help from the government (unless the foreign person is disabled); clause 26.10 of the Administrative Regulations for issuing a residence permit in Russia lists such papers.

- four personal 35 x 45 mm photos in black and white or color (two for people without citizenship) that meet the rules for getting a residence permit listed in section 26.4 of the Administrative Guidelines.