The Decree 702 Document Checklist: Russia's Shared-Values Residence in 2026

Aleksandr Sharnin

CTO, Relocate Russia · July 19, 2026 · 4 min read

Decree 702 removed the two hardest barriers to living in Russia — the quota and the exam. What it did not remove is paperwork. For most families the permit is not refused; it is delayed, because one certificate was translated before it was apostilled, or a medical result expired while another document was still in the post. This checklist is built to prevent exactly that.

It is written with families from Germany and the rest of Europe in mind, because that is where most shared-values applicants come from — but the document logic is the same wherever your country sits on the list. Start here and the process becomes a sequence of errands rather than a guessing game.

Who qualifies — and what «shared values» means in practice

The route is for foreigners who declare that they share Russia's traditional spiritual and moral values and who hold the citizenship of a country on the official list. In practice the list covers the states whose current policies Russia considers opposed to those values — which is why most of Europe, Germany included, and North America are on it.

You do not sit an exam or prove language ability, and you are not competing for a regional quota. What you do provide is a clean, complete document file. Latin American and several other countries are generally not on the list, so the very first thing to check — before you spend on anything — is whether your nationality qualifies this year.

The core document checklist

• A completed RVP application in the established form, usually in two copies.
• Your national passport, valid well beyond the application, plus a notarized and apostilled Russian translation of it.
• Recent passport-style photographs in the required size and number.
• Medical certificates confirming you are free of HIV, drug addiction and certain dangerous infectious diseases — from an approved clinic and valid only for a limited window.
• Biometrics — fingerprinting, done at a migration centre or an MVD office.
• Civil-status documents where relevant — marriage certificate, children's birth certificates — each apostilled and translated.
• Your migration card and arrival notification, confirming legal entry and registration in Russia.

Apostille and translation: the step that trips everyone up

Every foreign public document — your passport, marriage and birth certificates — has to be legalised before Russia will accept it. For countries in the Hague Convention, which includes Germany and most of Europe, that means a single apostille stamp, obtained at home from the authority that issued or oversees the document.

The order matters, and it is where weeks are lost: apostille the document in your home country first, then have it translated into Russian and the translation notarized in Russia. Translate first and apostille later, and you usually pay for the translation twice. Do the apostilles before you fly.

The right order of operations

Sequence beats speed. This order keeps documents valid and avoids repeat work:

1. 1

   Confirm your country is on the current list and gather your civil-status certificates at home.

2. 2

   Apostille every foreign document while you are still in your home country.

3. 3

   Enter Russia, fill in your migration card, and complete arrival registration on time.

4. 4

   Have each apostilled document translated into Russian and the translation notarized locally.

5. 5

   Complete the medical examination and fingerprinting at approved centres — leave these near the end, since the medicals expire.

6. 6

   Submit the full file, pay the state fee, and keep your copy of every receipt and appointment.

Timeline, costs and common pitfalls

From a complete file, a decision usually takes up to four months, and the state fee is small — around 1,920 ₽ in 2025. Most delays are self-inflicted; these are the ones we see most:

• Translating documents before apostilling them — the translation then has to be redone.
• Letting a medical certificate expire while waiting for another document; do the medicals last.
• Missing the arrival-registration deadline after entry, which can stall the whole application.
• Assuming every nationality qualifies — check the current country list before you spend on apostilles.

The bottom line

Decree 702 makes the decision to move easy; the documents are the only real work, and they reward order over speed. Apostille at home, translate in Russia, do the medicals last, and keep every receipt. If you would rather hand the checklist to someone who prepares these files every week, that is exactly what our shared-values relocation support is for.