Russia’s General Consul in Sydney Zarina Gabieva
“Approximately 25 Australian citizens have been issued visas for foreigners who align with Russian moral and spiritual values during the first three months since the Russian president’s decree.”
Gabieva further reported to TASS (https://tass.com/politics/1885821) that Russian diplomats in Sydney “personally engage with each applicant,” and that “all of them had cited strong opposition to and outright rejection of the aggressive promotion by local authorities of radical ideological stances that distort the younger generation’s understanding of genuine family and moral values as their primary motivation for this decision.”
Australian citizens may apply to move to Russia in accordance with President Putin’s decree No. 702 via the Sydney Russian Consulate’s here:
Common private visa (shared values)
In accordance with paragraph 4 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 19.08.2024 No. 702 “On the provision of humanitarian support to persons sharing traditional Russian spiritual and moral values” (hereinafter referred to as the Decree), the persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of the Decree may be issued single-entry ordinary private visas (purpose of travel – “private”) for a period of up to three months.
The said visas are issued for entry into the Russian Federation for the purpose of subsequently applying to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with an application for a temporary residence permit without taking into account the quota approved by the Government of the Russian Federation and without submitting a document confirming proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of the history of Russia and the fundamentals of its legislation.
Visas in accordance with paragraph 4 of the Decree may only be issued to citizens of the following countries included in the list of foreign states and territories implementing policies that impose destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, approved by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 17, 2024 No. 2560-r:
Australia, Austria, Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain (including the British Crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories), Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Micronesia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, Slovenia, United States of America, Taiwan (China), Ukraine, Finland, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Japan.
Attention! In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated September 29, 2023 No. 734 “On the procedure for entry into the Russian Federation and exit from the Russian Federation of citizens of Ukraine”, citizens of this state enter Russia exclusively without a visa on the basis of the documents listed in paragraph 1 of the said regulatory act, and only through checkpoints across the state border provided for by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 6, 2023 No. 2723-r “On temporary restrictions on entry into the Russian Federation of citizens of Ukraine arriving from the territory of third countries”. They can submit applications for a temporary residence permit only on the territory of the Russian Federation after entering in the specified manner.
To avoid unforeseen complications when submitting documents to a territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for a temporary residence permit (TRP) without considering the quota approved by the Government of the Russian Federation and without submitting a document confirming knowledge of the Russian language, history, and basics of Russian legislation (hereinafter referred to as TRP under the Decree), it is necessary to obtain, prior to entering the Russian Federation, a document from the competent authorities of the country of citizenship and permanent residence confirming the presence or absence of a criminal record. Such a document must be attached to the application for the TRP under the Decree.
The document must be apostilled, or if issued by a foreign country that is not a party to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, it must be legalised unless otherwise specified by an international treaty of the Russian Federation. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the document must be submitted in its original form with a notarised translation into Russian, including all pages, marks, stamps, and seals. The accuracy of the translation or a translator’s signature must be certified by an authorised employee of a Russian consular office or a notary in Russia in accordance with Russian notarial legislation.
Failure to comply with these requirements, or if more than 3 (three) months have passed since the issuance of the criminal record document by the date of submitting the TRP application, may result in the application being denied.
Additionally, the following conditions are mandatory for obtaining TRP under the Decree:
- Submission of medical documents within 30 days of entry into Russia, either in paper form or as an electronic document, to a territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Such documents must confirm the absence of drug or psychotropic substance use without a doctor’s prescription, absence of new potentially dangerous psychoactive substances, and the absence of infectious diseases that pose a danger to others, as well as a certificate confirming the absence of HIV infection. The documents and certificate must be issued based on a medical examination conducted in medical institutions located in Russia, in accordance with Order No. 1079N of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated 19 November 2021. If there are valid documented reasons, such medical documents and certificates may be submitted later, but no later than 30 days after the reasons have been resolved.
- Completion of state fingerprint registration and photographing at the territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation where TRP under the Decree is issued.
- Payment of a state fee in the amount established by subparagraph 22, paragraph 1, article 333.28 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (as of November 2024, the fee is 1,920 Rubles) before the TRP issuance.
Terms and cost:
Single-entry private visa – 120 Australian dollars (processing period – 10 working days).
To obtain an ordinary private visa, the following documents must be submitted to the Consulate:
1) An application for a visa to a foreign citizen who shares traditional Russian spiritual and moral values (addressed to the Consul General).
2) A valid passport or other valid travel document certifying the identity of a foreign citizen and recognized as such by the Russian Federation.
A passport or other valid travel document presented by a foreign citizen must not raise doubts about its authenticity and belonging to its owner, contain marks, reservations, entries, erasures and corrections not certified by the competent authorities of the relevant foreign state, torn out or unsewn pages, must have at least two blank pages intended for visas.
As a rule, the passport must not expire earlier than 6 months from the expiration date of the visa.
3) A completed visa application form. The application form is filled in using technical means (on the website visa.kdmid.ru), printed out and signed by the applicant.
The answers to the questions on the visa application form must be exhaustive.
When filling out the application form, you must select the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Sydney as the place of application.
The visa application form is signed by the foreign citizen in person at the Consulate General in front of an employee of the visa department.
Application forms for children under 18 years of age are signed by their parents (you must present the original birth certificate and the parent’s passport). If the birth certificate is not Russian or Australian, it must be legalized.
4) A 3.5 x 4.5 cm (color) photograph, taken no later than six months before the date of application, must clearly show the face from the front, without tinted glasses or a hat.
5) Based on the principle of reciprocity, the applicant must submit to the Consulate a medical insurance policy valid in the territory of the Russian Federation.
The requirement to have medical insurance applies only to citizens of the following countries that put forward a similar requirement for Russian citizens entering their territory: Israel, Ireland, Iran, the Schengen countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Estonia) and the USA.
Taking into account the principle of reciprocity in relation to citizens of the Schengen Agreement states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Estonia), Russian foreign institutions require a minimum insurance amount of the above-mentioned policies of at least 30 thousand euros.
The medical insurance policy must comply with the requirements of the Regulation on medical insurance of foreign citizens temporarily staying in the Russian Federation, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 11, 1998 No. 1488.
Medical insurance must provide payment to Russian medical institutions for the following types of medical care and medical transportation services (minimum list):
a) medical care provided by ambulance stations (departments, points);
b) medical care in outpatient clinics and inpatient medical institutions in case of sudden health problems and accidents in the amount necessary to eliminate the threat to the patient’s life and (or) relieve acute pain;
c) transportation by medical transport or other means of transport, including the costs of medical support (medical team, doctor, nurse) from the scene of illness (incident) to a medical institution, as well as during transfer to another medical institution;
d) posthumous repatriation (transportation) of remains.
Insurance policies of only those foreign insurance organizations that have concluded reinsurance contracts with Russian insurance organizations licensed to carry out this type of insurance, or with a service organization that provides medical care (medical transport services) in a volume no less than that provided for by the minimum list, are accepted for consideration.
If insurance of citizens of the specified states is carried out by Russian insurance organizations, they are required to have licenses issued in the established manner by the federal executive body of the Russian Federation for supervision of insurance activities.
6) For citizens of third countries (if a foreign citizen applies for a visa not in the country of his/her citizenship) – a document confirming the right of a foreign citizen to an uninterrupted stay in the country for more than 180 days.
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Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBdqxKX80tA
https://sydney.mid.ru/en/consular-services/newsydney/common_private_visa_shared_values/