The hard parts of living in Russia, according to the people doing it
Roster checked September 2026 · September 2026
Four things come up again and again: paperwork that has to be redone in person and on schedule, banking and payments that cut you off from money held abroad, the language, and the distance from family — flights home are longer, costlier and less frequent than they were.
Meet the storytellers
Made a whole video about what goes wrong when you immigrate here, mistakes included.
Walks through her residence-permit file step by step, including the waiting and the repeat visits.
Shows the rural version: sourcing parts, fixing machinery and getting through a first winter.
The practical side
1+ stopover
Getting to Russia from Western Europe or the Americas in 2026
Source: Two Nations — Russian visa & residence guide 2026What to verify before you move here
- — The administrative burden is real and recurring: residence status, registration and renewals are in-person, deadline-driven procedures, and every resident on the roster has a story about getting one wrong.
- — Financial isolation is the single most concrete difficulty. Money earned abroad is hard to move in, money earned here is hard to move out, and no channel has solved this elegantly.
A second opinion
- — That the difficulties are the same for everyone. A skilled-employment arrival with an employer handling the file has a different experience from someone doing it alone in a regional office.
- — That today's rules are tomorrow's. Residence grounds, banking practice and flight routes all changed during 2024-2026; treat any procedure video as dated by definition.
Questions people actually ask
Can I get paid from abroad while living in Russia?
It is the hardest practical problem on this list. Standard bank transfers from Western banks generally do not arrive, and workarounds change often — check the current situation rather than a video from last year.
How often do I have to renew my documents?
It depends on the status you hold, and the deadlines are strict. Our visa and residence guide sets out the current grounds and terms.
