Foreign Ministry approves new regulation on information and consultation services: free of charge, reply within 20 working days

On 30 September 2026 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia officially published Order No. 16132 of 24.07.2026 approving the Administrative Regulation for the state service "Provision of state information and consultation services". The order was registered by the Ministry of Justice under No. 88521. It sets no special date of entry into force, so the general rule for ministerial acts applies: 10 days after official publication.

What has changed

The previous regulation approved by Foreign Ministry Order No. 7063 of 14.05.2012 and its 2015 amendments are repealed. The new document sets out again how the Ministry, its regional offices, embassies and consulates answer requests from individuals and organisations.

How to submit a request and receive a reply

• Any interested person or organisation may apply. The service is not provided to minors.
• A request can be submitted in person at the Ministry, its regional office, an embassy or a consulate, or by post, by fax, via the Ministry's official website or via Gosuslugi.
• The result is a letter from the Ministry, on paper or in electronic form, containing the requested information or stating that it is not available. It can be collected in person, in the Gosuslugi personal account, by email, by post or by fax.
• The service is not available through MFC centres.

Terms and cost

• The maximum reply time is 20 working days from registration of the request.
• A request is registered within 30 minutes when submitted in person, within 1 working day when sent by post, fax or via the Ministry's website, and immediately via Gosuslugi.
• Waiting in a queue must not exceed 15 minutes.
• There is no state fee or other charge.

Why a request may be rejected

The regulation provides no grounds for refusing the service itself. A request will not be accepted in only two cases: the form fields are filled in incorrectly or incompletely, or the request contains errors, corrections or damage that prevent it from being read unambiguously.

What to do

• Fill in the request form completely and without corrections: this is the only reason it can be returned.
• If you need the reply by a deadline, submit via Gosuslugi: the request is registered immediately and the reply arrives in your personal account.

What translations you will need

The Ministry works in Russian. If you attach documents in a foreign language to your request, such as certificates, diplomas or statements, they need a translation into Russian.

Send your documents to Stylus: we will translate them and, if needed, have the translation certified by the notary in the office next door, so your request is accepted the first time.