No changes expected for UK nationals in Russia following Brexit
Russian authorities confirm there will be no changes to the rights of the British nationals in Russia after Brexit.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially confirmed that they are not expecting any changes to the rights and privileges accessible to the British nationals visiting or residing in the Russian Federation after the UK will have left the EU.
The cooperation between Russia and the UK in the area of internal affairs is governed by the UN and the Council of Europe conventions and protocols, which will remain in force after Brexit.
The Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the EU and Russia does not cover the UK. No bilateral UK-Russia agreement on simplified issuance of visas is currently in place. Entry, exit, stay and movement of the British nationals within Russia will still be governed by Russian national law.
Russian Federal Law 115-FZ of 25 July 2002 ‘On legal status of foreign nationals in the Russian Federation’ currently governs rights of foreign nationals in Russia. Article 4 sets that in Russia foreign nationals have broadly the same rights and responsibilities as Russian nationals, except for the cases specifically covered by Russian federal law.
Rights for provision of medical assistance to foreign nationals endorsed by the Russian Governmental Decree N186 of 6 March 2013 provide that emergency medical service in case of acute diseases and conditions and exacerbation of chronic diseases presenting a threat to patient’s life is provided to foreign nationals free of charge.
Article 78 of the Federal law 273- FZ ‘On education in the Russian Federation’ governs access to educational services provided by Russian institutions to foreign nationals in Russia, granting free access to pre-school, primary general, basic general, secondary general education and professional training for manual and office workers within the framework of secondary general education curriculum.