5 questions about QR codes for foreigners in Russia

“They can have lunches in hotels without any problems”

The deterioration of the epidemic situation and the anti-Covid-19 measures have created their own difficulties for foreign citizens arriving in the country as a whole and in Tatarstan in particular. Many of them are interested in whether they will have the opportunity to visit public places and under what conditions.

“I am having guests coming from Europe. In this connection, a question for all restaurateurs. They have a qr-code from Pfizer and there is a piece of paper (without a qr-code) about vaccination by Sputnik. There is no qr code for Sputnik, because they are not citizens of Russia. I was told in several restaurants that they would not let me in, because it was Sputnik code that I needed. The question: how to feed foreigners in Kazan with such papers? Will I be allowed to use the Pfizer's qr code?" resident of Kazan Yekaterina Petrova asks the question in social networks.”

She was advised to contact Rospotrebnadzor, and at the same time, they added that in hotels where tourists live, such guests will be fed without problems.

The editorial board of Realnoe Vremya has analysed the most common questions that foreign citizens have during their stay in Russia under anti-Covid-19 restrictions.

The Ministry of Healthcare of Tatarstan, in response to the request from our publication about the“qrisation” of foreign citizens, reported that there are no regional specifics in this matter, since the procedure for vaccination of foreigners is determined by the federal centre. Answering the above question regarding the visiting guests, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan noted: if the guests were vaccinated with Sputnik Lite, they should create an account on the public services portal.

1. How can a foreigner get a QR code about vaccination that will be valid in Russia?
   
   According to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan, in some cases, a certificate can be obtained on the portal of public services of the Russian Federation after vaccination. Now foreigners in Russia are vaccinated with the Sputnik Lite vaccine — depending on the region, at their own expense or at the expense of the employer.
   
   The стопкоронавирус.рф website states that foreign citizens in Russia must submit a negative PCR test to visit public places and mass events. To get a certificate of vaccination in Russia, you will have to get vaccinated, and in case of coronavirus disease in our country, you will have to consult a doctor for official confirmation of the diagnosis. The presence of antibodies will not be a confirmation of the previous coronavirus infection for obtaining a certificate, however, as well as for Russian citizens.
   
   At the same time, only those foreigners who have a residence permit or a temporary residence permit in Russia can receive the QR code of a person who has been vaccinated or has had a coronavirus. To get the code, you need to have a confirmed entry on the public services portal. It is issued to foreigners who have SNILS. In a Russian medical institution, a foreigner can be issued a paper certificate that confirms the vaccination or the previous coronavirus infection. Not all regions accept such document to enter public places. In Tatarstan, for example, they require everyone to present only QR codes from the Public Services. As a result, foreign tourists, even if they are vaccinated in Russia with a vaccine registered in our country, will still not have the opportunity to get a QR code.
   
   Foreign vaccines are not approved in Russia, which means that formally certificates of vaccination with foreign drugs will not work. However, in some establishments they turn a blind eye to this and accept such documents, the tourists themselves report.
   
   
2. Where and under what conditions can foreign citizens be vaccinated in Tatarstan?
   
   According to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan, vaccination for foreigners is paid, the maximum price in Tatarstan is 1,200 rubles.
   
   Coronavirus vaccinations do not belong to emergency medical care, and therefore, they will not be provided free of charge to foreigners without an MMI certificate. As a rule, only foreigners who have a residence permit or a temporary residence permit are vaccinated in state medical institutions. Private clinics say that they will vaccinate foreigners if they present their passport and registration in Russia. But only those who have SNILS (Individual insurance account number) will receive a QR code. The rest will be given a paper certificate of vaccination, which will not be a pass to public places without a QR code.
   
   
3. What are the rules for vaccination of migrant workers or foreigners living in Russia?
   
   According to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan, these rules do not differ.
4. If a person has been vaccinated abroad, what about getting a QR code?
   
   According to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan, foreign vaccines are not registered in Russia, so foreign citizens in Russia will not have the opportunity to get a QR code for them. So the only option is to get vaccinated with a drug registered in our country.

5. What should foreign students do in Tatarstan?
   
   According to the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan, foreign students can get vaccinated for a fee.
   
   In particular, since the end of October, a new coronavirus vaccination centre for foreign students has been launched in Kazan. Vaccination can be made for a fee at the city polyclinic No. 21 (student's) at the address: Orenburgsky trakt, 95. Vaccination is carried out with Sputnik Lite. For vaccination, you need a passport, a notification of the arrival of a foreign citizen or a stateless person at the place of stay (registration), a student ID.
   
   International students vaccinated in Russia will receive QR codes and will have the opportunity to use public transport.