Medical checkup & fingerprinting in Russia:  important reminders

Q: I entered Russia before 29 December 2021 and has been staying ever since.

  • What is the deadline for me to pass the initial medical checkup and fingerprinting? 

  • What happens if I exit Russia before the deadline? 

A: You have to pass these procedures and present medical certificates to an immigration office until 9 January 2023 included.

Should you exit Russia before this deadline you do not need to pass these procedures until you return. In this case, upon your next arrival in Russia either for work purposes or for a period exceeding 90 days, you will need to pass these procedures and present medical certificates to immigration authorities under regular rules – within 30 or 90 days from arrival respectively.


Q: I am HQS employee. One year from my previous checkup is about to expire. 

  • What is the deadline for me to pass the next medical checkup?

  • What about my family members? 

A: In case you are staying in Russia all time, you do not need to pass repeated medical checkups on the yearly basis. HQS employees must pass a repeated medical checkup upon their work permit renewal – within 30 days from the authorities’ approval of their renewal application.

On the contrary, HQS employees who occasionally travel abroad, should they enter Russia after 1 year has passed from their previous checkup, will have to pass a new medical checkup under the same rules as they did initially – within 30 days from arrival with work purposes.

HQS dependents - see questions below. 


Q: I am dependent or non-HQS. I am staying in Russia. One year from my previous checkup is about to expire. 

  • What is the deadline for me to pass the next medical checkup?

  • What happens if I exit Russia before the deadline?

A: You have to pass the repeated checkup and present medical certificates to an immigration office within 30 days after 1 year from your previous checkup has passed.

Should you exit Russia before this deadline you do not need to pass a new checkup until you return. In this case, upon your next arrival in Russia either for work purposes or for a period exceeding 90 days, you will need to pass a new medical checkup and present medical certificates to immigration authorities under the regular rules – within 30 or 90 days from arrival respectively. 


Q: I am staying outside Russia. One year from my previous checkup is about to expire.

  • Do I have to return to Russia to complete my next medical checkup?
  • What is the deadline for me to complete it?
A: No, you do not have to return Russia just to pass the repeated checkup. Upon your next planned arrival in Russia either for work purposes or for a period exceeding 90 days you will need to pass a new medical checkup and present medical certificates to immigration authorities under the regular rules – within 30 or 90 days from arrival respectively. In case the consecutive period of stay does not exceed 30 or 90 days, you are free not to pass the new checkup. 


Intermark comments:

  • The amendments to the legislation which make HQS employees exempted from repeated medical checkups for 3 years do not apply to a situation where an HQS enters Russia after 1 year has passed from their previous checkup. They also disregard the possibility that HQS work permits may be issued for less than 3 years. 

  • Hence, the necessity to pass a repeated medical checkup for HQS may occur much earlier in practice.

  • During the HQS work permit renewal process, it is prudent to pass the repeated medical checkup only after the approval of the renewal application is confirmed. In case an employee holds valid medical certificates at the time of the renewal process, the possibility to present them without passing a new checkup should be double-checked with the authority issuing the work permit. 
  • We recommend calculating 1 year from the previous checkup from the earliest date of examination/release of conclusion specified in the issued medical certificates. The validity period of a specific certificate (if specified) does not affect the calculation of checkups’ deadlines.

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