Immigration to UK from Russia and UK Citizen getting married in Russia

Hi all,

I have a date booked to marry my Russian Bride in Russia on 14 October 2017 - as many of you have already been through this process it would be appreciated if I could pick your brains on a few things:

Also while I am here a few comments on bits and pieces I've read on here that may possibly be useful for others reading this.

1) Previous posters have said that there is a rule that you cannot get more than two Tourist Visas for Russia in a year - this cannot be a rule as I have already received three Tourist Visas for Russia in 2017, I received three in 2016, two in 2015 and one in 2014.

2) I have also read comments that you must be in Russia for 31 days before you can get married. I cannot see that this can be true as a tourist visa is a maximum of 30 days and you can get married on a tourist visa. Plus my Fiancee has asked at her Zags on two occasions now and they have said there is no such rule and that you could in theory get married on the same day as you arrive.

Ok now for my questions that I am struggling with:

1) I have read on many websites that you need to register your visa in Russia if you stay for longer than 7 days or if you get married. Again my Fiancee has asked the Zags and they have said they do not require the Visa to be registered but I am still not sure purely because of the vast info on the internet pointing to it needing to be registered - any comments would be appreciated.

2) After doing a lot of reading it appears that there is no legal requirement to register the marriage within the UK. This is fine but obviously we need to prove that the marriage has taken place in order to apply for my Fiancee's Spouse Visa (or whatever they call it). I assume we need to get the marriage document translated to English, notarised and get an Apostille attached in Russia. Does anyone have experience of getting this done and any advice on where to get it done - my Fiancee currently lives in Sochi? I assume we should also get her international passport and birth certificate translated and notarised?

3) Further to the above, if the marriage is not registered in UK, then how will the UK Government know I am married, or does this not matter? To be honest I can't see any reason why the marriage should not be registered, I for one would prefer it be required.

4) My Fiancee also really wants to change her name to my surname - but I am worried this will further complicate things. She currently plans to change her name on her domestic passport after we marry on 14 October 2017 and her bank accounts etc... in Russia but she will leave her international passport with her maiden name as she still has three months left on her UK tourist visa so we can live together for three months after we get married and enjoy our first Christmas and new year together as a married couple. When this tourist visa expires in January 2018 she will travel back to Russia and apply for the Spouse Visa. Did anyone else have their wife change her surname and how did this affect things. in other words does it matter if when you apply for the Spouse Visa some documents are with one surname and some are with another?

Thank you in advance for any comments on the above.

Chris

I married my Belarus Wife in April 2017,as i was staying in Minsk longer than 3 Days i had to register at the Local Police Station.Belarus is a part of the Russian Federation so i should think procedures are the same.

Regarding the Passport change.no problems my Wife changed Her Surname to mine and her Passport Office did the rest very quickly.After our Wedding in April i returned to Minsk for a Holiday,and my Wife had all documents prepared for her spouse visa application,i took these back to the UK with me and sent them off to Sheffield,we are now waiting for her Visa.

Hello,

I can comment on point 1 (registration). You have to register within 7 days upon arrival to Russia. You don't register your visa but the fact of your stay at a particular address. That's why Zags said you don't have to register your visa (and they are right about this). Your fiance has to make inquiries at her local office of FMS (Federal Migration Service). When I first arrived to Russia, I posted the notification from a post office. As far as a I remember the flat owner where I stayed had to be present with me at the post office and carry with her some documents (like passport, could be also flat ownership documents but I don't remember now the exact list). The post office will cut a piece of that notification stamped and signed by the post officer which you have to carry with you and submit at the border when you leave Russia. But do please double check the requirements with the FMS. These could be different for nationals of countries that are required and not required visa to enter Russia (I am of the latter category). In case you intend to stay at a hotel, I believe they will deal with the registration themselves. And do please stay where you say you would as otherwise there are heavy penalties and possibly even a jail time for the owner of the place.

In addition to the advice you already got, here's a detailed thread about applying for spouse visa from Russia.

immigration-for-family-members/spouse-v ... 26338.html

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:39 am

I married my Belarus Wife in April 2017,as i was staying in Minsk longer than 3 Days i had to register at the Local Police Station.Belarus is a part of the Russian Federation so i should think procedures are the same.

Belarus isn't part of the Russian Federation..

Also please note the FMS has been recently liquidated as an independent authority and merged with the Police. Is she ever applies for a British passport, all her ID documents, including Russian ones, must bear the same name. She may be refused otherwise.

No wonder i failed at geography

To Russell59

It's because Russia and Belarus signed a United State Treaty. But citizens of each country remain citizens of their respective countries i.e. Russia and Belarus.

Oompa Loompa wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:44 am

Also please note the FMS has been recently liquidated as an independent authority and merged with the Police. Is she ever applies for a British passport, all her ID documents, including Russian ones, must bear the same name. She may be refused otherwise.

Yes of course - she will eventually have all documents aligned with the same name - however the issue was that they may not all have been aligned at the time of applying for the Visa. However, we have now changed things around slightly so that all documents will be changed to my Surname before we apply.

metanoia wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 9:49 am

In addition to the advice you already got, here's a detailed thread about applying for spouse visa from Russia.

immigration-for-family-members/spouse-v ... 26338.html

Thank you very much for details of this thread - I will have a good read of this. Marriage is in 6 days, I better get reading!!!

Thanks again

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:43 am

Regarding the Passport change.no problems my Wife changed Her Surname to mine and her Passport Office did the rest very quickly.After our Wedding in April i returned to Minsk for a Holiday,and my Wife had all documents prepared for her spouse visa application,i took these back to the UK with me and sent them off to Sheffield,we are now waiting for her Visa.

Hi Russell, thanks for the replies - what you described above is exactly what we are planning to do so glad I seem to be on the right track with things. Can I ask another question:

When your wife applied for the Spouse Visa - am I right in thinking they took the biometric info, took her current passport and the completed application form. Then they gave you an Application Reference number so that when you sent all the documents to Sheffield from the UK they could allocate the documents to the correct application?

Many thanks in advance

Chris

Oompa Loompa wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 8:46 am

Hello,

I can comment on point 1 (registration). You have to register within 7 days upon arrival to Russia. You don't register your visa but the fact of your stay at a particular address. That's why Zags said you don't have to register your visa (and they are right about this). Your fiance has to make inquiries at her local office of FMS (Federal Migration Service). When I first arrived to Russia, I posted the notification from a post office. As far as a I remember the flat owner where I stayed had to be present with me at the post office and carry with her some documents (like passport, could be also flat ownership documents but I don't remember now the exact list). The post office will cut a piece of that notification stamped and signed by the post officer which you have to carry with you and submit at the border when you leave Russia. But do please double check the requirements with the FMS. These could be different for nationals of countries that are required and not required visa to enter Russia (I am of the latter category). In case you intend to stay at a hotel, I believe they will deal with the registration themselves. And do please stay where you say you would as otherwise there are heavy penalties and possibly even a jail time for the owner of the place.

Hi Oompa Loompa and thank you for your contribution regarding registration.

Please note however that the act of registering that you stay at a particular address in Russia is known as "Registering your visa" - in other words they are one and the same thing. Problem is solved on this as my Fiancee actually works in a large hotel complex in Sochi - she managed to persuade her colleague who deals with registering the visas of foreign visitors to register it through the hotels system

Chris

A general update on matters which may be beneficial to others:

1) The Myth that you can only get two tourist visas to Russia in a year is 100% just that. I have in 2017 had two single entry tourist visas and two double entry tourist visas. No problems getting them whatsoever.

2) Despite what I have read on this website and elsewhere there is no need to get any documents notarised for a Spouse Visa. The only document that would need to be notarised would be a parental consent letter from an ex-spouse if you wanted/needed to bring any step-children over. Unfortunately I won't be able to provide any further information on children as they don't apply in my case. Notwithstanding what I said above; we will be notarising the documents that are translated just incase it is needed for anything else when she moves to the UK.

3) Changing the names on the International and Domestic Passports in Russia can take some time. But this is what we have learned:

a) You must change the Domestic Passport first - it is quickest if this is done at the local FMC. Should take around two weeks.

b) Once this has been changes you can then go ahead and change everything else - e.g: drivers license, bank accounts, and most importantly the International Passport.

c) To change the International Passport again it is best to go to the local FMC as this is the quickest way; although it does take around a month. Good news is that you don't need to give them the current International Passport until you collect the new one with the new surname. This is good news because if there is a UK tourist visa on the passport you can use this whilst your International Passport is being changed. For us this works out great as my Fiancee still has three months left on her UK tourist visa; so after we get married we will change her Domestic Passport, when she gets this back we will start the process of changing her name on all other documents and get an agency in Moscow to commence the process of translating and notarising all documents, and getting Apostille attached to our Marriage Certificate - then whilst we are together for three months in the UK over the Christmas period all these tasks will be completed. Then we will travel back to Moscow to apply for the Visa - then part ways whilst we wait, fingers crossed, for her Spouse Visa to be issued. I just hope we don't have to wait the full three months, or longer as some of experienced!

Hope the above is helpful and if anyone needs any help or is just starting out on their journey to get married in Russia then feel from to message me and I will be happy to help. I have already spent a lot of time reading all the requirements etc... and I know what a minefield it is.

Chris

One more thing; if anyone needs any help applying for a Russian Tourist Visa, just shout I'm happy to help and have successfully got myself many over the years without the help of the expensive agencies - all they basically do is get you to fill in a form on their website that automatically fills in the form on the VAC's website - so you may as well just fill it in yourself.

Chris

Hi Chris sorry for belated reply.After we married my wife Surrendered her Passport,and she was issued with an application code number.I returned to the UK and Posted all her Documents to Sheffield via Special Delivery and Wrote the Number on the outside of the Courier Bag.

Visa Issued to my Wife Today !!!...Hurray

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:18 pm

Visa Issued to my Wife Today !!!...Hurray

Hi Russell59
I'm married to Belarus citizen and will be applying for her settlement visa soon.
could you please guide with the application procedure. it is complicated on visa centre site which says that visa centre will scan all documents and submit electronically while you've mentioned that you sent all documents to sheffield by post from UK.

thanks

Good Morning and sorry for the belated reply.The process for application seems daunting but in reality it is fairly straightforward..there is a lot of incorrect information given out on this Site.Regarding the documentation needed for your Wifes Visa application my Wife used a reputable agency in Minsk which for a small fee,the Agency helped her prepare the application form and all neccessary documents from Her and me.I flew to Minsk for a short Holiday.In the meantime my wife,s Agency had prepared all the Documents and Application for Her,and had issued her with her visa application Number.I returned with all documents to the UK,where i posted them to the Visa Application Centre in Sheffield.I sent the Documents via Royal Mail Special Delivery and PRINTED Her Visa Application Number clearly on the outside of the pre paid Bag..i also enclosed another pre paid special delivery bag with the documents so that they were returned to me.We waited just under 3 Months for her to recieve a letter informing her that her application had been successful.Take my advice,ask you Wife to find a reputable Agency to prepare all neccessary documents and help you both to prepare her application.Go to Belarus,collect the Documents and bring them back to the UK and Post them here as the belarus postal Service is truly awful.If i can be of any further help just let me know..Kind regards

hubble14 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 08, 2017 5:45 pm

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:43 am

Regarding the Passport change.no problems my Wife changed Her Surname to mine and her Passport Office did the rest very quickly.After our Wedding in April i returned to Minsk for a Holiday,and my Wife had all documents prepared for her spouse visa application,i took these back to the UK with me and sent them off to Sheffield,we are now waiting for her Visa.

Hi Russell, thanks for the replies - what you described above is exactly what we are planning to do so glad I seem to be on the right track with things. Can I ask another question:

When your wife applied for the Spouse Visa - am I right in thinking they took the biometric info, took her current passport and the completed application form. Then they gave you an Application Reference number so that when you sent all the documents to Sheffield from the UK they could allocate the documents to the correct application?

Many thanks in advance

Chris

That is exactly what we/i did Chris,and i am Happy to say my Wife is joining me in UK on the 15th of this Month

hubble14 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 08, 2017 5:45 pm

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:43 am

Regarding the Passport change.no problems my Wife changed Her Surname to mine and her Passport Office did the rest very quickly.After our Wedding in April i returned to Minsk for a Holiday,and my Wife had all documents prepared for her spouse visa application,i took these back to the UK with me and sent them off to Sheffield,we are now waiting for her Visa.

Hi Russell, thanks for the replies - what you described above is exactly what we are planning to do so glad I seem to be on the right track with things. Can I ask another question:

When your wife applied for the Spouse Visa - am I right in thinking they took the biometric info, took her current passport and the completed application form. Then they gave you an Application Reference number so that when you sent all the documents to Sheffield from the UK they could allocate the documents to the correct application?

Many thanks in advance

Chris

That is exactly what we/i did Chris,and i am Happy to say my Wife is joining me in UK on the 15th of this Month

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:29 am

Good Morning and sorry for the belated reply.The process for application seems daunting but in reality it is fairly straightforward..there is a lot of incorrect information given out on this Site.Regarding the documentation needed for your Wifes Visa application my Wife used a reputable agency in Minsk which for a small fee,the Agency helped her prepare the application form and all neccessary documents from Her and me.I flew to Minsk for a short Holiday.In the meantime my wife,s Agency had prepared all the Documents and Application for Her,and had issued her with her visa application Number.I returned with all documents to the UK,where i posted them to the Visa Application Centre in Sheffield.I sent the Documents via Royal Mail Special Delivery and PRINTED Her Visa Application Number clearly on the outside of the pre paid Bag..i also enclosed another pre paid special delivery bag with the documents so that they were returned to me.We waited just under 3 Months for her to recieve a letter informing her that her application had been successful.Take my advice,ask you Wife to find a reputable Agency to prepare all neccessary documents and help you both to prepare her application.Go to Belarus,collect the Documents and bring them back to the UK and Post them here as the belarus postal Service is truly awful.If i can be of any further help just let me know..Kind regards

Thanks a lot Russell59 for the detailed information.
actually my wife is not from Minsk and will be difficult to find an agency in Minsk or in her city specially a reputable one. Would you mind to pass on the details of an agency which was used by you. that will help a lot.
Thanks once again

what part of Belarus is your Wife from ?

your wife can contact my wife and she will help her. xxxxxxxx

Moderator edit: contact telephone number removed under the Board Ts&Cs

Russell59 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 04, 2017 10:26 am

what part of Belarus is your Wife from ?

Thanks for reply
She is from Mogilev city. unfortunately the contact number has been deleted.
Does your wife use VK or OK?
If you could pass on that agency's name,we will contact them for assistance.

Regards