UDI 2012-013V2 Common guidelines Norway – Russia

These Guidelines were elaborated on the basis of the results of the Russian-Norwegian expert meeting in Oslo on 20-21 October 2011.

The Guidelines are aimed at ensuring a correct and harmonised implementation of the provisions of the Agreement by the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Kirkenes, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Norway in Murmansk, competent local authorities in the border areas and other relevant authorities of the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway.

The Guidelines do not form part of the Agreement and therefore, they are not legally binding. However, all interested parties are highly recommended to follow them in implementation of the provisions of the Agreement.

The Guidelines are subject to be updated with due account for the expertise accumulated during the implementation of the Agreement.

1. The documents confirming lawful residency in the border area for at least the 3 previous years (cl.1b of Article 7 of the Agreement)

In Sections 3, 4, 5, 6,7 and 10 below, ”border residents” means the border residents as defined in Article 1 of the Agreement, and categories of residents listed in paragraph 4 of Article 7 who are not obliged to meet the requirement of residing in the border area for 3 previous years.

The following document is considered to be the document confirming lawful residency in the border area of the Kingdom of Norway for 3 previous years:

• the original transcript with stamp of confirmation of registered address (“bostedsattest”) issued by the Norwegian Population Register (“Folkeregisteret”) dated no more than one month prior to the date of the application for a Local Border Traffic Permit indicating one or several consecutive addresses within the border area during 3 previous years to before the date of application.

The following documents are considered to be the documents confirming lawful residency in the border area of the Russian Federation for 3 previous years:

• “national passport” with a stamp(s) indicating registration of residence (one or several addresses of residence in the border area in the order of their change during 3 previous years before the date of application) in a community located in the border area; or
• residence permit of a foreign citizen with a mark (s) of registration in the border area (with indication of one or several addresses of residence in the border area in the order of their change during 3 previous years before the date of application);
• certificate of registration at place of residence (with indication of addresses of residence in the border area in the order of their change during 3 previous years before the date of application) issued by a registration authority to the certificate of birth of a child younger than 14 years old in a community located in the border area; or
• certificate of registration at place of temporary residence (with indication of addresses of residence in the border area in the order of their change during 3 previous years before the date of application) issued by a registration authority in a community located in the border area.

In individual cases other documents may be presented to prove legal residency in the border area during last three years. In such cases, applications may be considered for a maximum of 60 days, in accordance with Article 8 paragraph 2.

2. Documents proving the residency of confirming border residents' spouses, underage or incapable adult children who are the border residents' dependents and reside with them (Article 7 Paragraph 4 of the Agreement)

a) The following documents shall be considered as documents proving the status of spouses of residents of the border area of the Kingdom of Norway:

• a proof of legal residency of a border resident in the border area for at least the 3 previous years (see paragraph 1 in The Guidelines); and
• original transcript with stamp of marriage certificate (“vigselsattest”) issued by the Norwegian Population Register (“Folkeregisteret”) dated no more than one month prior to the date of the application for a Local Border Traffic Permit; and
• original transcript with stamp of confirmation of registered address (“bostedsattest”) issued by the Norwegian Population Register (“Folkeregisteret”) dated no more than one month prior to the date of the application for a Local Border Traffic Permit proving the residency in the border area.

The following documents shall be considered as documents proving the status of spouses of residents of the border area of the Russian Federation:

• a proof of legal residency of a border resident in the border area for at least three recent years (see section 1 of Guidelines); and
• certificate of marriage; and
• a proof of co-habitation or joint stay with a border resident.

b) The following documents shall be considered as documents proving the status of underage children of residents of the border area of the Kingdom of Norway :

• a proof of legal residency of a parent in the border area for at least the three previous years for one of the parents (see section 1 of the Guidelines) ; and
• a document proving parenthood (birth certificate or adoption certificate).

The following documents shall be considered as documents proving the status of underage children of residents of the border area of the Russian Federation:

• a document proving legal residency of a parent in the border area for at least three previous years (see section 1 of the Guidelines); and
• a document proving paternity (maternity) (birth certificate, adoption certificate or "domestic" passport of the border resident containing information on children).

For border residents of the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway, consent of both parents shall be required to apply for issuing a Local Border Traffic Permits for underage children, except when the parental rights are exercised by only one parent. The consent shall be considered to be granted, if both parents are present in the Consulate General when submitting an application.

c) The following documents shall be considered as documents proving the incapability of adult children being dependents of residents of the border area of the Kingdom of Norway and residing with them:

• a document proving legal residency of a parent in the border area for at least three recent years (see section 1 of Guidelines); and
• a document proving paternity (maternity) (birth certificate or adoption certificate); and
• original transcript with stamp of confirmation of registered address (“bostedsattest”) issued by the Norwegian Population Register (“Folkeregisteret”) dated no more than one month prior to the date of the application for a Local Border Traffic Permit confirming common residence in the border area.
• a document proving dependency on a border resident

The following documents shall be considered as documents proving the incapability of adult children being dependents of residents of the border area of the Russian Federation and residing with them:

• a document proving legal residency of a parent in the border area for at least three previous years (see section 1 of Confirmation of Guidelines); and
• a document proving paternity (maternity) (birth certificate, adoption certificate or "domestic" passport of the border resident containing information on children); and
• a document proving co-habitation with a border resident; and
• a document proving dependency on a border resident.

3. Legitimate reasons for regular crossing of the border under the local border traffic regime and their grounds (Article 7 paragraph 1c of the Agreement)

The reason(s) for regular crossing of the border under the Local Border Traffic Regime shall be indicated in the application for a Local Border Traffic Permit.

The Parties shall interpret the concept of "legitimate reasons" as broadly as possible.

Reason(s) specified by border residents in their applications shall not restrict their ability to cross the border under the Local Border Traffic regime for other purposes during the period of validity of the permit.

Legitimate reasons specified in the application shall not be reflected in the local border traffic permit. However, the latter may specify such a common reason as "Local Border Traffic".

4. Documents proving that a person is a full-time student (Article 10, Paragraph 2b of the Agreement)

The following document shall be considered as a document proving that a border resident of the Kingdom of Norway is a full-time student:

• written confirmation from the place of study, certifying that the person is a full-time student.

The following document shall be considered as a document proving that the border resident of the Russian Federation is a full-time student:

• valid student ID card certifying that the person is a full time student.

5. When is a document considered to be impossible to use? What if the passport or Local Border Traffic permit was damaged/stolen/lost? (Article 10 Paragraph 3 of the Agreement)

The Local Border Traffic permit will be considered impossible to use and replaced by a new one free of charge in all cases when it is presented to the Consulate General and satisfactory explanation is given as to the reason why the permit has been rendered unusable. For example, it might have been damaged, or the in-built chip is unreadable.

Since permits indicate the numbers of valid travel documents of border residents, the same approach will be applied where local border traffic permits has to be replaced due to the fact that travel documents of border residents are no longer considered valid.

In the above mentioned cases, the period of validity of newly issued local border traffic permits will be the same as that of the permits which are no longer usable.

In cases where the permit can not be presented, that is lost or stolen, the border resident has to apply for a new permit and pay the fee in accordance with Paragraphs 1 or 2 of Article 10.

In the latter case, in accordance with Article 9 the period of validity of the permit is usually three years.

6. The Migration Card

Border residents of the Kingdom of Norway are requested to fill in the Migration Card and present it to the Russian Border Control Officer along with their passports or other travel documents. The Migration Card should be carefully kept during the period of stay in the in the border area of the Russian Federation and is to be submitted to the Russian Border Control Officer while passing departure passport control procedure.

If The Migration Card was lost or stolen, the border residents of the Kingdom of Norway should report it to the local office of the Russian Federal Migration Service or a Russian Border Control Officer.

The Migration Card can be obtained at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Kirkenes, or at the Borisoglebsk border crossing point.

7. Registration procedures in Russia

If the duration of stay of a border resident of the Kingdom of Norway in the border area of the Russian Federation exceeds seven working days, he/she shall get registered in the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) office. The migration registration shall be carried out by a hotel or the hosting legal entity or individual in the border area of the Russian Federation.

If the purpose(s) of stay in the border areas is/are ecotourism, fishing, etc., and the border resident of the Kingdom of Norway stays outside a human settlement (e.g. in a tent), and the duration of the stay exceeds seven days, he/she shall ask the municipal authorities to ensure his/her migration registration.

8. Validity of Local Border Traffic Permit (Article 9 of the Agreement)

The local border traffic permit and the travel document, on the basis of which the local traffic border permit is issued, may have the same term of validity.

9. Force majeure (Paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Agreement)

The list of the force majeure events may include serious illness, an accident, natural and man-made disasters, and suspension of the Agreement (Paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the Agreement). However this list is not exhaustive.

The border residents of the Russian Federation, which have to stay more than 15 days in the border area of the Kingdom of Norway or have to leave the border area due to a force majeure event, shall submit a statement to the local police station specifying the force majeure event. In case of illness a medical certificate shall be submitted. If the local police station, after assessing the situation, concludes that the force majeure event actually occurred, it shall issue a transcript of the granting of prolonged stay for the necessary period of time. The border resident shall carry this transcript and a passport. If the required term exceeds three months, the Norwegian authorities shall consider granting a visa for the necessary period of time.

The border residents of the Kingdom of Norway, which have to stay more than 15 days in the border area of the Russian Federation or have to leave the border area due to a force majeure event, shall submit a statement to the nearest local Russian FMS office specifying the force majeure event. The list of these offices and contact information are provided to the persons who had been granted local border traffic permits. In case of illness a medical certificate shall be submitted. If the Russian FMS office, after assessing the situation, concludes that the force majeure event actually occurred, it shall issue a visa for the for necessary period of time.

10. The territory within Russia's border area which cannot be visited without a special permit

The border residents of the Kingdom of Norway shall not visit the eastern part of the border area, limited in the south and west by the Pechenga-Kola railway and the Pechenga – Dolgay Shel' bay line, except the Pechenga community and the Zapolyarny – Kola – Murmansk road, only for transit purposes, and the areas around military units, sensitive sites, organizations, military forces and units, and the Paatsjoki River hydroelectric power plants without a special permit.

11. Other issues

a) The documents specified in these Guidelines can be enclosed in the application for a local border traffic permit in the original language, if the original language is Norwegian, Russian or English.

b) The Parties shall exchange samples of all documents specified in the Guidelines within thirty days of the last written notification on the fulfillment by the Parties of internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of the Agreement, see Article 15 Paragraph 1.

c) The Parties shall cooperate in preparing information for dissemination among the border residents.