Entry Ban at the Airport

Entry Denial at Sheremetyevo Airport: Procedure and Solutions.

The only international border crossing point for Ukrainian citizens entering Russia is Sheremetyevo Airport. Every day, thousands of Ukrainian citizens arriving from all over the world undergo security checks at this airport. After passing these checks, many are denied entry. There are many reasons for this. The main reason for denial of entry is disloyalty toward the Russian Federation, its laws, and its citizens. Another factor may be the traveler’s past—specifically, their lifestyle, a history of serious crimes or, conversely, service in the government agencies of an adversarial state. The advanced software and equipment at Sheremetyevo Airport help identify violators and disloyal foreigners. Similarly, vague answers to questions posed by border guards, as well as items found in personal belongings that require further investigation, serve as grounds for denying entry into the Russian Federation.

Security checks at Sheremetyevo Airport for Ukrainian citizens are particularly thorough and involve a special procedure when an arriving passenger cannot pass through passport control in the usual manner, as other foreign nationals do. If an official entry ban has been issued, a Ukrainian citizen will have to spend some time in a specially designated area of the airport, after which a decision will be made regarding their deportation. The reasons for being barred from entering the Russian Federation can vary. These include: 

During a routine inspection of entry documents (passports, etc.), Border Service officers discovered significant violations:

• Their questionable origin
• Inaccuracy of the information provided by those entering the country (regarding their identity, purpose of visit, etc.) 
• Defects in the documents provided
• Upon request to the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, specialists from the Border Guard Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation determined that a citizen of another country is subject to an entry ban into the Russian Federation (he committed administrative offenses or failed to leave the country by the required deadline).
• Other operational information preventing a Ukrainian citizen from entering the country.

Expulsion Based on an Entry Ban at the Airport.

In accordance with the Law “On the State Border of the Russian Federation,” the Federal Law “On the Procedure for Entry into and Exit from the Russian Federation,” and the Code of Administrative Offenses, following a document check, a Ukrainian citizen may be subject to expulsion to the country of their most recent stay within the timeframes expressly established by regulatory legal acts. 

Entry Ban for Holders of a Temporary Residence Permit or Residence Permit

An entry ban may be imposed even on holders of a temporary residence permit or a residence permit. As a rule, the holder of a temporary residence permit or residence permit learns of the entry ban only after the permit has already been revoked, and the foreign national faces a number of challenges in resolving this issue. Entry Ban

Entry Ban into the Russian Federation

Lifting the Entry Ban into the Russian Federation 

Unfortunately, all too often, lawbreakers and disloyal elements are lumped together with law-abiding and responsible citizens of Ukraine—with whom we share a common history, traditions, and language—whose goal is to live and work honestly for the benefit of Russia. This often happens because of lawbreakers who share the same last name, and sometimes even for purely technical reasons.

Our immigration attorney can help prevent such a scenario from unfolding. He is responsible not only for verifying the grounds for the entry ban but also, if grounds for the ban exist, for drafting a request to allow the individual to cross the border at Sheremetyevo. If this issue cannot be resolved using the method described above, there are other options, one of which is filing a lawsuit or lodging an appeal with higher authorities.