Who counts as a currency resident and what difference it makes
Residence does not depend on where you live. A Russian citizen remains a currency resident wherever they live. Foreigners with a permanent residence permit in Russia are also residents, but a foreigner with a temporary residence permit is not. This is unrelated to tax residence: you can live in Dubai for years and still be a currency resident.
Notification and report. You must notify the tax authority within one month of opening or closing a foreign account or changing its details. And by 1 June each year you must file a report on the movement of funds on the account for the previous year. A report is required for any foreign account, except in the cases below.
When you need not file a report. If the bank is in an EAEU country or in a country on the FTS list for automatic exchange of tax information, and no more than RUB 600,000 was credited to and debited from the account during the year. The same threshold of RUB 600,000 of credits per year applies to an electronic wallet abroad.
More than 183 days abroad. If you spent more than 183 days outside Russia in a calendar year, the requirements for foreign accounts do not apply to you: no notification, no report, and no restrictions on credits. If you ended the year with 183 days or fewer, you must notify and report by 1 June of the following year.
What the bank will ask when you transfer money abroad
Documents on the transaction itself. As a currency control agent, the bank asks only for what relates to the transfer: a contract, a statement, a notification of a foreign account, documents proving kinship if you are sending money to relatives, or proof of your stay abroad. You are given at least seven working days to reply.
Where the money comes from. The bank asks about the origin of the funds under the anti-money-laundering law (Federal Law No. 115-FZ). Here a sale and purchase agreement, an income certificate or a certificate of right to inheritance will be useful.
Purpose of payment. If the transfer says “help for a relative” but the amounts and regularity look more like payment for services, the bank will ask for explanations and may refuse.
There are no longer limits for citizens. From 8 December 2025 the Bank of Russia lifted the restrictions on transfers abroad for Russian citizens. Previously you could send no more than one million dollars a month from an account, and no more than 10 thousand through money transfer systems. The bank’s checks remain, however.
Splitting. Several transfers in a row to one recipient in amounts just below notable thresholds are almost always taken by the bank as an attempt to evade control.
A transfer is most often delayed not because of the amount, but because the client did not answer the bank’s request or sent documents that do not explain the transaction.
What can be credited to a foreign account
It all depends on the country where the account is opened. For some countries there are almost no restrictions, for others the law provides a closed list.
Banks in the EAEU and in countries on the FTS list
If the bank is in an EAEU country or in a country on the FTS list for automatic exchange of information, any funds may be credited from non-residents: payment under a contract for work, rent, dividends, an inheritance.
Other countries: a closed list
Only the receipts listed in the law are allowed here: transfers from your accounts in Russian banks and from your other foreign accounts, salary under an employment contract for work abroad, pensions, benefits, maintenance payments, insurance payouts, interest on the balance, money under a foreign court judgment, and refunds of mistaken payments.
What is not on this list
Payment under a contract for work, rent, dividends, an inheritance and a gift from a foreigner are not permitted to be credited to an account in such a country. Crediting them is treated as an unlawful currency transaction.
What to do with such money
Receive it into an account in a country on the FTS list or into a Russian bank. Before opening an account, check the country against the current FTS list.
What breaches of the rules risk
Unlawful currency transaction. If money that may not be credited arrives in a foreign account, the fine under Part 1 of Article 15.25 of the Code of Administrative Offences is 20 to 40 percent of the amount. Exception: where the breach could not be avoided because of sanctions, there is no liability.
Account notification. Not filed at all: a fine of RUB 4,000-5,000. Filed late or not in the proper form: RUB 1,000-1,500. Transactions on the account play no role here.
Report on the movement of funds. For lateness, from a warning to RUB 3,000, depending on how many days late. A repeat breach costs RUB 20,000.
Limitation period of two years. For most administrative offences it is 60 days, but for currency offences it is two years from the breach. The tax authority has time to cross-check the data that arrives from abroad.
How to reduce risk when transferring money abroad
State the purpose of payment precisely and clearly. The wording must reflect the substance of the transaction and match the supporting documents, rather than being a general phrase such as “financial assistance”.
Prepare documents in advance. It is better to gather the contract, certificate of inheritance and income certificate before sending the transfer, rather than looking for them after the bank has held it up.
Do not split a large transfer into several small ones. A single transfer with a clear purpose and documents passes the check faster than a series of payments that in itself attracts the attention of compliance.
Notify the tax authority within a month. The easiest way is in the taxpayer’s personal account right after opening the account. The fine for missing the deadline does not depend on whether there were any transactions on the account.
Currency control for individuals in numbers
Reference points worth knowing before you open an account abroad or accept a large transfer into it.
Common mistakes with transfers and accounts abroad
Opening an account and forgetting the notification. A month passes quickly. The breach arises on the day the deadline expires, not when the tax authority learns of it.
Receiving rent or fees into the wrong place. Rent, dividends or payment under a contract for work credited to an account in a country not on the FTS list is an unlawful currency transaction, with a fine of up to 40 percent of the amount.
Splitting a large transfer into small ones. A series of small payments raises more questions than one large transfer with a clear purpose and documents.
Hoping nobody will notice. Information on Russians’ accounts reaches the FTS automatically from abroad, and the limitation period is two years. A transaction from the year before last can still be punished.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to notify the tax authority of an account if I live abroad?+
If you spent more than 183 days abroad in the calendar year, no: neither a notification nor a report is required. If you spent fewer, you must notify and report by 1 June of the following year.
Can I receive an inheritance into a foreign account?+
It depends on the bank’s country. Into an account in an EAEU country or in a country on the FTS list, yes. Into accounts in other countries an inheritance from a non-resident may not be credited, so it is better to receive it into a Russian bank or a bank in a listed country.
Need help transferring funds from abroad?+
Send us a request: a partner from the international practice will check the documents and advise how to carry out the transaction without risk of a fine.