Foreign passport — a document used by Russian citizens to travel abroad and return to the country. In Nizhny Novgorod, foreign passports are issued by migration units of the internal affairs bodies, any Moi Dokumenty ("My Documents") multifunctional center, and the public services portal.[1] Since 2016, this government service has been administered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs: the Federal Migration Service was dissolved by a presidential decree of April 5, 2016, No. 156, and its powers were transferred to the ministry.[5]

Two types of passport

A passport containing an electronic data medium — commonly called a biometric passport or a new-generation passport — is valid for ten years.[1] An old-generation passport is valid for five years.[2]

When a biometric passport application is submitted in person, a digital photograph is taken, and applicants aged twelve and over have their fingerprints scanned. If fingerprints cannot be taken at a multifunctional center, the application is submitted at a migration unit.[1]

While one passport is still valid, a second may be obtained, but only of the new generation; there can be no more than two valid passports at a time — before a new one is issued, one of the existing ones must be surrendered.[1] Applying for a passport by proxy is not provided for by law.[1]

Government fee

The fee for a biometric passport is 6,000 rubles; for a child under fourteen, it is 3,000 rubles.[1] For an old-generation passport — 2,000 rubles; for children under fourteen — 1,000 rubles.[2] No discount applies when paying through the public services portal.

Residents of the Kaliningrad Region are exempt from the fee.[1] The applicant may attach proof of payment on their own initiative — it must not be required.[1]

Where to apply in Nizhny Novgorod

Applications are accepted in three ways: at a migration unit of a territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs — at any unit of the applicant's choosing — as an electronic document through the public services portal, or at any multifunctional center.[1] If the application is submitted through a Moi Dokumenty center, the completed passport is also collected there.[1]

Migration affairs in the region are handled by the Migration Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod Region — located at 32 Yubileyny Boulevard, Nizhny Novgorod; a division responsible for organizing foreign passport issuance operates at 18 Akademician Sakharov Street.[6] District migration units operate at the city's police departments.[6] Addresses and opening hours of Nizhny Novgorod's Moi Dokumenty centers are published on the multifunctional centers portal of Nizhny Novgorod Region.[7]

An application submitted through the public services portal is accepted for review and the applicant is notified: within fifteen days of notification, the applicant must visit a migration unit for photographing, fingerprint scanning, and document verification.[1] The status of the application, regardless of how it was submitted, is visible in the applicant's personal account on the portal.[1]

Documents

Adults are required to submit one copy of the application form, a Russian passport, and — for men between eighteen and thirty years of age — a military service record showing completion of service or unfitness or limited fitness for service; military personnel must provide a command authorization in the form of an official certificate.[1] When applying through the portal, a personal photograph in electronic form must be attached.[1]

For a citizen between fourteen and eighteen years of age, or for a legally incapacitated person, the application is submitted by a legal representative: required documents include proof of the representative's authority, the passport of the person on whose behalf the application is made, and an identity document of the representative.[1] For a child under fourteen — a birth certificate indicating Russian citizenship, the representative's identity document, and, if the application is submitted by an adoptive parent, guardian, or custodian, confirmation of their authority.[1]

Changes to the romanized spelling of a surname or given name, and the declaration of a lost passport as invalid, are processed through separate applications.[1]

Processing times

If the application is submitted in the federal subject where the applicant is registered, the passport is issued within no more than one month. In all other cases, and for citizens who have had access to information classified as of special importance or top secret, the period is no more than three months.[1]

When documents are presented confirming the need for emergency medical treatment or the serious illness or death of a close relative requiring urgent travel, the processing time shall not exceed three working days from the date the application is submitted.[1]

Children under fourteen: the 2026 rule

From January 20, 2026, birth certificates were removed from the list of documents allowing children under fourteen to travel from Russia to Abkhazia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and South Ossetia; children now require their own foreign passport.[3] Re-entry using a birth certificate after that date is only possible for those who had already traveled on one before the change.[3] At the same time, the issuance by consulates of those countries of a return certificate in lieu of a birth certificate was also discontinued.[3]

A temporary exemption was subsequently introduced for two destinations: on June 24, 2026, it became known that children under fourteen were once again permitted to cross the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia using a birth certificate — until the end of 2027.[4]

See also

Sources

  1. consultant.ru — ConsultantPlus, "ABC of Law" (current as of January 12, 2026) — How to obtain a foreign passport containing an electronic data medium (archive)
  2. consultant.ru — ConsultantPlus — Government fee for an old-generation foreign passport (archive)
  3. consultant.ru — ConsultantPlus, "Hot Documents" — Information from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated September 19, 2025, on the removal of birth certificates from documents permitting border crossing (archive)
  4. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Kommersant, June 24, 2026 — Children under 14 permitted to enter Abkhazia without a foreign passport
  5. garant.ru — GARANT.RU, April 6, 2016 — The Federal Migration Service and the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia dissolved (archive)
  6. mvdnn.ru — Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate for Nizhny Novgorod — Contacts of migration units (archive)
  7. umfc-no.ru — Multifunctional Centers Portal of Nizhny Novgorod Region — MFC divisions: addresses, appointment booking, case status check (archive)