Hereby we would like to draw your attention to the government bill covering some of migration related issues which was brought in the beginning of the year and shall be reviewed by the State Duma in February. The main aim of the bill is to improve the control procedure over foreign labor migration and to protect the national labor market from extensive employment of foreign nationals.

First of all, the Government would like to differentiate the regulation of labor activity carried out by foreign nationals legally arriving into Russia on a visa-free basis. This migration flow should be divided by force of two different procedures depending on the Employer: whether it is a legal entity or an individual who are not intent at generation of profit. Thus, the procedure for the former category will remain the same, and these foreign nationals will be able to apply initially for a 90-day work permit which thereafter can be extended. While, in order to be hired by an individual, foreign nationals will need to obtain a “license” (patent) in the local departments of the Federal Migration Service. The fee for this license will be 1 000 RUR and it should be paid monthly.

Besides it should be stated that the bill stipulates some preferences for highly qualified specialists as well. Thus, in accordance with the document, they will be issued with the work permit valid for the whole duration of the labor agreement to be signed with the sponsoring employer. Based on this work permit, a residence permit will be issued for a foreign national and his/her family members. When the term of employment exceeds 183 days, a foreign employee will be provided with a tax resident status, under which the individual income tax rate of 13% is applicable.

Apart the above mentioned, all foreign nationals intending to work in Russia will be subject to photo recording and fingerprinting. And, the Federal Migration Service will be empowered to handle the data bank containing information on all documents issued for foreign nationals.

At the end of the day, all these changes should end in decrease of migration law violations and improvement of control regulations.