Without difficulty: dialogue on attracting Afghan workers to Russia has stalled

Negotiations on attracting labor from Afghanistan to Russia have reached an impasse. The parties have not yet begun a detailed consideration of this initiative, and no progress is expected in the foreseeable future,"Zamir Kabulov, special representative of the Russian President for Afghanistan, told "Izvestia". Representatives of Kabul have previously noted that the main obstacle is ignorance of the language. In turn, analysts point to the risks associated with the difficult integration of such migrants into the Russian environment, as well as the unstable situation in the Islamic emirate, where radical extremist groups continue to operate.

Negotiations between Russia and Afghanistan

Moscow and Kabul are discussing the possibility of recruiting Afghan citizens to work in Russia, but the dialogue seems to have stalled. Back in March 2026, the special representative of the President of Russia for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, announced relevant contacts on this topic. Earlier, the ambassador of the Islamic emirate to the Russian Federation, Hassan Gul Hassan, also noted that Kabul is negotiating with the Russian authorities on sending migrant workers in the agricultural sector. Nevertheless, the parties have not moved on to a specific elaboration of the issue, Zamir Kabulov told "Izvestia".

— And there are no such prospects. There have been consultations, but this is a very complicated issue," Zamir Kabulov told "Izvestia". — This generally has little to do with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This applies more to both our migration authorities and law enforcement agencies. Therefore, there is no progress yet, and, to be honest, I don't see any.

The fact that there has been no significant progress so far is also confirmed by the Afghan side.

— The exact date is unknown (arrival of labor personnel in the Russian Federation. — Ed.), but we will try to make this opportunity appear sooner. The process is underway now," Hassan Gul Hassan told "Izvestia" on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

The initiative to send Afghan workers is being discussed amid a shortage of personnel in the Russian economy. The shortage of labor resources is estimated in the range of 1.5 million to 3.1 million people as we approach 2030, mainly in construction, transport and housing and communal services. To close it, the agency previously proposed to increase the quota for attracting qualified foreign specialists by 1.5 times — up to 234.9 thousand people.

There are currently no estimated figures for the future flow of migrants from the Islamic emirate. According to media reports, by June 2025, about 100 Afghans were already working in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tatarstan as painters, welders and electricians. At the same time, the head of the Russian Business Center in Afghanistan, Rustam Khabibullin, announced an agreement to send about 1,000 more workers to Russia. They were planned to be involved in agriculture and infrastructure restoration in Chechnya, Dagestan, Krasnodar Territory, as well as in the DPR and LPR.

Afghanistan is considering sending labor migrants to Russia and sees Moscow's interest, but the language barrier remains the main challenge, the Minister of Trade and Industry of the Islamic emirate, Nuriddin Azizi, said earlier.

"Russian Interior Ministry" Department for Interaction with Civil Society institutions and Mass Media informed Izvestia that according to the law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation", in order to obtain a work permit, a foreigner must confirm proficiency in the Russian language, as well as knowledge of the history of Russia and the basics of its legislation. These requirements do not apply only to certain categories of foreigners. Highly qualified specialists and journalists who work in media outlets that produce materials exclusively in foreign languages do not need to take exams. Persons working under special government quotas are also exempt from this obligation.

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What prevents labor migration from Afghanistan

From a political point of view, the idea of attracting migrants from the Islamic emirate is beneficial to Russia, Omar Nessar, director of the Center for the Study of Modern Afghanistan, told "Izvestia". Returning to their homeland, people will act as a "soft power" and form a positive image of the Russian Federation within their country.

At the same time, the adaptation of Afghans in Russian society can become a difficult task, the analyst believes. Ignorance of the Russian language and the patriarchal structure of Afghan society will be the main barriers. According to him, without systematic language training, migrants are likely to live in isolated compact communities, which will slow down their socialization.

According to the analyst, the idea of attracting such workers will remain unpromising until a reliable mechanism for verifying candidates for links with extremists appears between the countries. Despite the fact that the situation with terrorism and drug trafficking in Afghanistan has improved since the "Taliban" movement came to power, radical groups are still active in the country. The total number of militants ranges from 18 to 23 thousand people.

Mass employment of Afghans on Russian construction sites is unlikely, Omar Nessar believes. In the Russian Federation, these processes are largely automated and require specialists with certain qualifications, while there are few of them in Afghanistan due to the different scale of construction. The potential exists only in the sector of low-skilled manual labor in small volumes, the analyst believes.

Agriculture and agro-industrial processing seem to be the most promising industries for Afghan workers. This is due to the fact that a significant part of the population of the Islamic emirate is involved in this field at home, and the work itself does not require a deep knowledge of the Russian language and high qualifications at the start. According to the analyst, Afghan migrants can adapt more successfully in the Muslim republics of the Russian Federation, for example, in Tatarstan. The local population there will treat them more calmly, and the regions themselves have more internal tools for their socialization, Nessar stressed.

Today, the bulk of labor migrants still arrive in Russia from the CIS countries, which account for over 70% of the total foreign flow. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan remain the main donors of labor. At the same time, in 2026, migrants from far-abroad countries began to arrive in the Russian Federation more actively. In the first half of 2026, a record 147 thousand work permits were issued in Russia, which is a third more than in the same period last year. The documents were most often received by citizens of China, India, Vietnam, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.