Providing high-quality and timely medical care is a priority task of any state. A developed and improving healthcare system implies the provision of such services to anyone in need, regardless of their citizenship.
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For this purpose, a procedure for compulsory health insurance of the population (CHI) was introduced in Russia, maximally equalizing the rights of the country's citizens, stateless persons and foreign migrants.
In addition to the constitutional ones (Article 41), the following legal guarantors and regulators were adopted: Federal Law No. 326-FZ dated November 29, 2010, international treaties, the procedure for the provision of services is determined by Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development dated February 28, 2011 No. 158n.
Features of insurance
Compulsory medical insurance services do not contradict international treaties. Foreign citizens are full-fledged subjects of compulsory medical insurance; they are provided with the same rights and responsibilities as residents.
But their stay is controlled by Federal Law No. 115-FZ dated July 25, 2002 “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation,” and this makes its own adjustments.
Depending on the status of a foreign citizen, labor relations and the regime of his stay, such groups as working/non-working and permanent/temporary stay are distinguished.
Compulsory insurance with the issuance of policies is subject to permanent residents (who have received a residence permit) both working and non-working, foreign entrepreneurs and temporarily residing but working foreigners.
Persons with temporary residence status are not required to pay compulsory medical insurance contributions; this group also includes foreign citizens working under copyright, labor and civil law contracts.
This does not mean that temporarily staying persons do not have the right to insurance for their health; a system of voluntary insurance is provided for them; free medical care is provided to them in the event of a threat to life and others provided for by law.
Much depends on the duration and mode of stay. This is presented more clearly in the table:
| Permanent/temporary residence (persons with a residence permit, temporary residence permit or refugee status) | Temporary stay | |
| Compulsory medical insurance subject | Yes | No |
| Labor activity is permitted | Without VHI, insurance premiums are paid by the employer | Only after concluding a VHI agreement |
| The right to obtain a free compulsory medical insurance policy | have | No |
| Right to emergency medical care in cases of emergency | have | have |
In fact, foreign citizens are guaranteed free services within the framework of social guarantees of the health care system, but only permanent or temporary residents can receive a perpetual policy of a uniform type (not to be confused with stay!).
The rest either enter into contracts for voluntary health insurance or re-file applications for the policy. In case of departure or change of conditions of stay, a foreign person is obliged to notify his insurance company about this within 1 month.
How to change the compulsory medical insurance company is described in the article: how to change the compulsory medical insurance company. Find out how to get a compulsory medical insurance policy for an unemployed person on this page.
How to get a policy
The employer is responsible for the insurance premiums of foreign citizens with a work permit on a general basis (having a temporary residence permit, residence permit, confirmation of refugee status).
The scheme is simple:
- The Federal Migration Service issues a foreign citizen a confirmation of the right to work with a certain validity period (in the case of a residence permit - indefinitely);
- The employer (who must have permission to use foreign labor) provides the data of the future employee to the medical insurance company (CHI);
- The CMO issues a temporary certificate within 1-3 days, and after a month issues the working foreign person an OCM policy with a validity period not exceeding the term of the employment agreement. Both documents are the basis for receiving free medical care in an insurance case.
Upon dismissal, the compulsory medical insurance policy is confiscated from the foreign employee, the employer is obliged to return it to the insurance company without exception.
Until January 1, 2015, the employer bore similar responsibility for foreign workers with temporary residence.
The situation has changed radically; now, in order to obtain a labor patent, a foreign citizen is required to personally enter into a health insurance contract on a voluntary basis, and the company hiring him no longer has to pay mandatory insurance premiums.
Without concluding such an agreement, a foreign citizen carries out legal work activities. But the employer no longer has any right to limit the employee’s choice of insurance company or package of services.
Many foreign citizens choose a minimum contract - from 1,500 rubles, this is enough to obtain a patent, but they forget that the list of medical services will also be limited.
The situation is completely different for an individual foreign entrepreneur. They are subject to compulsory medical insurance in the general manner, and are considered insured from the moment of payment of contributions, from which they have no right to evade.
Necessary actions:
- Registration in the territorial fund of the OBM as a payer of contributions.
- Concluding an agreement with the compulsory medical insurance at the place of registration and obtaining a policy.
The third case is permanently residing foreigners with a residence permit and their minor children; for them the policy is issued for an indefinite period.
If residence is determined by a temporary residence permit, then a uniform policy is issued for the period of its validity.
Steps in this case:
- contacting the selected compulsory medical insurance at the place of registration;
- providing confirmation of the right of residence and the rest of the documents;
- filling out a uniform application in electronic or regular form;
- receiving a temporary certificate in a maximum of a day, and after 1 month - the policy itself.
The rights and obligations in the field of compulsory medical insurance for non-working foreign citizens with permanent residence status are in no way inferior to other Russian citizens.
The policy is also issued not only on the basis of a personal application, but also with the assistance of a representative of a foreign person, for example, the receiving party.
Documents for registration
In fact, the voluntary procedure is considered mandatory for foreign visitors to Russia planning to stay in the country for at least three days. Refusal of the mentioned procedure threatens the guest with a fine, or if ignored again, a ban on entry. Also, issuing a voluntary health insurance policy for foreign citizens is mandatory when applying for a job; it is included in the minimum set of documents.
This package of documents is mandatory for a citizen to obtain a certificate and includes:
- civil, foreign passport, or identity card, duplicated in Russian or a translated copy certified by a notary;
- migration card indicating the period of stay in the Russian Federation, confirmation of registration from the Federal Migration Service;
- permission for temporary stay in the form of a note in the passport;
- receipt of payment of required fees.
Legal entities and corporate clients enter into an agreement with the selected insurance agency before concluding an employment contract with employees.
The set of documents for insurance of a minor child includes:
- personal identification document;
- certificate, medical examination of the state of health at the time of conclusion of the contract.
The latter is necessary to include in the certificate the necessary prevention or treatment of chronic pathologies.
What documents are required
When applying for a policy or changing an insurance organization, the applicant, regardless of his citizenship, is obliged to provide his personal data personally or through a representative.
This is: Full name (patronymic name is indicated if available), date and place of birth, citizenship, gender, individual personal account insurance number (SNILS, if available), place of actual stay, date and place of registration.
All information is confirmed by an identification document of the applicant; contact information must be indicated. Depending on the mode of stay of a foreign citizen, the required package of documents looks like:
| Foreign citizen status | List of required documents |
| Permanently residing in the Russian Federation |
|
| Temporarily residing in the Russian Federation |
|
Minors also fall under these requirements; their identification document is a birth certificate.
If for some reason a foreign citizen cannot apply in person, his representative can obtain a compulsory medical insurance policy. Copies of documents are accepted with the provision of the corresponding originals.
All identification documents (internal passport, international passport, birth certificate) must be translated into Russian and notarized.
This requirement is not spelled out in federal law and order, but it is implied. This is an extremely important nuance; without compliance with it, an application for a health insurance policy (both compulsory and voluntary) will not be accepted.
What documents are required to admit a child of a foreign citizen to school?
When admitting a child to school, you must provide:
- birth certificate;
- general passport of one parent or guardian;
- certificate 026/у about passing a medical examination and vaccination;
- medical insurance (VHI policy), on the basis of which the student will receive medical care.
If necessary, the child can be included in the foreign citizen’s policy, or insured separately. Legal and social status, as well as the presence of registration and official employment of parents do not influence the decision to admit a child to school.
Where can I get it?
The insurance policy is issued at the place of application or at the place of work. All policies are controlled by the relevant territorial compulsory medical insurance bodies, there are 86 in total.
All information about the locations of points for accepting applications and issuing insurance policies can be found on the official website of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund; this information is required to be published.
In many areas, the policy is issued simultaneously with a universal electronic card based on the one-stop-shop principle, but it is not provided for foreign citizens.
By the way, information about ready-made compulsory medical insurance policies can be tracked through a single portal of government services or the official websites of the territorial fund.
Compulsory medical insurance for foreign citizens with temporary registration
Foreign citizens temporarily staying (for a limited period by law) cannot obtain an appropriate policy.
Such persons have the right to:
- Receive free medical care in emergencies.
- Registration of a VHI policy.
- Medical assistance on a paid basis.
For all other foreign citizens, registration of a uniform policy takes place at the place of actual residence, regardless of registration or temporary registration.
The policy itself does not contain data on the location of the insured person, but they are necessary for inclusion in a unified electronic register.
In practice, this means that in case of a change of place of residence (but within the Russian Federation), a foreign entity is obliged to notify its insurance company within 1 month, and if there are no branches in the new region, choose a new one.
It is important to know: in the region where the compulsory medical insurance policy is issued, the list of medical services is determined by the framework of the territorial program, which in no case is less than the basic one, but in developed regions it is more extensive.
Do you need a VHI policy for foreign citizens?
Since 2015, compulsory health insurance for foreigners arriving in Russia for various reasons has been introduced in the country, and 2021 was marked by the fact that the VHI policy for foreign citizens has become no less mandatory a document than compulsory medical insurance. Foreign guests are requested to purchase an insurance certificate on the day of arrival, otherwise their presence in Russia will be considered illegal. At the same time, the status of the visitor does not matter, whether he is a tourist for the weekend, or intending to stay for a long time, or for employment.
How much does the policy cost?
Registration of a compulsory medical insurance policy is a free service! The cost of voluntary health insurance for foreign citizens depends on the pricing policy of the healthcare organization and the region. On average, it varies from 1500 to 4500 rubles .
Obviously, persons with foreign citizenship have almost identical rights to receive assistance within the framework of compulsory medical insurance as other citizens of the Russian Federation. But they do not take full advantage of their opportunities for free medical services; sometimes the rights of non-residents are not explained to them. In general, the system works and is not inferior to international health standards.
How the Territorial Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund works, read the article: Territorial Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund. The subjects of the compulsory medical insurance system are described here.
The compulsory medical insurance agreement is discussed in this article.
