Russian Federation: Resolution No. 1021 of 1994, Regulations on the Procedure for the Work with Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons arriving and staying in Russian Federation and Seeking Asylum for Determination of their Status, Temporary Accommodation and Stay in the Territory of the Russian Federation

1.

The present Regulations On the procedure for the work with foreign citizens and stateless persons arriving and staying in Russian Federation and seeking asylum for determination of their status, temporary accommodation and stay on the territory of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as Regulations) shall establish the procedure for the work of the Central Office of the Federal Migration Service of Russia (hereinafter referred as the FMS of Russia) and its territorial bodies on determination of status of foreign citizens and stateless persons arriving and staying in Russia and seeking asylum (hereinafter referred to as immigrants), their registration, enumeration, temporary accommodation and stay on the territory of the Russian Federation.

2.

The activity of the FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies related to matters, referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Regulations shall be based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federal Law, decrees and instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, resolutions and instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation, international obligations of Russia as well as the present Regulations.

3.

FMS of Russian and its territorial bodies shall implement their tasks in coordination with frontier, customs, law-enforcement agencies, federal executive bodies and the executive bodies of the political administrative divisions of the Russian Federation.

4.

Status determination procedure for immigrants shall include:

- submission and acceptance of application for recognition of and immigrant as a refugee in the Russian Federation, filling in of questionnaire of immigrant and accompanying adult family members (provided each of them supports immigrants application and does not insist on personal application);

- adoption by the FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies of a decision on registration of immigrants' application for refugee status in the Russian Federation;

- individual interview with an immigrant and his family members and filling in of questionnaire;

- verification of data and reasons for arrival presented by and immigrant, adoption of a decision on recognition of an immigrant as a refugee in the Russian Federation;

- issue of immigrant with a certificate of a refugee in the Russian Federation.

5.

Consideration of immigrants application as well as the procedure for recognition said person as a refugee in the Russian Federation may be terminated at any stage, in case in the course of examination it has been positively ascertained that the immigrant had produced false personal data.

6.

An immigrant and accompanying family members shall, upon the request of the medical service and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspection, undergo obligatory medical examination and, whenever necessary, disinfection, laboratory analysis at the polyclinics and vaccination.

7.

Immigrants, not having relevant identity papers shall, in accordance with the international legal norms, pass the identification procedure and, whenever necessary dactylos copy at the interior bodies.

8.

The application, questionnaire, medical examination certificate, other documents and materials needed for the adoption of the decision on recognition of immigrant as a refugee in the Russian Federation shall form his/her personal file.

9.

At every stage of the work with immigrant he/she must be guaranteed the possibility to present additional data in support of his/her application as well as protection of his rights, including the services of the qualified interpreter, lawyer and, whenever necessary, a medical doctor.

10.

FMS of Russia together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and, whenever necessary, with the participation of the international organizations, shall decide, within not more than 3 months, on the term of stay in the Russian Federation of immigrants wishing to get asylum in other States.

11.

Officials of the FMS of Russia responsible for the work with immigrants shall have the right:

- to interview immigrants in order to obtain necessary information in order to verify the validity of the reasons for their arrival and right to be recognized as a refugee in the Russian Federation;

- to obtain from the appropriate structures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, law-enforcement agencies and other federal executive bodies information on internal, sanitary/epidemiological situation in the states where immigrants arrived from as well as the data on amendments to the passport/visa regulations of other States and the rules of stay of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation;

- to obtain free of charge from physical and juridical persons, institutions and organizations, irrespective of their property status, the information required for screening at the temporary accommodation centers for immigrants unless otherwise provided by the Law of the Russian Federation;

- to use existing information/communication systems of the Russian Federation according to the established procedure.

12.

Any actions impeding the fulfillment by the FMS officials and its territorial bodies of their duties related to screening of immigrants shall entail administrative or criminal responsibility according to the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

13.

A ground for commencement of recognition of immigrant as a refugee in the Russian Federation shall be his written application. The application shall be submitted by immigrant immediately upon arrival in the territory of the Russian Federation to the territorial FMS body, with indication of well-founded reasons for the arrival or stay on the territory of the Russian Federation.

In case an immigrant who arrived legally in the territory of the Russian Federation expresses at the immigration control post his/her wish to apply for refugee status in the Russian Federation and this wish is well founded, his/her application shall be registered at the immigration control post in the place of crossing the border of the Russian Federation.

In case an immigrant who had arrived legally in Russia and has been staying on its territory for a long time, wishes for objective and well founded reasons to be recognized as a refugee in the Russian Federation, he/she must present the appropriate application to the territorial FMS body at the place of his/her stay.

In case an immigrant who was forced to cross the border of the Russian Federation illegally due to reasons, referred to in para 1 Article 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Refugees", must immediately report of this to the authorized official at the immigration control post, representative of the frontier troops or customs bodies. In case his/her statement is proved to be wellfounded, he/she shall be escorted by the staff of law-enforcement agencies, to provide his security, to the place of temporary stay at the immigration control post pending the adoption of appropriate decision.

In case there is no immigration control post at the border-crossing point and an immigrant who arrived illegally at the territory of the Russian Federation declares his/her intention to be recognized as a refugee in the Russian Federation, he/she shall be detained by the frontier or other competent bodies for a period of time necessary for reporting about him/her to the nearest territorial FMS body in order to hand him/her over to said body and determine his/her legal status.

14.

State officials of the immigration control posts, the FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies shall accept applications for recognition as a refugee in the Russian Federation.

State officials of the immigration control post, shall, as a rule, conduct initial examination of the immigrants application for his/her recognition as a refugee in the Russian Federation.

State officials of the FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies who are intrusted with the work with immigrants must familiarize the immigrants with their rights and obligations stipulated by the Law of the Russian Federation "On Refugees".

15.

The decision on registration of the application for refugee status in the Russian Federation shall be accepted by the FMS of Russia and its territorial body on the grounds of conformity of the information presented by the immigrant to the provisions of para 1 Article 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Refugees" within not more than 5 days as from the date of submission of application.

In case the reasons for application for refugee status in the Russian Federation are well-founded (or obviously not-founded) and there is no need for additional examination, the decision on registration (rejection of registration) of the application shall be submitted, whenever possible on the date of its presentation.

16.

An immigrant who applied for refugee status in the Russian Federation may be refused registration of his/her application on the grounds of the Law of the Russian Federation On Refugees and the international legal norms.

An immigrant may also be refused registration of his/her application for refugee status in the Russian Federation if:

- has already applied for asylum in the Russian Federation and has been rejected;

- possesses citizenship of third country where he is not being persecuted or the authorities of third country recognize the right of foreign citizen or stateless person to stay in said country (residence permit, etc.);

- has arrived directly from the territory of another state where he/she was temporary staying before arrival in the Russian Federation where he/she was not being persecuted or could be granted asylum according to the established procedure;

- could before his/her arrival in the Russian Federation leave for third State where he/she has close relatives;

- in the course of his/her identification refuses to present necessary personal data and the information on the circumstances of his/her arrival;

- is unwilling, due to fear of consequences of his/her unauthorized departure from the country of his/her permanent residence or misdemeanor, crime, to return to the State of his/her permanent residence;

- is married to a citizen of the Russian Federation and may enjoy his/her right to register his stay in the Russian Federation on the grounds of the current legislation and according to the established procedure;

- has residence permit (or equal document) in the Russian Federation.

17.

Registration of the immigrants' application for refugee status in the Russian Federation by the FMS of Russia or its territorial body is a normative action, establishing legality of his/her temporary stay on the territory of the Russian Federation.

18.

Identity papers of an immigrant and his family members shall be handed over by themselves to the FMS of Russia or its territorial body which has registered his/her application for refugee status in the Russian Federation.

19.

The immigrant shall be issued with a certificate of registration of his/her application for refugee status in the Russian Federation which shall serve as his/her identity paper during the term of the certificate validity.

20.

An immigrant not having the appropriate identity papers or legal grounds for the entry and stay on the territory of the Russian Federation, shall, after his/her written application for refugee status in the Russian Federation, shall in order to provide his/her security during the period of verification of validity of the presented data, be escorted by State law enforcement officials to the temporary accommodation center for immigrants.

21.

Temporary accommodation center for immigrants:

- is one of the structures of the FMS of Russia and the place of stay of said category of persons;

- is designed for temporary accommodation for immigrants (up to 3 months) whose application for refugee status in the Russian Federation has been registered and accepted for consideration, pending the status determination of said persons on the territory of the Russian Federation;

- is used for clarification of the purpose and reasons for the immigrants' arrival, for verification of the evidence presented by him/her, for the final definition of the presence of legal grounds for his/her recognition as a refugee in the Russian Federation;

- is designed for free accommodation, catering, medical and other services for immigrants as well as initial Russian language training and study of the legislation of the Russian Federation;

- is used for obligatory medical examination of its residents, including tuberculosis and AIDS test. Immigrants, who proved to have contagious diseases shall be isolated. If the immigrants, who proved to be HIV infected, or they refused medical examination, they may be deported from the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

22.

Immigrants who are staying at the temporary accommodation center shall be assisted in application to the official representations of another States which may grant them asylum, to UNHCR office as well as, upon their request, to the representation of their State of origin or permanent residence; they shall also be assisted in the fulfillment of the appropriate passport/visa procedure.

23.

In case of reveal at the temporary accommodation center of foreign citizens and stateless persons who do not comply with the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Refugees" and other legal acts of the Russian Federation as well as the UN Convention On Refugees, state officials of the center shall make preparations for the deportation of said persons from the territory of the Russian Federation.

24.

In case of rejection of registration of application for refugee status in the Russian Federation, the immigrant shall be notified of the above and his further stay on the territory of the Russian Federation shall be regulated by the Law concerning the procedure for stay of foreign citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation.

A copy of rejection notification shall be sent, together with the letter of FMS or its territorial body, which adopted the decision on his/her application for refugee status in the Russian Federation, to the appropriate interior bodies of the Russian Federation for further deportation of the immigrant from the territory of the Russian Federation.

25.

An interview with an immigrant may be preliminary (at the immigration control posts in the border-crossing point) and principle (after his/her referral to the temporary accommodation center for immigrants).

The interview shall be conducted in order to give the immigrant an opportunity to present additional information confirming the validity of the reasons for his/her departure from the place of his/her permanent residence and for his/her asylum-seeking on the territory of the Russian Federation. The interview allows State officials of the FMS of Russia to decide on both recognition and rejection of his/her application for refugee status of the Russian Federation.

The interview shall be conducted in accordance with methodological instructions, elaborated by the FMS of Russia as well as in compliance with the UNHCR "Handbook on the procedure and the criteria of determining of refugee status".

Personal information on the immigrant, his family members as well as other information additionally obtained in the course of the interview shall be listed in the questionnaire.

26.

The decision on recognition of the immigrant as a refugee in the Russian Federation shall be taken by the Head of the FMS of Russia or the appropriate FMS territorial body on the grounds of conclusion on the immigrants' application for refugee status in the Russian Federation as well as on the ground of the materials of his/her personal file, not later than within 3 days after the receipt of said documents and not later than within 3 months from the date of the application registration.

27.

The immigrant who has been recognized as a refugee in the Russian Federation and his/her adult family members shall be issued with refugee certificates of the established form and refugee registration cards shall be filled in. At the same time his/her application registration certificate shall be withdrawn and filed in the personal file of the immigrant who was granted refugee status in the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as a refugee).

Refugee certificate in the Russian Federation issued in the established order is an identity document for the refugee (his/her accompanying family members) in the Russian Federation which gives him/her (them) the right to stay legally on the territory of the Russian Federation.

28.

In the event of change of place of residence the refugee shall be obliged to struck off the register at the FMS of Russia or at its appropriate territorial body where he/she was registered and within 3 days after his/her travel (weekends and holidays excluded) to get registered at the territorial FMS body at the place of arrival.

29.

In the event of change of family name, first name (names), marital status and family composition a refugee shall be obliged within 3 days as from the date of the change to inform of the above to the territorial FMS body at the place of registration.

30.

Registration by the FMS of Russia or its territorial body shall be the ground for the registration (propiska) of the refugee at the interior bodies at the place of his/her stay.

31.

Whenever necessary, the FMS of Russia shall issue travel document for refugee going abroad and the issue of said document shall be regulated by the appropriate instruction.

The refugee shall pay, according to the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation a State tax for the issue of the travel document as well as payment for the forms in the amount equal to those for foreign passport.

32.

An application for refugee status in the Russian Federation of a foreign citizen or a stateless person staying outside its territory shall be accepted by the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in the State of his/her permanent residence. In this case the work with foreign citizen or stateless person must take into account the situation in said state as well as possible consequences.

The application of the foreign citizen or a stateless person for refugee status in the Russian Federation, submitted to the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, shall be sent, together with the questionnaire and conclusion of the above institution on the compliance of the reasons, presented by the foreign citizen or stateless person in support of his/her application, with the criteria of refugee status stipulated by the Law of the Russian Federation On Refugees and the UN Convention On the Refugee Status, by diplomatic pouch to the FMS of Russia for the adoption of the decision on its registration.

The date of the receipt of the above documents by the FMS of Russia shall be considered as the date of the application of foreign citizen or stateless person for refugee status in the Russian Federation.

Notification by the FMS of Russia on registration of the application of the foreign citizen and stateless person for refugee status in the Russian Federation or on the rejection of his/her application shall be sent to the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation which accepted said application.

In the event the FMS of Russia adopts the decision on the registration of the application, further consideration of the issue on recognition of the foreign citizen or a stateless person as a refugee in the Russian Federation as well as the interview shall be conducted by an authorized official of the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; after the interview the documents shall be sent by the diplomatic mail to the FMS of Russia for the adoption of the final decision.

The decision of the FMS of Russia on the recognition of the foreign citizens or stateless person as a refugees in the Russian Federation shall be directed to the appropriate body of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs by diplomatic mail in order to issue entry documents.

Refugee certificate in the Russian Federation shall be issued by the FMS of Russia to the relevant foreign citizen or stateless person after his/her arrival to the territory of the Russian Federation.

33.

In case of recognition of an immigrant as a refugee in the Russian Federation the FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies together with the Federal Executive bodies and the executive bodies of the political administrative divisions of the Russian Federation shall assist him/her in accommodation and adaptation.

In accommodation and adaptation process peculiar features of a refugee must be taken into account (ethnic, social, psychological and others) as well as economic possibilities of the receiving regions of the Russian Federation.

A refugee shall be indicated place of residence and given housing from a special housing fund where he/she can live only during the validity term of his/her refugee status in the Russian Federation. One family shall be given only one dwelling premises.

34.

Refugee status in the Russian Federation shall be forfeited on the grounds stipulated by the Law of the Russian Federation On Refugees and the UN Convention On the Refugee Status.

In accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation grounds for the laws on refugee status in the Russian Federation shall be acquisition of the citizenship of the Russian Federation or other State; voluntary acceptance of the protection of the State the territory of which he/she was compelled to leave, departure for permanent residence beyond the borders of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the UN Convention On Refugee Status additional grounds for the loss of the refugee status in the Russian Federation shall be:

- voluntary restoration of the citizenship of the State which citizenship he/she was deprived of;

- voluntary return for permanent residence to the State where he/she feared persecution;

- impossibility to refuse the protection of the State of his/her permanent residence as the circumstances which served as a ground for his/her recognition as a refugee do not exist any more; in this case any references to purely economic reasons shall not be considered;

- possibility to return to the place of his/her permanent residence as the circumstances which served as a ground for his/her recognition as a refugee do not exist any more.

Immigrant shall be deprived of refugee status in the Russian Federation by the FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies if he/she:

- deliberately presented false evidence which served as a ground as his/her recognition as a refugee in the Russian Federation;

- committed crime on the territory of the Russian Federation.

35.

An immigrant whose refugee status in the Russian Federation forfeited or was lost for the reasons referred to in p. 34 of the present Regulations, shall be proposed to leave the territory of the Russian Federation.

In the event of his/her refusal to leave voluntarily, immigrant shall be deported beyond the borders of the Russian Federation according to the established procedure.

36.

FMS of Russia and its territorial bodies shall conduct registration and guarantee storage of the personal files of refugees.

The FMS territorial bodies shall register and conduct initial processing of statistical data and submit it within the established term to the FMS of Russia and local statistics bodies.