General information about permanent residence permit

• A permanent residence permit may be issued for five years, but until a date no later than the expiration date of the foreign national’s passport (permanent residence cannot be granted for a period exceeding the passport validity) 

• Unlike a temporary residence permit, a permanent residence permit is issued on a separate standard form (a separate document is issued to the holder), and therefore, one must carry two documents when crossing the Russian border: a passport and a permanent residence permit 

• The maximum period of time during which the Russian Federal Migration Service must decide on issuing a permanent residence permit or rejecting the application is six month under the current law. The time limit applies specifically to the duration of the “decision-making process.” The permanent residence permit itself may be printed on the standard form and issued to the applicant at a later date 

• A permanent residence permit can be extended an unlimited number of times, with each extension for five years (but not beyond the expiration date of the holder’s passport, so please note your passport’s expiration date) 

• After being granted Russian permanent residence, a foreign national is entitled to apply for Russian citizenship. If there are any grounds for simplified processing of the Russian citizenship application, documents may be submitted immediately after obtaining a permanent residence permit and receiving registration at one’s residential address. If citizenship is granted on standard terms, the permanent residence permit holder has to live in Russia from an additional one to five years (depending on the grounds for the citizenship application)