Month: September 2024

Juralink’s customs lawyers have recently registered the increase of queries relating to the disputes with Russian customs on non-declaration of goods.

Indeed, individuals when crossing the Russian border, although not pursuing commercial interests, often are not concerned about the rules for declaring the accompanying items, assuming that goods intended for personal use purchased by themselves or received as a gift are not subject to customs control and duties.

However, this is not always the case.

First comes the stress experienced by the person, who undergoes the customs scrutiny and is often confronted with immediate confiscation of their favorite jewelry or watches for a customs expertise. Hereafter, receipt of official notice on administrative investigation and impending penalties or even criminal liability. All this can be avoided if you inform yourself on declaration requirements when entering Russia beforehand.

Below you can find a simplified categorization of goods when imported into Russia:

If you import a precious watch for further sale in Russia a customs duty of 7 to 12% is charged upon import, depending on the product type, and VAT.

Personal jewelry newly bought when enjoying a shopping day during the holiday can be imported duty-free up to the value of 10.000 euro if traveling by plane, where a customs duty of 30% of purchase price would become applicable above the specified threshold.

Used personal belongings are generally imported duty-free.

It is the customs officer in place to decide whether he/she acknowledge the imported goods as commercial or personal. In doing so the officer would take into account:

1. the person’s declaration;
2. the nature and quantity of goods;
3. the frequency of a person crossing the border and (or) the movement of goods across the customs border by this person or to him.

If your personal belongings are subject to duty, they must be declared upon import and you should cross the customs border using the red channel at all times. Please, make sure you also have the documents confirming the value of the imported goods (receipt, payment checks, etc.) with you. In the absence of the evidencing documents, the customs authority determines the value of the imported items on their own.

The export of personal goods from Russia is not subject to any duties or taxes. However, in some cases it is still worth looking into the “red corridor” and filing a declaration to make sure you won’t face any problems when coming back with the same things.

Be aware that failure to declare your jewelry when exceeding the duty-free limit is punishable by an administrative fine ranging from 50% to 200% of the value of the imported and not-declared items and may also lead to the confiscation of such personal goods. At the same time non-declaring of goods (jewelry, watches, jewels) in case their value exceeds 1,000,000 RUR (approx. 10,000 EUR) may also result in criminal liability for smugglers punishable by a fine in the amount of up to 1,000,000 RUR or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for up to five years, or by imprisonment for the same term.

Taking into consideration the above legal consequences, we recommend to promptly seek for a competent legal advise and a customs lawyer to represent your interests in the event you were stopped at the green channel and are now being confronted with a customs investigation for non-declaring of accompanying goods. Professional support is valuable not only to decrease the tension in the negotiations with the authority, but also to secure you from swindlers trying to use the situation, as well as brings practical positive results such as reduction of the customs penalties up to overall dismissal of the customs investigation and receiving back your valuable belongings.

Juralink customs experts would be glad to provide you with any further advise regarding dealings with Russian customs authorities. Do not hesitate to contact us via our contact form or on the phone.

Foreign citizens have recently got more options for acquiring Russian citizenship and residence permits in accordance with several legal acts introduced in August 2024:

• Federal Law No. 253-FZ dd. August 8, 2024 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (hereinafter the “ FL No. 253”),

• President Decree No. 702 dd. August 19, 2024 “On Providing humanitarian support to persons sharing traditional spiritual and moral values of Russian” (hereinafter “Decree No. 702”).

Russian compatriots living abroad

First option is applicable for “compatriots living abroad”, who can now obtain a permanent residence permit in a simplified way, bypassing the need to obtain a temporary residence permit. To make use of this option a potential repatriate shall officially participate in the “State Program on assistance to the voluntary resettlement to the Russian Federation of compatriots living abroad”, or obtain the status of a family member of a participant of the said State Program.

An application for a Russian residence permit can be submitted abroad to the diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation in the country, where the application for participation in the State Program was earlier submitted to. Residence permit is issued only upon the foreign citizen undergoes the mandatory state fingerprint registration and photographing, as well as submits results of a medical examination. The changes will take effect on November 6, 2024.

Note, following foreign citizens can be acknowledged as compatriots living abroad:

Persons and their descendants residing outside the territory of the Russian Federation and belonging, as a rule, to the peoples historically residing in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as persons who have made a free choice in favor of spiritual, cultural and legal ties with the Russian Federation, whose relatives in the direct ascending line previously resided in the territory of the Russian Federation, including:

• persons who were citizens of the USSR, residing in states that were part of the USSR, who received citizenship of these states or became stateless persons;
• people (emigrants) from the Russian state, the Russian Republic, the RSFSR, the USSR and the Russian Federation who had the appropriate citizenship and became citizens of a foreign state or stateless persons.

Foreigners who share traditional Russian values

A second simplified option newly implemented by the Decree No. 702 introduced a separate ground for acquisition of a temporary Russian residence permit for those foreign citizens, who share “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values and oppose the destructive neoliberal ideological agenda” in their home country.  Such persons can now apply for a temporary residence permit without an established foreigners quota, proof of Russian language proficiency or knowledge of Russian history and the country’s laws.

The list of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values provided for by the President Decree No. 809 dd. November 9, 2022 includes: life, dignity, human rights and freedoms, patriotism, civic consciousness, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate, high moral ideals, strong family, the priority of the spiritual over the material, humanism, mercy, justice, collectivism, mutual assistance and mutual respect, historical memory and the intergenerational continuity, the unity of the peoples of Russia.

To arrive in the country, foreign citizens will be able to obtain single-entry ordinary private visas for 3 months.

The Decree No. 702 comes into force on September 1, 2024. Still the list of foreign states implementing policies that impose destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values is yet to be approved by the Russian Government as per the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hereto until the implementation of the detailed regulatory base and official explanations the obtainment process of such simplified temporary residence permit will not become workable.

Personal interview

Contrary to the above some immigration restrictions also become due upon the Government Decree No. 1087 tightening the conditions of entry into the Russian Federation, which appeared on August 15, 2024. In accordance with the updated regulation, visa applicants will have to undergo a personal interview to verify the purpose of the trip and the conditions of stay in the Russian Federation.

Whenever you are seeking support regarding immigration opportunities to Russia, our professional lawyers will be glad to guide you through this sophisticated process, explain and settle all kinds of documentation for obtainment of residence permits, business visas, student visas, Russian citizenship or even opening your own business or start-up in Russia.