The story of the move from Odessa to Russia
Hi, I am from Odessa and 2 years ago I moved to the small industrial city of Izhevsk in the Ural region. Usually on Habré they write articles about how to leave Russia to Europe, but I decided to share the experience of moving to Russia. I will tell you how it was, what to expect when moving to Russia, and what to prepare for. I'll tell you how I almost became a technical writer, but I still got a job as a programmer.
I moved to Izhevsk solely for personal reasons, it has nothing to do with the political situation in the country. Quite a lot of Ukrainians are moving here (only four of them can be counted among the company’s colleagues). Most of them find work in some city first, and then move to that city. Someone first chooses a city, for example, by climate, wage level, population size, etc. But this is not all about me. I did not choose a city and was looking for a job by finally moving here. I'll tell you in order.
I had quite a lot of time to prepare: the decision was made in August, and moved only in November. I have already managed to visit Izhevsk and had an idea of what I am going on. Nevertheless, I made a few mistakes.
')
First, I lost my mind with warm clothes. I knew that Izhevsk is much colder than Odessa, that the climate is different, but I still neglected warm things. Probably, this is a typical female mistake: we make a choice in favor of beautiful things, and not practical ones. As a result, to transfer the cold winter was very difficult. I didn’t want to go out at all, the trip to work turned into a test. Even with warm clothes and after two years, the local winter is difficult. I perfectly understand the French defeated by Russia, she almost capitulated herself.
When moving to a colder country, it is worth it to be safe and take more warm clothes.
Secondly, she did not pay enough attention to the necessary documents. More precisely, I paid quite a lot of attention to this issue, and yet, as it turned out, not enough.
Ukrainians can enter Russia on their internal passports, but I immediately decided to do foreign travel, because the conditions of entry can change at any time.
I took with me:
I recommend to make a passport before moving. Mainly, then, to use it when obtaining legal status for foreigners in the Russian Federation.
When you receive the status in Russia in the passport make the appropriate mark. If it is made in the national passport, it will immediately become invalid, therefore, all applications for the status should indicate the foreign one.
Before moving you should make a passport and use it when getting status in Russia.
After moving to Russia, I was waiting for a joyful event - I was going to get married (which was the main reason for the move, but this is a completely different story). I naively did not know the order of marriage registration for foreigners. As it turned out, this requires a certificate stating that a foreigner is not married. And the fact that in the passport there are no marks about this can not be sufficient evidence. Therefore, if you are still planning to get married or marry after moving to another country, you should take care of the certificate from the notary, that you are not married.
I had to contact the consulate in Yekaterinburg to issue this certificate there. By the way, the consulate of Ekaterinburg usually does not accept foreigners from Izhevsk. The idea of Izhevsk is to contact the Moscow Consulate. But I decided to persuade the staff of the consulate of Yekaterinburg, because in Moscow to go longer and more expensive, they easily succumbed to persuasion. In Yekaterinburg, we were 2 days, during this time we managed to get a certificate and take a walk around the city. In the consulate itself there was a queue, but a small one. For help took 4000 rubles.
Think in advance what documents may be useful and make them. Previously it does not hurt to learn the basics of the legislation of another country.
Chapter 3.
Izhevsk is very different from Odessa. It is very cold here. Winter lasts not two months, but all five. But then such fabulous winter landscapes in Odessa can be seen very rarely.
For a long time Izhevsk was a closed industrial city, it is less known than its large neighbors. And here, compared to major cities, there are not many people. I think this is a plus, because I feel more comfortable here, there are fewer traffic jams, parks are freer. And, say, in Moscow it would be much harder to adapt. This is a subjective opinion, some consider Izhevsk to be too provincial.
There are quite a lot of IT companies for a small city in Izhevsk, including hundreds of developers, including many vendors. Some city conferences, mitapes, hakatons are regularly held. Often come famous developers, coaches. In general, IT-tusovka level, and I really like it.
Of course, Izhevsk is not the cultural capital, so there is not such a variety of attractions, as in Odessa. But what I like here is the forest and nature. Inside the city itself is a lot of greenery. Even the park here gradually turns into a wild forest (well, maybe not quite wild and dense, but quite a thick one). Many berries and mushrooms. They say that quite a lot of wild animals, especially moose, but I have not yet met them.
Most of all I miss the sea. Because of this, the summer (and it is surprisingly hot here) seems somehow inferior.
There is a pond here, it is big and beautiful, but, honestly, I did not dare to swim. The number of factories around as if hints that it is not worth it.
This story is not without bureaucracy. Getting a status in Russia is really a difficult and long process.
Upon arrival in Russia, the Ukrainians receive a migration card. Then you need to get on migration registration within 7 days. After that, you can stay in Russia for three months. For further stay, you must have a basis: it may be a temporary residence permit, temporary asylum, work permit, etc.
I applied for a temporary residence permit. For this required documents:
Of course, paid state. fee when applying, tests in each hospital, state. duty on the exam in the Russian language, passport translation.
In total, I spent about 10 thousand rubles. The exam in my native Russian language cost me the most. It cost 5,300 rubles at the time of delivery, but this is only on condition that it is handed over on the first attempt, further attempts are also paid.
The exam is taken either for a temporary residence permit or for obtaining a residence permit. The complexity of the exam depends on it. But there is a trick: if you immediately pass the exam for obtaining a residence permit, you can reuse it: first, you can get a temporary residence permit for it, then you can get a residence permit by it.
If you plan to apply for a temporary residence permit, and then for a residence permit, then take the exam in the Russian language for a residence permit immediately.
The exam in Russian consists of 3 parts: Russian (includes writing, listening, reading, speaking, grammar), history of Russia and the legislation of Russia. And with the last two there may be problems. Personally, I had to retake, because I did not pass the legislation from the first time. The questions are different from very general, to the most specific (an example can be found here ). The history of Russia was easier to pass, but not by much. Attempts can be any number, but everything must be paid.
It is well to prepare for the exam on the legislation and history of Russia. Much cheaper to pass the first time.
By the time most takes the application itself. Strongly find fault with design, had to be redone several times. Well, in order to give it in principle, you have to stand for several hours in a queue.
But the most unpleasant thing is still the collection of medical certificates. And it’s not just the big lines and hospitals in different parts of the city, but also the contingent of the hospitals themselves. First, it is necessary to donate blood at the AIDS center, then to the venereal and skin clinic, then go to X-ray and try not to think that people coughing around are sick with tuberculosis, and then go to a mental hospital so that the doctors are convinced that I am not crazy and not an addict.
A temporary residence permit is issued for three years and is not renewed, therefore a residence permit must be obtained.
The application is again filed, certificates are collected again, again copies and translations of documents and payment. But at least a residence permit can be renewed, it pleases. The term of the residence permit is 5 years, then an application for renewal is submitted. To obtain citizenship, you must live in Russia for at least five years.
When I arrived in Izhevsk, I was 22, and less than six months have passed since I graduated from the University (ONPU) with a degree in System Software. I had very little work experience.
While studying at the 5th course, I worked for about half a year in a web-studio, where I mainly developed and developed websites on various CMS. After that, she worked as a webmaster for about 9 months - she was engaged in site promotion, writing articles, and conducting social services. networks, etc. With such experience, it was not possible to count on much, especially since I am a foreigner.
It was not possible to get a job as a programmer in the first month of the search, and I began to look for related specialties. Soon I found a job as a technical writer. The big plus was that the office was not far from home, and I could be formalized. Foreigners have to report on income once a year in order not to lose status. The average monthly income should not be less than the subsistence minimum.
At the first interview, when asked about future plans, I honestly answered that in the future I see myself as a programmer. And they gave me a chance to try to get a job as a programmer. I was offered a trial assignment, and then another interview.
The test task consisted in small design and writing of the console program on C #. Until that moment, C # I did not even see it. But there was no choice. Spent the whole weekend and still completed the task. The program worked! The required functions were present by about two-thirds, but the code looked terrible in terms of design. I didn’t know about any code culture and wrote as I could. Now I probably would not dare to look at my task. But the inspectors saw the potential in my task and a week later I was invited to a re-interview. As a result, they took me to the department of applied development, where I still work today.
The most difficult were the first three months of work, when most of the time was spent studying a huge amount of material. The situation was aggravated by the fact that obtaining status in Russia took a lot of time and effort. I had to ask for leave during working hours to go to the migration service. Sometimes I had to be absent all day, and then work out on Saturdays. It is good that employers treated this with understanding.
When recruiting foreigners, be prepared for the fact that they will need to solve migration issues during working hours.
It is very important that the company has a well-built system of training new employees. Beginners always have a mentor - a person who helps to get used to the company, answers all questions, builds an employee training program and trains himself in development. This greatly helps to cope with a large amount of material and, importantly, quickly feel like a part of the team.
Now I work as an applied .Net developer in a small team of five people. In total, by the way, the company now employs 500 people. For two years, I learned a lot and was able to become a full-fledged programmer. Basically, due to the fact that I am surrounded by people who know their business, root for it and skillfully teach others. I had a very patient mentor who still helps, for example, with writing an article. I am supported by the guys from my department and, of course, by a manager who not only treats employees with understanding, but knows how to motivate and inspire.
Mostly I am engaged in the design and development of business logic for electronic document management systems. My way of thinking is sometimes very different from the guys. I do not know why, maybe the matter is in the mentality, maybe in the fact that the girl, or maybe in the fact that she is from Odessa. But this is my strength, often it turns out to offer extraordinary ideas or solutions to problems.
The fact that Ukrainian is all good, often asked about life in Odessa. And in general, Russians are fine with Ukrainians, no aggression or clashes on a national basis arise, no matter how strongly the media are convinced of the opposite.
By the way, when my husband (he is Russian) and I went to Odessa to my parents last year, there were no inter-ethnic problems either: neither at the border, nor in Odessa. But It is worth noting that the road to Odessa is not easy now. Previously, the Moscow-Odessa flight took an hour and a half and there were quite a few flights. And now you have to fly through Minsk or Chisinau. There is still a train, but the journey is also long and difficult.
Finish on a positive note. For me everything went well. I was very afraid and worried, but none of my fears were justified: I survived the harsh Russian winter, I had no national problems and I managed to become a programmer.
I hope my story was interesting and useful for those who decided to move to Russia. If you have any questions for me - write in the comments.
I moved to Izhevsk solely for personal reasons, it has nothing to do with the political situation in the country. Quite a lot of Ukrainians are moving here (only four of them can be counted among the company’s colleagues). Most of them find work in some city first, and then move to that city. Someone first chooses a city, for example, by climate, wage level, population size, etc. But this is not all about me. I did not choose a city and was looking for a job by finally moving here. I'll tell you in order.
Chapter 1. The first rake
I had quite a lot of time to prepare: the decision was made in August, and moved only in November. I have already managed to visit Izhevsk and had an idea of what I am going on. Nevertheless, I made a few mistakes.
')
First, I lost my mind with warm clothes. I knew that Izhevsk is much colder than Odessa, that the climate is different, but I still neglected warm things. Probably, this is a typical female mistake: we make a choice in favor of beautiful things, and not practical ones. As a result, to transfer the cold winter was very difficult. I didn’t want to go out at all, the trip to work turned into a test. Even with warm clothes and after two years, the local winter is difficult. I perfectly understand the French defeated by Russia, she almost capitulated herself.
When moving to a colder country, it is worth it to be safe and take more warm clothes.
Chapter 2. Tail and Mustache My Documents
Secondly, she did not pay enough attention to the necessary documents. More precisely, I paid quite a lot of attention to this issue, and yet, as it turned out, not enough.
Ukrainians can enter Russia on their internal passports, but I immediately decided to do foreign travel, because the conditions of entry can change at any time.
I took with me:
- national passport;
- international passport;
- Diploma of Higher Education.
I recommend to make a passport before moving. Mainly, then, to use it when obtaining legal status for foreigners in the Russian Federation.
When you receive the status in Russia in the passport make the appropriate mark. If it is made in the national passport, it will immediately become invalid, therefore, all applications for the status should indicate the foreign one.
Before moving you should make a passport and use it when getting status in Russia.
After moving to Russia, I was waiting for a joyful event - I was going to get married (which was the main reason for the move, but this is a completely different story). I naively did not know the order of marriage registration for foreigners. As it turned out, this requires a certificate stating that a foreigner is not married. And the fact that in the passport there are no marks about this can not be sufficient evidence. Therefore, if you are still planning to get married or marry after moving to another country, you should take care of the certificate from the notary, that you are not married.
I had to contact the consulate in Yekaterinburg to issue this certificate there. By the way, the consulate of Ekaterinburg usually does not accept foreigners from Izhevsk. The idea of Izhevsk is to contact the Moscow Consulate. But I decided to persuade the staff of the consulate of Yekaterinburg, because in Moscow to go longer and more expensive, they easily succumbed to persuasion. In Yekaterinburg, we were 2 days, during this time we managed to get a certificate and take a walk around the city. In the consulate itself there was a queue, but a small one. For help took 4000 rubles.
Think in advance what documents may be useful and make them. Previously it does not hurt to learn the basics of the legislation of another country.
Chapter 3. Behind the Moscow Ring Road There is such a city Izhevsk
Izhevsk is very different from Odessa. It is very cold here. Winter lasts not two months, but all five. But then such fabulous winter landscapes in Odessa can be seen very rarely.
For a long time Izhevsk was a closed industrial city, it is less known than its large neighbors. And here, compared to major cities, there are not many people. I think this is a plus, because I feel more comfortable here, there are fewer traffic jams, parks are freer. And, say, in Moscow it would be much harder to adapt. This is a subjective opinion, some consider Izhevsk to be too provincial.
There are quite a lot of IT companies for a small city in Izhevsk, including hundreds of developers, including many vendors. Some city conferences, mitapes, hakatons are regularly held. Often come famous developers, coaches. In general, IT-tusovka level, and I really like it.
Of course, Izhevsk is not the cultural capital, so there is not such a variety of attractions, as in Odessa. But what I like here is the forest and nature. Inside the city itself is a lot of greenery. Even the park here gradually turns into a wild forest (well, maybe not quite wild and dense, but quite a thick one). Many berries and mushrooms. They say that quite a lot of wild animals, especially moose, but I have not yet met them.
Most of all I miss the sea. Because of this, the summer (and it is surprisingly hot here) seems somehow inferior.
There is a pond here, it is big and beautiful, but, honestly, I did not dare to swim. The number of factories around as if hints that it is not worth it.
Chapter 4. Warm welcome
This story is not without bureaucracy. Getting a status in Russia is really a difficult and long process.
Upon arrival in Russia, the Ukrainians receive a migration card. Then you need to get on migration registration within 7 days. After that, you can stay in Russia for three months. For further stay, you must have a basis: it may be a temporary residence permit, temporary asylum, work permit, etc.
I applied for a temporary residence permit. For this required documents:
- the application itself and its copy (must be correctly filled out);
- Photo;
- foreign passport and its copy, necessarily with the translation into Russian, notarized;
- medical certificates from four hospitals;
- certificate of the exam in the Russian language.
Of course, paid state. fee when applying, tests in each hospital, state. duty on the exam in the Russian language, passport translation.
In total, I spent about 10 thousand rubles. The exam in my native Russian language cost me the most. It cost 5,300 rubles at the time of delivery, but this is only on condition that it is handed over on the first attempt, further attempts are also paid.
The exam is taken either for a temporary residence permit or for obtaining a residence permit. The complexity of the exam depends on it. But there is a trick: if you immediately pass the exam for obtaining a residence permit, you can reuse it: first, you can get a temporary residence permit for it, then you can get a residence permit by it.
If you plan to apply for a temporary residence permit, and then for a residence permit, then take the exam in the Russian language for a residence permit immediately.
The exam in Russian consists of 3 parts: Russian (includes writing, listening, reading, speaking, grammar), history of Russia and the legislation of Russia. And with the last two there may be problems. Personally, I had to retake, because I did not pass the legislation from the first time. The questions are different from very general, to the most specific (an example can be found here ). The history of Russia was easier to pass, but not by much. Attempts can be any number, but everything must be paid.
It is well to prepare for the exam on the legislation and history of Russia. Much cheaper to pass the first time.
By the time most takes the application itself. Strongly find fault with design, had to be redone several times. Well, in order to give it in principle, you have to stand for several hours in a queue.
But the most unpleasant thing is still the collection of medical certificates. And it’s not just the big lines and hospitals in different parts of the city, but also the contingent of the hospitals themselves. First, it is necessary to donate blood at the AIDS center, then to the venereal and skin clinic, then go to X-ray and try not to think that people coughing around are sick with tuberculosis, and then go to a mental hospital so that the doctors are convinced that I am not crazy and not an addict.
A temporary residence permit is issued for three years and is not renewed, therefore a residence permit must be obtained.
The application is again filed, certificates are collected again, again copies and translations of documents and payment. But at least a residence permit can be renewed, it pleases. The term of the residence permit is 5 years, then an application for renewal is submitted. To obtain citizenship, you must live in Russia for at least five years.
Chapter 5. Who Will I Be When I Grow Up
When I arrived in Izhevsk, I was 22, and less than six months have passed since I graduated from the University (ONPU) with a degree in System Software. I had very little work experience.
While studying at the 5th course, I worked for about half a year in a web-studio, where I mainly developed and developed websites on various CMS. After that, she worked as a webmaster for about 9 months - she was engaged in site promotion, writing articles, and conducting social services. networks, etc. With such experience, it was not possible to count on much, especially since I am a foreigner.
It was not possible to get a job as a programmer in the first month of the search, and I began to look for related specialties. Soon I found a job as a technical writer. The big plus was that the office was not far from home, and I could be formalized. Foreigners have to report on income once a year in order not to lose status. The average monthly income should not be less than the subsistence minimum.
At the first interview, when asked about future plans, I honestly answered that in the future I see myself as a programmer. And they gave me a chance to try to get a job as a programmer. I was offered a trial assignment, and then another interview.
The test task consisted in small design and writing of the console program on C #. Until that moment, C # I did not even see it. But there was no choice. Spent the whole weekend and still completed the task. The program worked! The required functions were present by about two-thirds, but the code looked terrible in terms of design. I didn’t know about any code culture and wrote as I could. Now I probably would not dare to look at my task. But the inspectors saw the potential in my task and a week later I was invited to a re-interview. As a result, they took me to the department of applied development, where I still work today.
Chapter 6. At ease
The most difficult were the first three months of work, when most of the time was spent studying a huge amount of material. The situation was aggravated by the fact that obtaining status in Russia took a lot of time and effort. I had to ask for leave during working hours to go to the migration service. Sometimes I had to be absent all day, and then work out on Saturdays. It is good that employers treated this with understanding.
When recruiting foreigners, be prepared for the fact that they will need to solve migration issues during working hours.
It is very important that the company has a well-built system of training new employees. Beginners always have a mentor - a person who helps to get used to the company, answers all questions, builds an employee training program and trains himself in development. This greatly helps to cope with a large amount of material and, importantly, quickly feel like a part of the team.
Now I work as an applied .Net developer in a small team of five people. In total, by the way, the company now employs 500 people. For two years, I learned a lot and was able to become a full-fledged programmer. Basically, due to the fact that I am surrounded by people who know their business, root for it and skillfully teach others. I had a very patient mentor who still helps, for example, with writing an article. I am supported by the guys from my department and, of course, by a manager who not only treats employees with understanding, but knows how to motivate and inspire.
Mostly I am engaged in the design and development of business logic for electronic document management systems. My way of thinking is sometimes very different from the guys. I do not know why, maybe the matter is in the mentality, maybe in the fact that the girl, or maybe in the fact that she is from Odessa. But this is my strength, often it turns out to offer extraordinary ideas or solutions to problems.
The fact that Ukrainian is all good, often asked about life in Odessa. And in general, Russians are fine with Ukrainians, no aggression or clashes on a national basis arise, no matter how strongly the media are convinced of the opposite.
By the way, when my husband (he is Russian) and I went to Odessa to my parents last year, there were no inter-ethnic problems either: neither at the border, nor in Odessa. But It is worth noting that the road to Odessa is not easy now. Previously, the Moscow-Odessa flight took an hour and a half and there were quite a few flights. And now you have to fly through Minsk or Chisinau. There is still a train, but the journey is also long and difficult.
Final chapter
Finish on a positive note. For me everything went well. I was very afraid and worried, but none of my fears were justified: I survived the harsh Russian winter, I had no national problems and I managed to become a programmer.
I hope my story was interesting and useful for those who decided to move to Russia. If you have any questions for me - write in the comments.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/329624/
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