1.5 times more qualified foreigners came to Russia in 2024.

The number of legal labor migrants has increased in Russia — in 2024, 138 thousand work permits were issued to people from countries with which the Russian Federation has a visa regime, as well as to stateless persons (+40% compared to the same period in 2023), the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Izvestia. Of this number, 38,000 documents were submitted by highly qualified foreign citizens (+54% by 2023).

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Such a document is issued by the employer for people from visa-eligible countries, for example, China, the USA, Germany, as well as African countries. In order to employ such a foreigner, the company must first obtain permission to hire an employee, and only then issue the document.

"In general, employers have more confidence in visa foreigners. In their opinion, such an employee, receiving a visa, aims at long-term employment. This means that the organization makes sense to invest in it — to train, pay for relocation and accommodation," said Sofia Luneva, senior associate at the BGP Litigation Labor Law Practice.

You can also get a patent to work in Russia. Citizens from visa—free countries such as Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan can do this. According to the Interior Ministry, the number of patents granted decreased from 2.1 million in 2023 to 2 million in 2024. Foreigners who have received this type of documents most often work in taxi, construction, trade, repair and catering.

The increase in work permits in Russia is due to a shortage of personnel. The labor market remains tense, and unemployment is near a historic low, currently at 2.4%, said Olga Belenkaya, Head of the Macroeconomic Analysis Department at Finam. She added: in such a situation, internal labor resources are not enough.