Study Abroad Packing List

Study abroad is an essential stage for many foreign students. Russia traditionally provides high-quality education at quite a reasonable cost. In order to choose a suitable institution, select the initial education level and field of study and click Find programmes.

What Should the Packing List Include?

Knowledge of Russian is not mandatory, although the basic level will greatly simplify the first months of study abroad. The minimum amount of monthly spending for accommodation is from $350-400, on education – from $1200 a year (depending on the university). In addition, you will need a documents set, that must be treated in advance.

A Written Invitation

It is submitted in a free form and must contain all the necessary data (i.e., full name, date/place of birth, passport data etc.

Also, it is needed to provide a passport copy (photocopy) of the pages with the data noted in the invitation.

Application for Visa

Russia is a country with a fairly serious migration policy, so be sure to verify all the data provided. A student visa is given at the Russian Embassy.

The tuition fee of studying abroad should be advanced. Therefore, make certain that you can provide the bank statement.

Entry to Russia

To cross the border be certain that you have the following documents: passport, student entry visa and a migration card.

Each university has its own requirements for the admission documents. Usually the list includes:

• Document confirming your identity;

• certificate of secondary education;

• notarized copies of the secondary education certificate;

• document about the medical status;

• certificate about absence of HIV/AIDS (its validity is 3 months);

• photos (matte, black and white, size 3x4 cm only);

You can get more information about documents required by contacting with university’s representatives.

Any medicines, except for antibiotics and tranquilizers, can be purchased in a drugstore with no prescription. If you take certain prescribed medicines on a regular basis, you should bring a safety stock with you. 

Most foreign students get places in student dormitories, where there is all the necessary furniture, bed linen, appliances and utensils in the kitchen. Students can cook their usual food: products and spices from different countries can be bought at any major store. At first, you can bring a small stock of the usual products with you. Big Russian stores have an assortment quite similar to the European or Asian markets.

Russian territory is in almost all climatic zones. When choosing clothes to take, be guided by the city of the university location and by its climate. As a rule, in winter all Russian cities are cold enough, so warm clothes will be needed. Any clothes can be bought in hypermarkets, so it's okay if something is left out of sight. The best cloth for the winter is a down jacket or a park. The jackets and coats on modern synthetic fillers are popular among students as well: such clothes are warm and light. If you are afraid to freeze, don’t forget your thermal underwear.