STUDENT VISA OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Student visa to the Russian Federation is issued only to foreign citizens, who come to Russia to take part in academic mobility programmes or to get education (full-time or part time mode of study, language courses or training).

This type of visa is available to you only, if you applied to a Russian higher education institution and were accepted to study there. In that case, you will need to provide the university with your documents and the Department of Migration and Visa Support of Penza State University will take care of all the formalities.

The validity period of the student visa is limited, but it is extended repeatedly depending on how long you will study at the university. This means that having received an invitation you may apply for and get a one-entry student visa that will be prolonged for the whole period of your studies upon your arrival.

INVITATION AND VISA APPLICATION

Penza State University begins the procedure of official invitation processing after admission is over and you have been accepted to study at the university. The university will be able to start the visa invitation process only on receiving a complete application with all required documents attached.

According to the migration regulations of the Russian Federation, higher education institutions have to apply for invitations from migration offices that issue these documents on special forms. Please keep in mind that this process takes at least one month.

Once your visa invitation is ready, you will be notified via e-mail. The e-mail will include an e-version of your visa invitation. In order to minimize financial risks we advise you not to purchase your travel tickets to the Russian Federation until you receive the confirmation that your visa invitation is ready.

Once you have received the e-version of your visa invitation, you must apply for an entrance student visa through the Embassy or Consulate of the Russian Federation in your country. The embassy or consulate will advise you on what documents you need to enclose in your visa application and when your visa will be ready. You are recommended to turn to the nearest Russian embassy or consulate for exact information on these matters.

MIGRATION CARD

According to the visa regulations of the Russian Federation all foreign citizens must fill in a migration card, which will be given to them as they cross the Russian border.

You must indicate your personal data, duration of stay in the Russian Federation, purpose of your visit (education) and the prospective place of residence in the migration card. You must fill in the name of the host organization and the address of the host organization. Please make sure that upon arriving in the Russian Federation, you have the full name and address of the organization that issued your visa invitation. This information is given on your visa support documents, so please copy it for further use.

The migration card consists of two identical sections. The first section is immediately collected by the passport and visa control officials as you enter the country. The second section of the card is collected when the person leaves the country to return home.

We pay particular attention to the fact that foreign citizens and stateless persons arriving in the Russian Federation to enter and study at Penza State University must strictly abide by the migration regulations of the Russian Federation. The rules of applying for migration registration and filing registration documents are given here.

The Department of Migration and Visa Support is responsible for ensuring the observation of visa and migration requirements by arriving international students (37 Lermontova Street, building 11, office 356, tel.: +7 (8412) 20-28-96, e-mail: visaoffice@pnzgu.ru).