Job Discussion Forums

[Russiatobe]

I've recently run into some problems with my school (managment issues) and was wondering what my options are.. My visa expires at the end of the month and in the case they don't renew it, how much time do I have?
Do I need to leave the country right away?

[Grenouille]

You need to leave Russia before or on the last date of the expiry of your visa. That is, if your end visa date is 5 December, you must leave no later than 5 December. Unless the school has your passport, they can't cancel your visa, which means that they can't shorten your stay to end before the last date of your visa.

Hope this helps.

[Russiatobe]

Yes, that helps.. but do they have to give me some kind of notice if they don't renew my visa? Also, can I leaveand go to like Finland and come back on a tourist visa?

[Grenouille]

I don't think they have to give you any notice of anything if they don't want to renew your visa! I don't know about legally, but honestly they can do what they want without worrying too much about the consequences.

I don't know where you can go for a tourist visa, this depends on your nationality - I'm sure someone who knows more about this will turn up here with some information about visas.

[maruss]

Unless you have been barred from Russia like me(but that's another story!)tourist visas are much easier to obtain but have a major disadvantage of being of short duration-maximum one month I think?They cannot be renewed so you effectively have to leave the country by the final day of validity.
It was common practice for persons wishing to teach in Russia to buy Multiple-Entry 6 month or 12 month business visas which used to allow up to six months continuous stay in Russia until a few years ago when a 90 day maximum stay rule was introduced-at one time there was talk that re-entry would not be permitted until 90 days had passed but I gather this has not been implimented so as long as you are prepared to undergo the expense and inconvenience of crossing the border you can go out and come back in,presumably immediately,as long as your visa is still valid?
Another route is to find a job with a firm who will get you a work permit as a teacher,involving a lot of bureaucracy and tax declaration etc. thus avoiding the need for you to leave Russia more than once a year-but the downside is that you will be stuck with the same firm,(who will no doubt want their moneys worth for all their efforts!) and probably not able to transfer to work elsewhere if you find a better job offer,something also quite possible in larger cities.
I was last there in 2006 so it would be interesting to read how the visa and work permit situation is nowadays as it seems to change quite frequently.