People who once lived in Russia, and their heirs, regularly hit the same wall from abroad: a Russian police clearance certificate, a duplicate birth certificate, or an apostille can only be obtained inside Russia, in person or through a Russian representative acting under a notarised power of attorney. Consulates issue only a limited set of documents and take a long time to process them. We obtain these documents in Russia on your behalf and arrange apostille and certified translation, so you don’t need to travel or navigate the process yourself.
What we do
- Russian police clearance certificate from abroad: obtaining a certificate of no criminal record from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) for use in immigration, employment or licensing applications outside Russia.
- Russian birth certificate duplicate and other civil registry records: obtaining duplicates of birth, marriage and divorce certificates from the Russian civil registry (ZAGS), and confirmation of education or employment history.
- Apostille in Russia: apostille can only be affixed to a document inside Russia — we handle the submission and collection for documents you already hold or that we obtain for you.
- Certified translation: certified translation of the resulting documents into English or another language as required by the receiving authority.
- Inheritance in Russia from abroad: representing heirs and surviving spouses before Russian notaries and courts to open and progress an inheritance case involving accounts or property in Russia, without requiring you to travel.
How it works
- You tell us which document or matter is needed and for whom.
- Where a power of attorney is required, we prepare it for signature and notarisation in your country, then have it accepted for use in Russia.
- We request the document or open the case through the relevant Russian authority, registry or notary.
- We arrange apostille and certified translation where needed.
- We send you the finished document set, or progress updates for an inheritance case, with copies retained for your file.
What we don’t do
We do not promise a specific outcome or timeline where it depends on a third-party Russian authority’s own processing time — inheritance cases in particular take months by statute regardless of how quickly we act, and we quote realistic ranges based on current practice rather than optimistic ones. Every client is screened against applicable sanctions lists before engagement.
Who this is for
- Immigration lawyers whose clients need a Russian police clearance certificate or civil registry documents for a visa or citizenship application;
- Individuals abroad who need apostille on a Russian document, or certified translation of one;
- Heirs and surviving spouses with an inheritance matter connected to Russia who cannot travel there themselves.
If instead you need to check a Russian company or counterparty rather than obtain a personal document, see due diligence on Russian companies.
FAQ
Can I get a Russian police clearance certificate without travelling to Russia?
Yes — with a notarised power of attorney signed in your country, we request the certificate from the MVD on your behalf and send you the original with apostille and translation if needed.
Why can’t my consulate issue an apostille on a Russian document?
Apostille under the Hague Convention can only be affixed by the competent authority in the country that issued the document — for a Russian document, that means the process must happen inside Russia.
I need a duplicate of a Russian birth certificate for a relative who has passed away — is that possible?
In most cases yes, provided you can establish your relationship and the necessary supporting documents; we assess this once we know the specific ZAGS office and the details available.
How long does an inheritance case in Russia take from abroad?
Russian inheritance procedure runs on statutory timeframes measured in months, not weeks, regardless of representation — we tell you the applicable framework once we know the estate’s location and assets.
Do you handle the whole process, or just parts of it?
We can handle the full chain — power of attorney, obtaining the document, apostille and certified translation — or just the specific step you need.
Get started
Pricing is on request, quoted per document or per case once we know the scope. Send your request to law@vfs.consulting or use the contact form. Volume terms are available for immigration firms with recurring requests.
