Name Prefix

I am sorry I can t reply to your question and I wish you to find it soon

Actually I would like to ask some basic questions and since you are there, seems for a while, I would be thankful if you could take the time to answer to my questions

I'm in France. I want to move to Russia and live there and work there as a french teacher and buy a flat there, ideally in st Petersburg region but others would be fine too

1. Visa: which one do you recommend for a tourist visa. I would maybe need the longest one

2. Funds: my money is in France. I wan tro move it all on Russia. How to do it? I want to buy a flat and have my money there

3. How to stay permantly without getting married and if I don't have any work visa

4. About work: if I find a job now in Russia, will I get a work visa? How to proceed?

5. Where to find job offers (to be french teacher) is there any site? Do you by any chance contacts?

Thank you!

@elhijodelaestrella

You need to go for the 3-year visas for longest stay. They allow for a 6-month stay at a time, and then you have to leave the country for 1 day and you can return and get renewed. If you know someone in the country you can go for the private visa option as well. Tourist visa requires proof of housing. Basically the hotel takes some kind of responsibility for you while you are there. Private visa says the person will take responsibility for you.

Unforntunatly there is not a good exchange system right now, since everything seems to be blocked or limited. But you can just bring cash. Up to $10,000 USD or equivalent doesnt have to be declared. If you bring more, you just need to declare it. Basically you just need to fill out a customs form and tell them how much you are bringing. Bringing money into the country is less of a problem than taking it out.

To get a work visa, you need to find an organization that is willing to sponser your work visa. They are basically taking responsibility for you while you are in the country, so not all companies are willing to do it. It depends on the job and the situation. For language learning they often are happy to have foreigners.

There are similar sites to other countries that have job listings by area. It really all depends on what kind of job you are looking for.

If you want to stay permenantly you need to apply for residency. Temp residency requires language tests, proof of health, proof of no crimnal history, and income.

Temp residency lasts 3 years but can be renewed. After that you can get perm residency. Both of these basically allow you every right a citizen has, though. You do not need a visa to get in the country. You can legally work, you can take advantage of russian healthcare as if you were a citizen. Although, you are not allowed to vote. After being a perm resident for several years you can apply for citizenship if you would like, which affords you the right to vote and claim Russian citizenship.

@elhijodelaestrella

Also, just be aware that tax on property for a foreigner is differant than for a Russian citizen. You will have to pay much higher taxes for the property if it is in your name.

@elhijodelaestrella

There are some online transferring services also.

Coincat is an example. It is typically used for crypto exchange. There is an option to transfer French to bitcoin and then to Ruble for example.

All of this is done by individuals, not by any bank or business though. I dont know about the legality honestly. I THINK it is fine. I dont know how trustworthy it is either. And large sums may be problematic since it basically requires that someone with lots of rubles by out your francs.

I cant say how well it works. It was something I looked into when I first came here, and then decided against it.

Oh man.... You made my day....

I recap cuz I think I didn't get everything:

You talked about a 3 year visa. Which kind of it it is? The tourist one?

I didn't see that visa in my researches... How to get it? Is it via e-visa?

Then, if I get that 3 year long stay, I can stay there 6 months, go away for one day and back and then I am fine living there more than 2 years and half

Can I leave the country those 3 years ? Is it a multiple entrances visa?

About money, so you say: bring cash? That's it?

If I tell you: I want to have all my money in Russia in the way to have it in a bank account and use it there as I wish, for instance buy flats

If we speak about a 100k euros... Do you think it is imaginable to bring it cash to Russia?

I speak first of all about the legal aspect: is it possible to hold 100k € on me going from FRANCE thru Estonia, stayin there one night (with 100 bucks on me) and then going to Narva, passing the border control (with my 100k on me) and then going by foot to ivangorod... Train... St Petersburg... Freedom

Then to go to a bank, open an account and put all my money

It is LEGAL (if I have all the documents)?

Now the other question is: is it something to do?

We understand that there might be the issue of safety. I can be robbed and so on .. but let's say I will do it anyway

Do you have any experience, personal or from others, who traveled with big cash amount to Russia ?

Understand I am ready to do such a thing cuz I don't know how to transfer money from France to Russia

What do you think?

Thank u so much and beer on me whenever I meet you there

@elhijodelaestrella

well I am speaking from being a US citizen. I dont know if it is offered for French citizens or not.

But yes. For me, there is a 3-year multi-entry tourist visa. As well as private visa.

It is not as common. Most people who are going to visit for vacation or to visit family only need the single entry visa. The longer options are for people with family in Russia, or for people who are traveling. Altai mountains are a common motorcycle touring region. People will travel throughout Mongolia, Kazahkstan, and Russia. And they need multi entry, longer term visas.

It is the less common option though. It took me some time to find all the right visa for me. and yes. Exactely as you describe. Stay for 6 months, leave for a day, or more, come back, stay for another 6 months, leave for a day. And the full extent lasts three years. I will say 6 months can go by quicker than you think.

In regards to money. Yes. Just bring cash. I dont really see a better option right now. 100k cash is a lot to travel with though. Perhaps you can make use of those 6 month limit on the visa, leave the country, and bring back some more back with you on your next entry. As far as I understand it, you can legally bring as much as you want, you just have to declare it. So you need to tell the Russian customs the amount that you have.

I have always traveled to Russia through airports. I cant say how safe crossing a land border would be with that kind of cash on you.

Maybe on your first visit, try with 15000 or 20000 and then open the bank account. From there you can see how the system works. And on your next visit you can take more. Its not like your francs will disappear when you leave the country. You could also open an account in Estonia if your French bank doesnt exist anywhere near Russia, and if you dont want to travel all the way back to France often.

The other option is to use online exchange services as I mentioned before. You may also be able to find someone who wants to exchange with you. For example, a russian living in france, who has a similar situation that you have. They have rubles, and want francs. But as far as I know there arent services to find people like this. Because of the political situation, there just arent many options right now.

Good luck. I have really enjoyed my time in Russia. Much safer place to live than the US city where I grew up.

Amazing comment

Thank you so much

I will keep your words really close to my mind during my trip

Огромное спасибо!