How to terminate a criminal case under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Methods of fictitious registration:

based on the submission of knowingly unreliable (false) information or documents;
in the premises without the intention of these persons to actually reside (stay) in this premises or without the intention of the receiving party to provide them with this premises for actual residence (stay);
at the place of residence at the address of the organization in which foreign citizens or stateless persons do not, in accordance with the established procedure, carry out labor or other activities not prohibited by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

In most cases, the objective side of Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation constitutes the residence of foreign citizens in an apartment other than the one in which they are registered by its owner.

Unfortunately, many of our citizens do not know that such actions are criminally punishable under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, therefore they register foreign citizens in their apartments - mainly from the former Soviet republics.

Who needs registration and why?

A foreigner may have several legal grounds for staying on the soil of our state for a long time:

if he received permanent citizenship and became a full citizen of the Russian Federation;
when temporary registration has been issued for him in connection with obtaining a residence permit;
if temporary registration was received in connection with a temporary residence permit;
registered with migration authorities.

In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “registration” and “registration”. The latter is necessary for all citizens of the Russian Federation and requires that the person be registered in the residential premises.

Registration does not require registration in a residential premises; it is enough to inform the relevant authorities to make a note in which place a guest from another state will be registered and receive a special coupon. When registering, a migrant does not bear the burden of utility bills, but also does not have any legal rights to the premises in which he is registered.

An important point is also that when registering a person, government authorities know where to look for him in order to fulfill his obligations and fulfill obligations to him.

When registering, responsibility for the item placed lies with the person in whose premises it is registered. It is the one who owns the premises who will, if necessary, answer to the law where the foreign citizen is located.

How to bring criminal liability under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The local police commissioner suddenly arrives at the owner of the apartment and checks the fact that foreign citizens are living there at the place where they are registered.
After verification activities are carried out, the inquiry authorities initiate a criminal case under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The owner of the apartment is notified that a criminal case has been initiated against him under this article, and with his participation the necessary investigative actions are carried out (interrogation as a suspect, confrontations with fictitiously living persons, etc.).

How to terminate a criminal case under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The legislator provided in Note 2 to Article 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the possibility of exemption from criminal liability and termination of a criminal case.

According to note 2, the person who committed this crime is exempt from criminal liability if he contributed to the disclosure of the crime, and if his actions do not contain another element of the crime.

Thus, in order to terminate the criminal case and release from criminal liability under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation requires the presence of two components:

The person must assist the investigating authorities in solving the crime.
His actions should not contain any other crime.

Court and case. Blog of lawyer Irina Krasnova

Our respected police have such a concept - running crimes. These are some crimes of minor gravity and low social danger that are committed in society en masse. Since ordinary people sometimes don’t even understand that by their actions they are committing something criminally punishable, and if they do understand, then they commit a crime at random, in order to avoid bureaucratic hell or just make a little money, our respected police successfully cut down on these cases “sticks”, which allows them to continue to engage in fraud and write joyful reports to their superiors. The bully still needs to be caught, but here the prey goes into his hands and at the same time selflessly repents and admits everything.

At one time, the popular article was 200 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provided for criminal liability for deceiving consumers. The hunt by employees, then still police, for trade workers was carried out on a huge scale, using operational ingenuity, that is, with obvious deception and setups of poor saleswomen by the police themselves. But this is already in the past, since Art. 200 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was repealed many years ago. And thank God!

Then Article 327 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation came into fashion - that is, the use of a deliberately forged document. This fashion existed until the end of the 10s and mainly foreigners suffered from it. Since it was practically impossible for a foreigner to obtain registration and a work permit through official means, they en masse used various counterfeits, which were almost openly sold on every corner. Moreover, no one was going to catch the sellers, since their existence suited everyone. And the police, because the counterfeiters indirectly contributed to the implementation of the plan, and the foreigners themselves, since they could not be legalized legally. The police officers themselves supplied foreigners with counterfeits, and then caught them... Well, this is completely beyond good and evil.

Now, this problem is mostly a thing of the past. It has become much easier to obtain the necessary documents, prosecutors no longer give their consent to initiate such cases en masse, and the plan of the now police began to burn with a blue flame.

But, at the beginning of 2013, such a norm as Art. 322.2 and 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which reads as: “Fictitious registration of a citizen of the Russian Federation at the place of stay or at the place of residence in a residential premises in the Russian Federation and fictitious registration of a foreign citizen or stateless person at the place of residence in a residential premises in the Russian Federation” and, accordingly, “Fictitious registration of a foreign citizen or stateless person at the place of stay in a residential premises in the Russian Federation.”

Article 322.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has not gained popularity in the internal affairs bodies. The reasons for this may vary, but that is not the point.

I wanted to consider here the composition and practice of application of Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, to put it simply, is a fictitious registration at the place of residence of a foreigner or stateless person, since the initiation of such criminal cases has become widespread.

With the introduction of Federal Law No. 109-FZ of July 18, 2006 “On Migration Registration of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Russian Federation,” registration of foreigners - citizens of countries with which a visa-free regime has been established, acquired a notification nature. That is, any Russian (host party), to whom foreigners - citizens of countries with which a visa-free regime has been established, came for various needs, without asking anyone for permission, with his passport and passports of foreigners, must come to the Federal Migration Service and submit to the official FMS forms for “notifications of the arrival of a foreign citizen and stateless person at the place of stay.” These forms can also be sent to the FMS by mail, by registered mail. The detachable part of the notification form with the stamp of the Federal Migration Service or post office is returned to the applicant and is the basis for the foreigner to legally reside in the territory of the Russian Federation for as long as 90 days. At the same time, no one will check the actual state of affairs and the very possibility of foreigners living at your address at the time of registration at the place of residence (let’s further call this registration).

The consequences of this administrative procedure for the receiving party is that foreigners must reside at the place of registration, otherwise its entire meaning is lost. Well, if immediately after the Federal Migration Service, without even stopping by your home, happy foreigners went to hang out at nearby construction sites, this will be regarded as fictitious registration of a foreigner at the place of stay, that is, as a crime under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

After the introduction of Law 109, our citizens, for various reasons, began to register anyone at home and be held criminally liable for this. Of course, I would like to urge those who have not yet managed to reach the Federal Migration Service with such goals not to do this, and to give those who have already done this some advice on how not to face a significant fine.

The norm prescribed in Article 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which reads “A person who has committed a crime under this article is exempt from criminal liability if he contributed to the disclosure of this crime and if his actions do not contain another corpus delicti” - this is most likely not about you . This is interpreted that the person in advance, before the facts of criminal activity were revealed, reported foreigners fictitiously registered with him and submitted an application to remove them from the registration register. So, if it's not too late, do it. Of course, no one will deregister foreigners. The FMS inspector simply cannot do this without a court decision. Such is the legal-bureaucratic paradox. But write a statement - it will save you. Naturally, you should have a second copy of this application in your hands with a mark indicating its acceptance.
The first thing you should do when the local police officer begins to be interested in registered foreigners is to refuse to give explanations and not give your consent to inspect your apartment. This means not just sending the police officer to hell, but documenting these refusals. At the same time, remain tactful with him. So that he doesn’t tell you about the “movement of the planets”, don’t listen to him and stand your ground. Listen to me.

Most likely, he will leave you behind, because in order to get permission to inspect your home, he needs to go to court. It is likely that he will find another victim.

Most likely, the cunning district police officer has prepared for the meeting with you and has already interviewed your neighbors or even members of your family, and none of them have seen any foreigners.

Remember that everything that is said and recorded before the initiation of a criminal case has no procedural significance. The testimony of your neighbors cannot be sufficiently reliable in this case, since they do not live with you and cannot keep track of everyone who comes to you. Well, with your relatives, resolve the issue so that when they are interrogated, they say that there were “Some foreigners. We slept on the floor, on our own mattresses, I don’t remember anything else.”

If you still have the contacts of the foreigners themselves, you don’t need to ask them to come to the police and say that they lived with you. The police will most likely “split” them and this will no longer be a killable argument on the part of the prosecution. The police themselves will look sluggishly for foreigners. Unless they accidentally trip over them somewhere.
You are not obliged to chain registered foreigners, and if you were nevertheless examined by court order and no extra beds were found, give similar testimony to your family members.
If your struggle begins to become protracted, enter into an agreement with a lawyer you trust, since I have run out of universal advice. Then everything will depend on the specific case and even on the specific law enforcement agency. Good luck to you. Then I’ll tell you about Art. 322.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The composition is very interesting.

The essay does not constitute legal advice.

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Actions that contribute to solving a crime:

Complete and truthful testimony regarding the circumstances of the crime committed.
Providing law enforcement agencies with the necessary information on the identified apartment:

organizing access for inspection;
providing contact information of foreign citizens or ensuring their appearance for questioning by an investigator;
providing law enforcement agencies with documents characterizing the individual (for example, marriage certificate, birth certificates of children, etc.).

An example from legal practice under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The principal registered several citizens of the Republic of Moldova in his apartment at the place of residence in the Russian Federation in exchange for carrying out repairs in the apartment. In fact, the indicated foreign citizens did not live in the apartment at the place of registration.

After some time, law enforcement agencies discovered this fact, as a result of which a criminal case was initiated under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

At the end of the investigation, the criminal case was sent to court for consideration.

On May 29, 2022, by a resolution of the magistrate of court district No. 66 of the Levoberezhny district of Moscow, the lawyer’s petition to terminate the criminal case under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in relation to the specified principal and on his release from criminal liability on the basis of Note 2 to this article.

In deciding to terminate the criminal proceedings, the magistrate agreed with the defense’s arguments that the defendant contributed to the detection of the crime.

At the same time, the magistrate assessed the following actions of the defendant as contributing to the detection of the crime:

Giving them self-incriminating explanations before initiating a criminal case, and then testifying about the circumstances of the case.
Unhindered provision of your home for inspection as a crime scene.
A message to the local commissioner of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Left Bank district of the contact details of the person registered in his apartment, which ensured the appearance of a witness to testify in the case, which formed the basis of the accusation.

Thus, the principal took active steps aimed at solving this crime and establishing information, including information previously unknown to the body of inquiry.

In this criminal case, the defense of the defendant was carried out by a member of the Moscow Bar Association “Lawyers on Dubrovka” Shmelev Evgeniy Viktorovich

If you need advice or protection at the stage of inquiry and (or) during the trial under Art. 322.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, call us at: +7(499)964-50-22, +7(901)5555-022.

What is the essence of the crime and how is it detected?

In a note to Article 323 of the Criminal Code, the legislator explained what is considered fictitious registration of subjects not with Russian citizenship. This is a situation when foreigners are registered at their place of residence (stay), although they do not live there and do not intend to stay there. Or the registration was carried out as a result of the fact that false information was provided.

The crime is that conditions were created for registering a person with foreign citizenship at a time when such registration had no legal basis.

The criminal act punishable under Article 323.3 can be detected in various ways:

A visiting commission was held to check whether the stay of individual citizens on Russian territory was legal.
Special authorities received an appeal from citizens concerned about the presence of foreigners in apartments and houses, whose permanent place of residence is unknown.
The interacting authorities received information about the illegal stay of subjects with foreign citizenship on the territory of the Russian Federation.

As a result, law enforcement agencies begin a detailed verification of the information received.

During this check, the investigator:

Conducts checks against existing relevant databases.
Interviews foreign citizens who are suspected of being in the country illegally. It is mandatory to draw up a written protocol indicating where, when and by whom the survey was conducted.
In the territorial migration registration authorities of foreign subjects, he conducts an inspection and seizes documents that prove that the subject has been registered for migration.
Inspects the place that is named as the place of residence of a foreign citizen to determine whether there are conditions for his residence there (availability of space, sleeping places, etc.).
Finds out who owns the residential premises and on what basis.

All data is recorded in a general file. Based on the information received, the investigator draws a conclusion about the elements of the crime and the need to initiate a criminal case in order for the court to pronounce an appropriate sentence.