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- The work is satisfactory: 1.5 times more qualified foreigners have arrived in the Russian Federation
The work is satisfactory: 1.5 times more qualified foreigners have arrived in the Russian Federation
In 2024, Russia issued 38,000 work permits to highly qualified specialists — one and a half times more than in 2023, the Interior Ministry's press service told Izvestia. We are talking about doctors, IT specialists, engineers, experts say. At the same time, the number of patents, which are mainly obtained by migrants from neighboring countries, mainly for physical work, on the contrary, decreased by 100,000, but still remains very significant — 2 million. How the situation of foreigners in the labor market in the Russian Federation is changing and which employees from other countries we need against the background of a shortage of personnel — in the Izvestia material.
Who needs to get a work permit in the Russian Federation
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).
A work permit is one of the three main ways (along with patents and temporary residence permits) for foreigners to legalize their work in Russia. The document is issued by the employer for people from visa-eligible countries, for example, China, the USA, Germany, as well as African countries. To employ such a foreigner, the company must first obtain permission to hire an employee, and only then issue the document.
According to it, a person can work only in the specified region (but can also travel on business trips) and in a certain profession. The work permit also applies to highly qualified specialists. Doctors, engineers, IT specialists, and scientists mostly come to Russia using such documents, experts noted.
Russian migration policy has tightened over the past year, and because of this, many foreigners have begun to legalize in order to live and work in our country, says Lyudmila Ivanova-Shvets, Associate professor of the Basic Department of Human Resources Management at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. That is why work permits have increased, she said.
— 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.
How to get a patent for work in Russia
Another common method of legalization in Russia is a patent, which must be obtained by citizens from visa—free countries (for example, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan). At the same time, a person can only work in the region of our country in which he was issued this document.
It does not need to be issued to foreigners with a temporary residence permit, residence permit, citizens of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, which includes Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus), Ukraine, as well as people from other countries with a refugee or migrant certificate.
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, Izvestia wrote earlier.
— In 2024, according to the Interior Ministry, over 600,000 people were deported from the country for various offenses, including violations of migration laws. Border crossing procedures have also been tightened. All this has led to a reduction in the number of migrants from the CIS countries and, as a result, to a decrease in the number of patents granted," explained Alexander Safonov, Professor at the Department of Psychology and Human Capital Development at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the number of RVPs applications decreased by one and a half times over the year to 49.6 thousand, the Interior Ministry reported. At the same time, the issuance of residence permits increased by 54% to 38 thousand for the whole of 2024.
Temporary residence permits are not in high demand among foreigners, as they are quite difficult to obtain: you need to collect a lot of documents and undergo a medical examination, said Sofia Luneva from BGP Litigation. The main purpose of such documents is a transitional step to citizenship of the Russian Federation according to the general (standard) procedure. After obtaining a residence permit, a person can apply for a residence permit, and only then obtain citizenship.
Why does Russia need foreign workers
The growth in the issuance of work permits in Russia to people from non-CIS countries 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.
Currently, the manufacturing sector, logistics, and the service sector are the most affected, said Alexander Safonov from the Financial University. Attracting highly qualified foreign specialists is due to the fact that in the context of import substitution we lack IT specialists, engineers, and doctors, says Lyudmila Ivanova-Shvets from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. In addition, the specialist continued, such workers partially replace Russians who have left the country.
However, the degree of replacement of relocants by qualified foreign specialists is low — no more than 30%, according to independent expert Andrey Barkhota. This is due to the fact that migrant workers have a choice of location for work, and the Russian market with its changing conditions and sanctions is not so attractive for people with high qualifications now, he added.
Vacancies related to unskilled labor also remain unfilled, said Alexander Safonov from the Financial University. Moreover, people come to work in our country not only from familiar countries, but also from distant ones. As Izvestia reported earlier, Russian companies have begun to attract employees from Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
At the same time, the government is now aiming to tighten regulation of migration and improve control over all areas of activity of foreigners in Russia, not just their entry and stay, added Sofia Luneva from BGP Litigation. That is why preference is given to work permits, which have more control over visitors than patents.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
