Foreigners are now assigned a TIN without an application: through biometrics

On 8 September 2026 the Federal Tax Service of Russia published an information notice titled "Foreigners can now obtain a TIN without an application". If a foreign citizen's data is confirmed by biometrics in ESIA (the unified identification and authentication system), registration with the tax authority is carried out proactively: no application is needed, the tax service does it itself.

How it works

The procedure described by the Federal Tax Service has three steps:

• Before entering Russia. create an ESIA account in the RuID mobile app and submit your biometric personal data to the Unified Biometric System.
• After crossing the border. confirm your biometric data at a bank.
• Then it happens without you. the data is passed to the tax authorities, and a foreign citizen whose identity has been verified through biometrics is assigned a TIN.

Who this concerns

Foreign citizens and stateless persons who enter Russia and plan to work, study or handle documents here. A TIN is required for an employment contract, a work patent, paying taxes and opening a bank account.

If you already have a TIN, you do not need to apply for anything again.

What changes in practice

This follows on from Federal Tax Service order No. ED-1-14/466@ of 10 July 2026, which approved the form for transferring data from ESIA to the tax service: we wrote about it on 5 September. The order described the exchange of data between agencies, while the September notice explains what the foreign citizen gets out of it: a TIN without visiting the tax office and without an application.

Please note: an information notice from the Federal Tax Service is a clarification by the agency, not a new legal act. It adds no obligations, but it shows how the tax service now registers foreigners.

What to do

• Create your ESIA account in RuID before you enter the country, not after: the procedure is designed for exactly this order.
• Make sure the spelling of your first and last name in the account matches your passport. A single letter of difference and the data will not match, either at the tax office or at the MVD.
• Keep a notarised translation of your passport at hand: it is what the spelling of your name is checked against in all Russian databases, and you will need it for the bank, the employer and the work patent.

If you need a passport translation for a bank, the tax office or the MVD, send a photo of the document via WhatsApp or Max. We will quote the price within 15 minutes, do the translation the same day, and the notary next door will certify it.