I. Arrival to St.Petersburg

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.

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)
- medical insurance valid in St.Petersburg
It is possible to have a medical insurance at the Conservatory – at the International Student Office.
For medical department also required: Chest X-ray, health certificate, vaccination certificates (in Russian or in English only)
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.

2. Within two days a student also must
- receive and pay registration bill at Sberbank, submit the receipt to the visa department on the same day
- receive and pay at Sberbank official invitation bill and submit the receipt to the International Student Office.
- 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 your 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 an examination in specialty (audition) within a 5-7 days upon arrival. An applicant is auditioned by board of professors of the specialty. Enlisting depends on the results of the audition and the skill displayed.
In case of successful audition an applicant can sign a tuition contract.
In case the audition is not successful, 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.
Students arriving for the tuition period exceeding 1 month must obtain medical insurance, or submit their own insurance valid in St. Petersburg.
Library cards are available at the reading room (second floor). A photo is required.

II. Traveling within and outside Russia

When you decide to leave St.Petersburg for some period, you have to:
- inform your teachers, International Student Office and Visa Office on the dates of the trip a few days before
- check, if you have paid your tuition fees and returned books and scores to the libraries
- if you travel within Russia for more than three days, ask at the International Student Office for a certificate («ходатайство»); it takes two days to have it ready.

- come to the visa department on the day of your arrival to St.Petersburg or on the next day before noon (12 p.m.). EACH TIME you come back to Russia, you must have your new migration card registered.

III. Departure after the end of the course during the academic year

Termination of the contract:
Fours weeks before termination of your contract, please inform International Student Office and visa department about the date of your departure and submit a copy of your ticket.
Cancellation of the contract:
In case you decide to cancel your contract, inform International Student Office and visa department about cancellation of the contract no later than four weeks before the date of your planned departure and consult about the date of your departure.
To leave Russia you need an exit visa; visa department needs at least four weeks to get it ready.
- buy a ticket and submit a copy to the visa department
- check that you have paid your tuition fees and returned books to the libraries
- take an application for getting an exit visa at the International Student Office, have it signed at the dormitory, libraries, doctor, financial office, International Student Office and visa department and return to the International Student Office

Please note, that visa department needs four weeks to have your registration extended and your next multiple entry visa ready. Please ask for your new multiple entry visa four weeks before your present multiple entry visa expires.
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,
- obtain a certificate from the police 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 Russian citizens.