Package of documents
Only those foreigners who live and work in Russia legally can submit documents for obtaining a driver’s license. This fact can be confirmed by:
- foreign passport and residence permit with a mark of completed registration;
- a passport of your country with a mark on a temporary residence permit - relevant for those foreign citizens who do not plan to stay in Russia forever;
- a certificate of assignment of refugee status or a certificate of consideration of the application, if the certificate has not yet been issued;
- a document confirming receipt of temporary asylum in Russia;
- an existing foreign civil passport, migration card and notification of arrival - this package is provided by those who arrived in the Russian Federation without a visa.
In addition to a document confirming the legality of a foreigner’s stay in Russia, to obtain a driver’s license you must also submit to the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate: documents confirming training at a Russian driving school, a medical certificate of the established form, photographs, and an application. There are no special conditions for foreign citizens taking the exams. Registration of rights for them proceeds according to the standard scheme.
Is it possible to register a car as a citizen of the CIS.
Of course you can, but with some nuances, because...
First of all, I want to emphasize that a foreign citizen can independently register a car with the traffic police. However, the procedure has some peculiarities.
Documents required for a foreigner to register a car:
Statement.
Passport of a foreign citizen. Instead of a passport, another document may be provided that is recognized as an identity document. I note that different agreements have been concluded with different countries, therefore the lists of identity documents differ.
A document confirming registration at the place of residence or place of stay.
Power of attorney if the owner’s representative contacts the traffic police.
Vehicle passport - PTS.
Vehicle registration certificate.
Car purchase and sale agreement.
MTPL insurance policy (the original policy is provided by the driver upon request, but insurance must be issued in any case).
Number plates (state registration plates) of the vehicle, if issued.
After all the necessary documents have been collected, the foreigner must contact the traffic police department to register the vehicle. In this case, you can contact any registration department in Russia:
24.5. Registration actions are carried out by any registration unit of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Russian Federation, regardless of the place of residence and (or) registration at the place of residence of an individual or the place of registration and (or) location of a legal entity or its separate division.
Vehicle registration period limitation
Please note that cars owned by foreign citizens are registered with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate for a limited period:
For the duration of stay - if there is notification of the foreign citizen’s arrival at the place of stay.
For the duration of the temporary residence permit - if such a permit is available.
For the duration of the residence permit - if you have a residence permit.
If the above period comes to an end, then the foreigner must first renew his own registration on the territory of the Russian Federation, and then apply again to the traffic police to register the car for a new period. In this case, the registration procedure must be completed again. So if your period of stay/residence is coming to an end, I recommend that you first extend it, and only then buy and register a car.
The main features of purchasing and registering a car by a foreign citizen were discussed above. You can find additional information on this issue in the article “Registering a car with the traffic police.”
Good luck on the roads!
Process of obtaining a driver's license
To become a holder of a license to drive a car without any problems, a foreigner must first of all obtain a medical certificate in form No. 003-B/u. It can be obtained at a local clinic or at any accredited private medical institution where the relevant service is provided. In the second case, a certificate for your license will cost more, but you will be able to get through all the doctors faster. The traffic police department usually provides a list of clinics where you can undergo a medical examination. The certificate records the opinions of several doctors, including a neuropsychiatrist and a narcologist. There is no way to skip this step; obtaining a license without a medical certificate is impossible.
When collecting documents for submission to the traffic police, you must pay a state fee. It is better to find out the exact amount and payment procedure from the State Traffic Inspectorate itself, since changes are regularly made to the Tax Code. Driving licenses are issued only on the basis of successfully passing exams - theoretical and practical. You can take the tests in any department, and you must first sign up for them. It is worth noting that only those who have successfully completed training at a licensed driving school are allowed to take the exams. It does not matter whether foreign rights are replaced by Russian ones or whether the certificate is issued from scratch.
The theoretical exam is carried out either on a computer in the form of testing, or orally. The practical test is taken in the city or at a training track. As a result of passing the tests, a foreign citizen receives a certificate of a certain category. If he lives on the territory of Russia, then the validity of the rights is limited to the permissible period of his stay in the country. If it is permanent, then the document is issued for 10 years.
How can a person with a residence permit transport a car?
Let's assume that before moving to the Russian Federation you already had a car. You also drove it in Russia, having a RVP. You may have even encountered the procedure for duty-free temporary import of a car for personal use for up to 1 year. But what to do after you have received a residence permit and the period of your temporary import has expired? Is it possible to apply for it again with a residence permit?
The rules for importing vehicles into the territory of the Russian Federation are regulated by the Customs Code of the Customs Union. According to this law, only foreign citizens who are not nationals of countries belonging to the EAEU have the right to duty-free temporary import for a period of up to a year. Persons of a member state of the Customs Union (CU) do not have this right.
Customs Code of the EAEU
How to replace or obtain a driver's license with a residence permit
However, the thing is that a person of a CU member state is considered to be an individual who has permanent residence in a CU member state. That is, having received a residence permit, you automatically become one, even if you came to Russia, say, from Latvia.
Lawyers often see a contradiction here, but the practice of the customs service shows that so far persons with a residence permit are treated in exactly this way. This means that duty-free temporary import is not available for persons with a residence permit.
If you have a residence permit, the car will have to be cleared through customs . This procedure is not easy and can be very expensive. Fortunately, foreigners with a residence permit can avoid paying state fees . However, for this to happen several conditions must be met:
The right to preferential import must be confirmed with documents indicating that you are actually moving to the Russian Federation for permanent residence. Such documents mean:
Certificates of departure and deregistration in the country of origin are also suitable. A more detailed list of such documents can be found here on the website of the Federal Customs Service.
If you have a residence permit, the car must be cleared through customs
What difficulties may arise
Difficulties in obtaining rights for foreigners may be the same as for Russians. Often they relate to the preparation of a medical certificate. In order not to waste time in line at the local clinic, it makes sense to contact a private institution. The only drawback is the relatively high price.
If it was possible to obtain a driver’s license with a limited validity period (less than 10 years), but the temporary registration is extended for some reason, the foreign citizen has grounds for extending the license. To do this, you must submit a corresponding application to the traffic police.
Procedure for registering a vehicle
The rules for registering a car have been significantly simplified. Currently the following procedure has been established.
It is possible to register a car using temporary registration at any traffic police department. It does not matter whether a citizen lives in this region or not.
Where to go
To obtain a temporary registration of a car at your place of residence, you need to go to the traffic police. You will also be given a form to fill out here. Individuals can register a car in any department. In this case, the address and type of registration do not matter.
Temporary registration of a car with the traffic police is not allowed through the Multifunctional Center or State Services. This is due to the fact that an inspection of the car by an inspector is mandatory. But these methods allow you to make an appointment so that you don’t have to wait in line, but show up at the appointed time.
Required documents
When registering a vehicle, the following is required:
If the owner does not have the opportunity to be personally present during registration, he entrusts this to a representative. The latter acts on the basis of a power of attorney obtained by a notary.
Registration deadlines
The car must be registered within 10 days from the date of purchase. Direct registration is carried out at the time of application, if all documents are in order.
Price
The standard state duty is 2850 rubles. The amount includes 2000 rubles. for issuing numbers, 350 rubles. – for making an entry in the PTS and 500 rubles. for issuing a new certificate for the car. If the deadlines are violated, a fine of 1500-2000 rubles is established.
What to do if you have foreign rights
The use of foreign licenses on Russian territory is allowed only if they comply with the requirements of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Another option is if they are accompanied by a notarized translation into Russian. They need to be replaced if the plans include labor, entrepreneurial or other activities that involve generating income. The procedure for obtaining rights in exchange for foreign ones is practically no different from the process of the initial registration of the document:
- collection of the established package of documents;
- payment of state duty;
- passing theoretical and practical exams at the traffic police;
- obtaining rights.
If several categories are open in a foreign certificate, tests are carried out in accordance with the requirements for the highest of them. All those below are transferred to the new rights automatically. At the same time, no one is obligated to undergo tests for the highest category.
Citizens of those countries that were previously part of the CIS are also required to replace foreign rights. In case of neglect of the requirements of the Law, the violator is subject to a considerable fine. The same applies to the official responsible for hiring a person with a foreign certificate.
