If you have paperwork to do in St Petersburg, the place you will be sent to is called an MFC — a "My Documents" public services centre. There are branches in every district of the city, and the list of offices with addresses, opening hours and the services each one handles is published on the city services portal gu.spb.ru. Two things confuse newcomers, and both cost people a wasted day.
Most services are territory-free — but not all
St Petersburg runs its centres on what the city calls the extraterritorial principle: the majority of services are accepted at any branch, regardless of where you are registered inside the city. The city administration's own explanation is practical — people are commonly registered at one address and live in another district, so there is no point in sending them across town.
The exception matters. Residence registration — both permanent registration and registration at a place of stay — is handled on a territorial basis: you must go to the centre serving the district where you will be registered. A Russian citizen staying in accommodation that is not their permanent home for more than 90 days applies for registration at a place of stay after that period, bringing an identity document, an application on form No. 1 and the document that justifies staying at the address, which means the owner's consent. Without the landlord, this cannot be done.
The health insurance trap
The compulsory health insurance policy (OMS) is issued at all MFC branches except the business service centres, and — officially — only to Russian citizens who hold temporary or permanent registration in St Petersburg. If you live in the city without registration, the counter will not issue a policy; you go to an insurance company instead. The good news is that a policy issued anywhere in Russia is valid across the whole country, so you do not need a local one to be treated.
