I. Arrival to St.Petersburg

Dear international students!
We would like to make your stay in St. Petersburg easy and comfortable and want to help you to avoid any problems connected with the existing visa/registration rules and regulations. Please read this information carefully and follow these rules. In case you have any questions, please contact Visa department or International Student office.

1. A foreign student must be registered within the first 3 days after arrival. All students must appear at the conservatory's visa department on the day of arrival or on the next day before noon (12.00 p.m.) to submit documents and make payments at Sberbank. On the third day the documents must be submitted to St. Petersburg Migration Office. In case of violation of this rule a student is liable to pay penalty of 5000 rubles (170 USD or 120 Euro).

The visa department is located on the first floor. Telephone: +7 (812) 312 57 73.
Office hours: 11.00 a.m. – 01.00 p.m., 02.00 p.m. - 04.00 p.m.
Director of the Office : Larisa Leonidovna Budagova

The documents to be submitted to the visa department are:
- passport (to expire no earlier than 1,5 years after arrival to Russia)
- migration card (obtained upon arrival at the airport)
- student visa (in the passport)
- 10 photos (3 cm x 4 cm), 2 of them must be black and white and matte
- medical insurance valid in St.Petersburg
It is possible to have a medical insurance through the Conservatory – at the International Student Office.
For medical department also required: Chest X-ray, AIDS test, vaccination certificates (for diphtheria, measles, mumps, tuberculosis, malaria)
Medical department: 3 floor, office No 34, open from 10 am to 4 pm, doctor: Olga Vladimirovna Pankova.

In case any of these documents is missing the student cannot be registered according to the Laws for foreign students’ accommodation in Russia.

2. Within two days a student also must
- receive and pay registration bill at Sberbank. Bring the receipt to the visa departmen on the same day.
- receive and pay a multiple - entry visa bill at Sberbank. Bring the receipt to the visa department. (Multiple-entry visa is ready one month after you applied at the visa department.)
- receive and pay at Sberbank official invitation bill
- take an audition and/or sign study contract at the International Student Office
- pay tuition fees within two weeks after the start of the studies

Within three days after you arrival at the visa department an applicant/ a student will receive a hard copy of arrival notification form – a document that confirms an applicant’s/ student’s legal registration in the Russian Federation.

3. An applicant must take entrance examinations in specialty and Russian language within a few days upon arrival. Preparatory department participants and Special training course participants must take an examination in specialty only.
In case of successful passing entrance examinations an applicant can sign a tuition contract.
In case the entrance examinations are not successful, the contract cannot be made. The applicant must leave Russia within 10 days.
Tuition fee is to be paid within 14 days beginning from the effective date of the contract. For each day of delay fine is applied. The minimum amount to be paid equals the cost of one semester. Once the tuition payment is effected the Student is provided with a student card.
Library cards are available at the reading room (second floor). A photo is required.

A foreign citizen changing residency in Russia should notify the visa department about his/her new address within 2 days.
If a foreign citizen loses his/her passport, migration card or arrival notification form, he/she should:
- immediately report this to the nearest police department (“militsia”),
- obtain a certificate from the police (“militsia”) stating the loss of documents,
- report to the conservatory’s visa department for further instructions,
- report to your Consulate and request a new passport.

Foreign citizens violating criminal, administrative or other laws of the Russian Federation bear the same responsibility as the Russian citizens.
Penalties for violating the Regulations for stay in Russia may include:
- a fine in the amount from 2000 to 5000 rubles,
- administrative expulsion from Russia,
- deportation from Russia.