How Educational Institutions Can Monitor International Students’ Stays and Expulsions

Educational institution employee checks international students’ stay deadlines

Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД России), the government body responsible for migration administration and law enforcement, reminded educational institutions of their existing migration obligations when educating foreign nationals. This is not an announcement of new rules, but an opportunity to review how the organization manages stay deadlines, coordination between academic and HR departments, and the submission of information to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Which processes require ongoing monitoring

The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ message concerns organizations that educate foreign nationals. In practice, it is important not to reduce the issue to a one-time document check at enrollment: the date on which the stay expires requires follow-up monitoring throughout the student’s studies. If an international student continues studying, the organization must apply to extend the student’s stay in connection with their education.

The application must be submitted to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (территориальный орган МВД), the local migration authority responsible for processing such applications. The deadline specified in the reminder is no later than 20 days before the foreign national’s stay expires. For the administration, this means it must track not only the student’s academic status but also the date from which the deadline for preparing and submitting the application is calculated.

How to integrate the extension deadline into HR and academic processes

It is useful to determine who receives information about stay deadlines and who is responsible for preparing the application: the international office, the unit responsible for international students, the academic administration, or another designated employee. The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ reminder does not establish how responsibilities must be divided internally, so the organization determines this independently.

The control point should occur before the final deadline. This makes it possible to verify the stay-expiry date, the existence of grounds related to education, and the procedure for contacting the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The material provided does not specify the required documents, the application form, or the technical submission method. These details should be confirmed using the Ministry’s official material, rather than replaced with internal assumptions.

Expulsion: the event that triggers a notification

The second mandatory process concerns the expulsion of a foreign national. After an administrative expulsion order (распорядительный акт) is issued, the educational institution must notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The notification deadline is three working days from the date the order is issued, not from the date the student actually stops attending classes or the department receives the information.

Therefore, to reduce the risk of delay, the academic department and employees responsible for migration matters should ensure that information about the administrative order is transmitted without interruption. The internal routing may be organized in any way, but the result must make it possible to meet the three-working-day deadline. The source provided does not specify the notification form or the required information, so the submission procedure should be checked against the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ official guidance.

Risks of missing deadlines and internal review priorities

The source separately identifies the consequences of late notification of an expulsion: the fine is from 35 to 50 thousand rubles for officials and from 400 to 800 thousand rubles for legal entities. These amounts relate specifically to a violation of the deadline for notifying the authorities of an expulsion; they must not be applied to other situations.

The consequences of missing the deadline for an application to extend the stay are not named in the message provided. However, the absence of sanctions specified in the material does not eliminate the obligation itself to submit the application no later than 20 days before the stay expires. As part of internal monitoring, it is reasonable to separate two workflows: the stay-deadline calendar and the prompt processing of expulsion orders.

What to check before the start of the academic period

The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ reminder is particularly important during a period when the number of enrollments, transfers, and expulsion decisions increases. The organization should check whether the international-student register contains current stay-expiry dates and whether it allows cases requiring an application to be identified in time.

It is also important to check that expulsion orders become known to the employees responsible for notifications immediately after they are issued. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not announce any new requirements, so the organization’s task is not to create unnecessary procedures but to ensure compliance with the deadlines already in force and confirm the official application procedure.

FAQ

When must an application to extend an international student's period of stay be submitted?

If the international student continues studying, the application must be submitted to the territorial office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD of Russia) no later than 20 days before the expiry of their period of stay.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is the authority responsible for migration matters in Russia.

From which day should the deadline for notifying the MVD of an international student's expulsion be calculated?

The three working days are counted from the date the administrative act on expulsion is issued. The deadline does not depend on the date the student stops attending classes or the date the department receives the information.

An administrative act on expulsion is the institution's formal decision to remove a student from enrolment.

What fine applies for late notification of an expulsion?

For late notification of an expulsion, the fine ranges from 35 to 50 thousand rubles for officials and from 400 to 800 thousand rubles for legal entities.

What documents are required to extend the period of stay, and how should they be submitted?

The material does not specify the list of documents, the application form, or the technical method of submission. These details must be clarified using the official MVD materials.

What to check

  • Verify the stay-expiry date for each international student.
  • Identify cases in which studies continue and an application to extend the stay is required.
  • Submit the application to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs no later than 20 days before the stay expires.
  • Set up the transmission of information about an issued expulsion order to the responsible employee.
  • Submit the expulsion notification to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within three working days after the administrative order is issued.
  • Confirm the submission procedure, form, and required documents using the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ official material.

Sources