Preparation
Do you have to take the exam
Not everyone takes the exam in Russian language, Russian history and the basics of law. The obligation and the exceptions to it are set by article 15.1 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ.
It is worth checking before you pay. There is no refund for a sitting you did not need, and some people pay for and take an exam that was never required of them.
Who is exempt — under clause 5 of article 15.1:
- The exam is required for four purposes: temporary residence, a residence permit, a work permit and a patent.
- People declared legally incapable or with limited capacity do not take the exam for temporary residence or a residence permit.
- People under 18 do not take the exam for temporary residence or a residence permit.
- Men aged 65 and over do not take the exam for temporary residence or a residence permit.
- Women aged 60 and over do not take the exam for temporary residence or a residence permit.
- Participants in the state resettlement programme for compatriots and their family members do not take the exam.
- Highly qualified specialists and their families are exempt when applying for the residence permit under clause 27 of article 13.2 — that is, in this case and not in every case.
- Citizens of the Union State — that is, citizens of Belarus — do not take the exam for temporary residence or a residence permit.
- An applicant for a residence permit whose parent, son or daughter is a Russian citizen permanently living in Russia does not take the exam.
- Citizens of Ukraine do not take the exam for temporary residence or a residence permit.
- An education document issued in the USSR before 1 September 1991 takes the place of the certificate.
- An education document obtained in Russia after 1 September 1991 with state final assessment takes the place of the certificate.
- A decision recognising someone as a native Russian speaker takes the place of the certificate only if it was made before 26 October 2023.
For citizenship, language and history are not asked of those aged 70 and over or of people with a first-degree disability. For temporary residence and a residence permit the thresholds differ: 65 for men and 60 for women.
For a work permit (which is not a patent), highly qualified specialists and journalists of foreign-language media are exempt.
An exemption is proved by a document. Saying so is not enough: you need a passport, a birth certificate, a diploma or a commission decision issued before 26 October 2023. Without a document you take the exam on general terms.
Frequently asked questions
Which document can replace the certificate?
A state-issued educational document issued in the USSR before 1 September 1991 (at least basic general level), or a document of education or qualification issued to someone who passed the state final attestation in Russia from 1 September 1991 onwards. A decision recognising you as a native Russian speaker also counts — but **only one taken before 26 October 2023**: after that date commissions no longer issue them. The document is presented instead of the certificate, and nothing has to be taken.
I am a citizen of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. Do I need the exam?
This is easy to get wrong, and the mistake costs money — in both directions. Citizens of EAEU countries do not need a patent, and therefore do not need the exam taken for the sake of a patent: exemption from the patent is not exemption from the exam as such. But **Belarus has a wider exemption**: citizens of the Union State do not take the exam for a temporary residence permit or for a residence permit either (subclause 8 of clause 5 of article 15.1). Citizens of Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan do need the exam for both.
I am 64, my exemption comes in a year. Should I wait?
The exemption applies on the day you file your documents, not on the day you found out about it. If you need the documents now, you have to take the exam now.
I study at a Russian university. Does that exempt me?
Studying by itself does not. What exempts you is completed education with a state final attestation in Russian, that is a diploma or a school certificate, not a student card.
Who decides whether the exemption applies to me?
The migration department that accepts your documents. We are a trainer, not a state body: check your own situation against the law in force or ask at the appointment. The list of exceptions has changed before and may change again.
No exemption. Where do I start?
With a diagnosis: take the free test and see which section is weak. Preparing "in general" is useless — at the exam every section has its own mandatory threshold, and failing one is not made up for by succeeding in the rest.
The list of exceptions follows article 15.1 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ. This is reference material: the decision on an exemption is taken by the authority accepting your documents, not by us. Check the law in force before you file.