How to transfer money out of Russia in 2026

Since December 2025 the central bank has lifted limits on currency transfers for Russian citizens, but sanctions, bank checks and currency control remain.

In detail

Since 8 December 2025 a Russian citizen can transfer any amount abroad in foreign currency: the Bank of Russia lifted the $1 million monthly limit on transfers to foreign accounts and the $10,000 monthly limit on money transfer systems. Formally, the road is open. In practice the main obstacles are no longer Russian rules but banks on both sides of the border: sanctions, source-of-funds checks and foreign banks refusing payments from Russia.

Below are only legal methods and the rules in force in 2026: what you can transfer and carry out, how to stay within currency control and where money most often gets stuck. There is no advice on getting around restrictions here: such schemes end in frozen accounts faster than the first statement arrives.

What restrictions on moving money apply in 2026

The rules have changed more than a dozen times in four years, so first, what applies now.

There is an exception for taking more rubles: flying through international airports designated by the government and proving with bank statements that the whole sum was withdrawn from your own accounts. The exchange rate in this article is 85.71 rubles per dollar, the Bank of Russia rate on 7 October 2026.

How to transfer money to your own account abroad

The most direct and transparent route is a foreign currency transfer from a Russian bank to your own account at a foreign bank. There are no limits anymore, but it does not work everywhere: some Russian banks are disconnected from the international payment messaging system, and some foreign banks do not accept transfers from Russia or from certain Russian banks.

1. Open an account abroad. It is easiest in countries whose banks work with Russian citizens: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Georgia, the UAE, Serbia, Turkey. How to choose a bank is covered in the article opening a bank account abroad in 2026.
2. Notify the tax service of the account within a month if you are a currency resident and do not fall under the 183-days-abroad exception.
3. Ask both banks in which currency and with which details the transfer will arrive: dollars and euros from Russia are often returned, while yuan, dirhams, tenge or drams pass more often.
4. Prepare source-of-funds documents: salary, sale of a flat, inheritance, deposits. The foreign bank will certainly ask for them and will freeze the incoming funds without them.
5. Send a small amount first, make sure it arrives, and only then the main part.

Fees depend on the banks and currency: the Russian bank takes its percentage, the receiving bank its own, and conversion costs a further part of the sum. For large amounts the difference between banks is significant, so compare routes before transferring.

Transfers via money transfer systems and by card number

Without opening an account, money is sent through the money transfer systems of Russian banks: the recipient collects it in cash or to a card in the destination country. Since December 2025 there is no monthly limit, but each system and bank has its own per-transaction caps, and the list of countries is limited to friendly destinations: the CIS, Turkey, the UAE, China and parts of Asia and Latin America.

It is convenient for living expenses in the first months after a move but inconvenient for large sums: each payout must be collected in person, and the receiving bank may ask questions if large amounts arrive regularly. For savings and proceeds from selling property, a transfer to your own account is more reliable.

How much cash you can take out of Russia

You can take out no more than $10,000 in foreign cash per person. Since 29 September 2026 a separate ruble threshold applies to trips to EAEU countries, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan: no more than 1 million rubles, about $12,000. More rubles can be taken only through government-designated airports and with bank statements showing the whole sum was withdrawn from your own accounts.

Cash is the riskiest method: it is hard to deposit abroad without source-of-funds documents, and banks in many countries refuse large cash deposits from new clients. Cash is fine for first expenses, not for moving savings.

Selling a flat and other assets: how to move the money

Proceeds from selling a flat, a car or a business share arrive in a Russian account and are then transferred under the general rules, without a limit since December 2025. The key is documents: the sale contract, a statement showing the money arrived and the tax paid, if due. The foreign bank will ask for exactly this chain.

If you already live abroad, you can sell a flat under a power of attorney, and the tax on the sale depends on whether you are a Russian tax resident in the year of the deal. More in the articles Russian tax non-resident status and deregistering from a flat while abroad. Type C account restrictions apply to foreigners from unfriendly countries, not to Russian citizens.

Currency control: what to report to the tax service

A Russian citizen remains a currency resident wherever they live and has two duties regarding foreign accounts. The first is to notify the tax service of opening, closing or changing account details within a month. The second is to file an annual report on account movements for the previous year by 1 June.

The 183-day exception is the most important point here: currency law requirements, including notifications and reports, do not apply to a citizen who spent more than 183 days outside Russia in a calendar year. It is best to count days by passport stamps and keep tickets: arguing with the tax service without evidence is hard. Counting days is covered in the article tax residence and the 183-day rule.

Fines for late notifications or reports are small, but fines for prohibited operations on foreign accounts are calculated as a percentage of the amount. So make large transfers once your status and paperwork are in order.

How to move money if you already live abroad

Most Russian banks allow operations in the mobile app from abroad, including foreign currency transfers to your own account. But some banks require an in-person visit for large transfers, a phone number change or restoring access, so before leaving check that the app works with a foreign SIM card and that code words and powers of attorney are in place.

Russian cards work in few countries, so you need a local card for daily life, while the Russian account remains the source of transfers. If a flat or a car remains in Russia, they can be sold under a notarised power of attorney, with the money received into your own Russian account and transferred afterwards. A bank may check a power of attorney over accounts separately, so agree its form with the bank in advance.

Deposits, dividends and brokerage accounts

Money from a deposit or brokerage account is first moved to your own Russian bank account and then transferred abroad under the general rules. Foreign securities blocked since 2022 cannot be moved this way: their fate depends on separate unblocking procedures. Dividends from Russian companies reach a Russian citizen's ordinary account, and the restrictions for non-residents from unfriendly countries do not apply to it.

If income was received in a Russian account before the move, tax has usually already been withheld. If after, your tax status in that year matters: it determines the rate and who withholds the tax.

Example route: selling a flat and transferring the money

Example calculation. A flat in Russia is sold for the equivalent of $140,000, and the money arrives in the seller's account at a Russian bank. If the flat was owned longer than the minimum period - 3 years for a sole home, an inheritance, a gift from a relative or privatisation, and 5 years otherwise - there is no tax on the sale.

1. The seller opened an account in Kazakhstan in advance and notified the tax service, if they still live in Russia most of the year.
2. Documents were collected: the sale contract, a property register extract on the transfer of title and a bank statement showing the money arrived.
3. A small test transfer in yuan confirmed the route works.
4. The main sum was sent in one or several payments, if the receiving bank asked for that.
5. A movement report was filed by 1 June of the following year, unless the seller falls under the 183-day exception.

Every step carries bank fees and conversion losses, so plan the route for a large sum in advance: the difference between banks can run to thousands of dollars.

What changed in 2025-2026

Currency rules change often, so before a large transfer check them as of the date of the operation: a decision made six months before the move may be outdated by the time the flat is sold.

Taxes: is moving money taxed

Transferring your own money to your own account is not taxed: tax is paid on income, not on movement. But income on a foreign account, such as deposit interest or gains from selling securities, must be declared by a Russian tax resident, who pays tax at 13 to 22%. A tax resident is someone who spent 183 days or more in Russia within 12 consecutive months.

After a move the status changes: a non-resident pays tax only on Russian income, but at different rates. If the foreign country exchanges tax information with Russia, details of your account may reach the tax service automatically, so it is safer to declare the income yourself. Rates and examples are on the page taxes in Russia, and a comparison with other countries in the taxes by country section.

Where to open an account so the money arrives

Sending money from Russia has become easier; receiving it abroad has not. Banks in most EU countries open accounts for Russian citizens living in Russia reluctantly or not at all, and check incoming transfers from Russia for weeks. So the first account is usually opened where banks are used to Russian clients.

An account in the country you move to does more than a transit one: salary, rent and taxes go through one bank, and the transaction history later helps prove income for a residence permit. All options are in the personal accounts abroad section.

Common mistakes when moving money

• Transferring everything in one sum without a test payment. If the transfer is returned, the money can hang between banks for weeks.
• Not collecting source-of-funds documents. Without a sale contract, a salary certificate or statements, the foreign bank will freeze the funds.
• Forgetting to notify the tax service of the account if you are still a currency resident living in Russia most of the year.
• Carrying large amounts of cash. It is hard to deposit, and above the thresholds it is a violation.
• Using other people's accounts and intermediaries without a contract. This leads straight to frozen accounts and money laundering suspicions.

How we help

Money from Russia most often gets stuck not on the Russian side but abroad: the bank will not open an account, returns the transfer or asks for documents that do not exist. Murblz specialists choose the country and bank for your situation, help open the account, assemble source-of-funds documents and keep track of tax notifications and reports.

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