State Duma passes law on legal status of foreign citizens in RF

At its plenary session on Friday the State Duma (the Lower House of the Russian Parliament) passed in the final reading the presidential draft Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation.

This law enumerates the cases when foreign citizens in the Russian Federation cannot enjoy the rights and have the duties on a par with citizens of the Russian Federation.

The Law establishes the procedure of the temporary stay in the Russian Federation and of the permanent living of foreigners in the RF.

The document says that the list of territories, enterprises and organisations to enter which foreign citizens need special permits is established by the government of the Russian Federation. A foreign citizen, who temporarily lives in Russia, does not have the right to choose at his own discretion the place of residence outside the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation where he has been allowed to live temporarily.

The Law also provides for the norms of drawing up invitations to enter the Russian Federation and also of registering and receiving information on the number of foreign citizens in Russia.

With the aim of knowing the number of foreign citizens coming to the Russian Federation and living in it, it has been proposed to create a central databank which will be formed on the basis of the data of the Federal Security Service.

The Law has been sent for the consideration of the Federation Council (the Upper House of Parliament).