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- In a foreign way: a record 147 thousand work permits were issued in the Russian Federation
In a foreign way: a record 147 thousand work permits were issued in the Russian Federation
Russian companies are increasingly relying on workers from visa-free countries. In the first half of the year, a record 147 thousand work permits were issued in the Russian Federation, according to EMISS data. (Izvestia analyzed them). Employees from China, India and Indonesia have been invited one and a half times more often this year. At the same time, Turks and Vietnamese are now called less often. The authorities are also preparing new migration control rules: by December, the Interior Ministry will propose introducing mandatory electronic registration of foreigners through Gosuslugi and eliminating paper migration cards. How all this will affect the labor market is in the Izvestia article.
How many foreigners work in Russia
In the first six months of this year, more than 147 thousand work permits were issued to foreigners, according to EMISS data. Such a document is required for citizens of countries with a visa-based work regime. Over the same period last year, the figure was almost a third lower. The editorial board asked the Interior Ministry for a comment.
According to the Security Council, about a third of those who received permits are qualified and highly qualified employees (10.7 thousand and 44 thousand, respectively).
The mechanism for attracting such workers differs from hiring citizens from countries with a visa-free regime. To apply for an employee from a visa country, the company first receives permission to hire foreign labor. In other words, this is targeted hiring for the needs of specific enterprises, explained Albina Khamitova, head of the Eco Start company.
— The increase in the number of work permits is explained by the fact that Russian companies are increasingly relying on a more stable and predictable model of attracting foreign labor. Such employees, as a rule, have the necessary qualifications, come to Russia on quotas, do not transport families and cannot change employers during the period of validity of the permit," explained Mikhail Burda, professor at the Department of Political Science and Political Management at the Presidential Academy.
This year, the countries from which employees are most often invited have also changed. According to EMISS, compared with last year, work permits issued to citizens of China (70.4 thousand), India (33.7 thousand), Indonesia (1.4 thousand) increased one and a half times, and those who came from Sri Lanka (2 thousand) doubled. At the same time, the number of documents issued to Vietnamese (by 10%, to 10,000) and Turks (by 20%, to 4,000) decreased. Immigrants from unfriendly European countries and the United States continue to work in Russia.
The number of patents granted is decreasing
Another common way for foreigners to get a job is to obtain a patent. According to EMISS, in the first half of 2026, the number of such documents decreased by almost 21%, to 1.1 million.
A patent allows a person to work only in the region where it was issued. As a rule, such employees close massive low—skilled vacancies in the field of housing and communal services, construction, cleaning, delivery, where there is a shortage of personnel due to working conditions and pay levels, explained Olga Lebedinskaya, Associate Professor of Statistics at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
Citizens of countries with which Russia has a visa—free labor regime can obtain a patent, for example, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. At the same time, foreigners with a temporary residence permit, residence permit (residence permit), as well as citizens of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (it includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) are not required to issue such a document.
The decrease in the number of patents granted is due to several factors at once. In particular, the mechanism for legalizing migrants who were in Russia with a violation of the terms of stay has ceased to operate. Until September last year, they could legitimize their status, which temporarily increased the number of applications. After completing this measure, the indicator began to decline.
Regional bans on attracting foreigners to work in certain fields also had an additional impact, said Valeria Starodubova, lawyer at Leges Bureau. Thus, in Primorsky Krai, citizens from other countries cannot work in 88 sectors of the economy at once, including medicine, education and manufacturing.
Migration legislation is also gradually being tightened: in September 2026, new medical examination requirements will be introduced for new arrivals, Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the VMT Consult agency, recalled. In addition, the list of grounds for deportation has been expanded.
Changes in migration legislation
In order to strengthen control over workers entering Russia, in October 2025, Vladimir Putin approved the concept of migration policy for 2026-2030. On December 30, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a plan for its implementation. And now the Interior Ministry has begun to develop specific measures.
One of the key ideas is to transfer all migration records from paper to electronic format. The "Digital Profile of a foreign citizen" service has already been launched since July 1 of this year. This is a single electronic database where all information about a migrant will be collected: data on entry and exit, place of work, documents and duration of stay in the Russian Federation.
The next step will be to abandon paper migration cards. Instead, foreigners coming to Russia without a visa will have to submit an electronic application in advance through Gosuslugi. This bill will be submitted to the government by December 1, the Interior Ministry told Izvestia. If the document is approved, then after crossing the border, all data about the migrant will automatically be included in the digital profile, and most further procedures — from registration to paperwork — will be carried out electronically.
The Interior Ministry also wants to conduct an experiment and test the system of organized recruitment of foreign workers in 2027-2030. According to it, people will come to Russia at the request of specific employers who will take responsibility for their stay in the country. After the end of the contract, foreigners will have to return to their homeland. Draft laws on the experiment are currently undergoing interdepartmental coordination, the Interior Ministry told Izvestia.
As an experiment, it is planned to launch electronic registries: the first one will include companies that are allowed to hire foreigners, and the second one will include migrants themselves. If the employer and the visiting employee are in these databases, this will confirm the right to work. According to the Interior Ministry, this should reduce the number of illegal migrant workers and simplify control over their employment.
With such measures, the government wants to shift part of the burden of legalizing foreigners from the Interior Ministry to employers, said Alyona Yakovleva, founder and managing partner of RosCo Group. So, an application for employees must be submitted a year in advance, and, for example, a medical examination and genomic registration are also paid for by the company. Now, as business recognizes, it costs 100 thousand rubles per month to bring and legally register a foreign employee. At the same time, in order to change his place of employment, he will have to leave Russia and re-register himself.
According to entrepreneurs, this creates additional difficulties and may, on the contrary, encourage migrants to work illegally. The companies also ask not to extend the experiment to citizens of the EAEU member states. The head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, signed a joint appeal from his organization, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as from the Opora Russia and Delovaya Rossiya business unions. He sent the letter to Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova.
How migrants support the Russian economy
Foreigners, regardless of their method of employment, have already become an integral part of the work of many Russian companies. They help to close the shortage of personnel in those segments where there are not enough applicants in the domestic market, primarily in construction, logistics, services and industry, explained Yulia Kuznetsova, head of the Laboratory of Meanings company.
— At the same time, foreign labor cannot be a long-term solution to the personnel problem. To do this, it is necessary to increase labor productivity, develop staff, improve working conditions, and implement automation more actively. In the meantime, attracting migrants helps businesses maintain the continuity of production processes," the expert explained.
The current restrictions do not allow to close the shortage of personnel in many areas, Ekaterina Kosareva from VMT Consult noted. In addition, the costs of attracting foreign workers are increasing for businesses. Companies pay for duties, housing and adaptation of employees, and for violating migration rules they face heavy fines and even suspension of activities. It may also result in a ban on attracting foreign workers and problems for the migrant himself.
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