Payments to the family of a foreign national who died serving in Russia

What is happening

The parents of the deceased live in his home country and learned of his death from his fellow servicemen. They have no death certificate, do not speak Russian and do not know where to turn.

A widow with two children lives abroad. The marriage was registered in her country, and the marriage certificate and the children's birth certificates are in the local language: English, French, Arabic, Spanish or any other. She has been told that the money is transferred only to a Russian account, and she does not know how to open one.

The widow lives in Russia, while the parents of the deceased stayed in the country of which he was a citizen. The recipients are in different countries, and each of them needs a separate set of documents and a separate power of attorney.

The family has received some of the payments, but the claim for the payment linked to participation in the special military operation was refused with reference to the circumstances of the death.

What the law says

• Foreign nationals lawfully present in Russia may sign a contract for military service (Article 34 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of 28 March 1998 "On Military Duty and Military Service"). The rules on payments to the family of a deceased serviceman do not make citizenship a condition, either for the serviceman or for the recipients.
• A lump-sum benefit on the death of a serviceman is established by Part 8 of Article 3 of Federal Law No. 306-FZ of 7 November 2011 "On Monetary Allowance for Military Personnel and Provision of Certain Payments to Them". The amount of the benefit is indexed, and the benefit is divided equally among the family members. It is to be paid within 30 days of receipt of the required documents (Part 12.2 of Article 3 of Law No. 306-FZ).
• The benefit is due to a spouse who was in a registered marriage with the deceased on the day of death, parents, minor children, children over 18 who became disabled before the age of 18, and children under 23 in full-time education (Part 11 of Article 3 of Law No. 306-FZ). An unregistered (de facto) marriage gives no right to the payments.
• The insurance sum under Article 5 of Federal Law No. 52-FZ of 28 March 1998 on compulsory state life and health insurance of military personnel and other categories of service personnel is also indexed and is paid to the recipients in equal shares. The circle of recipients under this law is wider: under certain conditions it includes, for example, grandparents who brought up the deceased (Article 2(3) of Law No. 52-FZ). The payment is made in Russia, in roubles, regardless of where the recipient lives (Article 11(3) of Law No. 52-FZ).
• If the death is linked to participation in the special military operation, family members are also entitled to a separate lump-sum payment in equal shares (subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree No. 98 of 5 March 2022). Under the procedure approved by Order of the Minister of Defence No. 236 of 22 April 2022, the payment to family members is made in Russia, in roubles, regardless of where they live, and families abroad are told which documents are needed by the military unit or the military commissariat (voenkomat, the military registration and enlistment office).
• These payments do not form part of the estate: the right to them arises for family members by law. What is inherited is the property of the deceased, including any unpaid monetary allowance, if family members who lived with him and his disabled dependants did not claim it within four months (Article 1183 of the Civil Code).
• A refusal by the commander of a military unit, a military commissariat or a finance body can be challenged in court within three months of the day the person learned of the violation (Article 219(1) of the Code of Administrative Procedure (KAS)). A dispute with the insurer over the insurance sum is heard under civil procedure.

What we do

• We draw up a map of payments: the grounds this family has, which relatives are among the recipients under each legal act, and in what shares.
• We prepare the text of the power of attorney in Russian and in the family's language and explain how to execute it: at a Russian consulate or before a local notary with an apostille.
• We give each relative a list of documents on marriage and kinship, work out for their country whether an apostille, consular legalisation or a treaty between Russia and that country applies, check the spelling of names (double surnames, transliteration) and arrange a notarised translation in Russia.
• We request documents on the death and on the service from the military unit, the military commissariat and the civil registry offices (ZAGS): an extract from the order removing the serviceman from the unit's personnel lists, certificates and the death certificate.
• We file applications from each recipient for each payment and monitor the review deadlines.
• We settle bank details with the family in advance: payments are transferred to an account with a Russian bank, and for children to a nominal account (an account opened by a legal guardian in the child's interest).
• We handle the inheritance case before a notary separately: we determine the applicable law, the place where the estate is opened and the property in Russia.
• If a claim is refused, we obtain a written reasoned response, assess the prospects and prepare an administrative claim or a claim against the insurer.
• If the family decides to apply for Russian citizenship under Presidential Decree No. 821 of 5 November 2025, we help prepare the documents. The application is filed with a division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in Russia.

What we will need from you

• Passports of the relatives who will receive the payments.
• Documents on marriage and kinship: the marriage certificate, the birth certificate of the deceased and the children's birth certificates, with an apostille or legalisation.
• Everything known about the service: the name of the deceased as written in the contract, date of birth, the military unit number or the city where the contract was signed, and the notice or message about the death.
• A power of attorney for the representative, executed at a Russian consulate or before a notary with an apostille.
• For children aged 18 to 23, a certificate of full-time education.