First, when a migrant arrives in Russia, the migration card issued at the border will now confirm the right to temporary stay (registration) and contain the duration of that stay. According to the State Duma's initiative, the validity period of temporary registration in Russia will increase from three to six months. During this time, if they wish, foreigners will be able to obtain a temporary residence permit in the country for a three-year period. This permit will now be issued without regard to the government quota. To obtain the permit, one will need to submit an application, a passport or other identity document, a migration card, and a receipt for payment of the state fee to the territorial office of the Federal Migration Service. Within a month, the foreigner must bring certificates confirming the absence of infectious diseases, HIV infection, drug addiction, and within a year – a certificate from the tax authority of registration. No later than 60 days from the date of acceptance of the application, the migration service makes a decision to issue or refuse the permit. The difference from the old norms is that previously all these documents for foreigners wishing to live and work in Russia for a long time had to be collected within three months. But the authorities themselves will also make a decision in two months, not six or seven, as before.
In addition, annual re-registration will now be of a notification nature. A migrant will be able to report his or her whereabouts even by mail, sending a notification to the migration service. In the same way, one will be able to register when changing place of residence. However, in this annual notification, the foreigner will be required to provide information about his or her place of work, income, and also whether he or she left the country during that year.
Having obtained a temporary residence permit, a migrant will be able to work in any region of the country, not only where he or she was issued a work permit.
The work permit itself (work card) in Russia will now be obtained by migrants independently. Moreover, the authorities will be obliged to consider their applications in just ten days. According to the draft law, then within a month the foreigner must provide documents confirming the absence of drug addiction, mental and infectious diseases, as well as sexually transmitted diseases, and AIDS. Thus, migrants will make it easier for employers, who previously had to process guest workers coming to earn money themselves.
Citizens temporarily working on the territory of Russia will be required to submit a declaration to the tax authority for the reporting year within a year and, accordingly, make contributions to the country's budget.
However, according to experts, the law, if it makes life easier for migrants, will do so insignificantly. As lawyer Ruben Kirakosyan explained to Gazeta.Ru, migrants will have to collect the same certificates and go to the same authorities anyway, moreover, apply for a work card themselves, although previously this was the responsibility of employers. Simply now they are not so limited in time. It is unlikely that in Russia, after the new law, the number of migrants who come to live and work for three years, having obtained temporary residence in the country, will increase sharply. "For this, one still needs to collect a bunch of certificates, and the procedure turns into a multi-month saga," the lawyer said.
According to Kirakosyan, "the new law abolishes quotas for issuing temporary residence permits, but how this will work in practice is still unclear." Experts doubt that the Moscow authorities, who opposed the law adopted by the State Duma, will agree to make the settlement of foreigners in Moscow unlimited. In addition, to confirm one's solvency, one must have a fairly decent white salary. "Everyone knows how difficult it can be to get a certificate of income from a private enterprise. A serious plus is that now there is enough time to collect all the certificates, according to the new law," the lawyer stated. According to him, only seasonal workers will benefit a little from the law – they will be able to get registered for work faster. Previously, this took about two months – almost the entire seasonal period of life in Russia. "Obviously, the law will not particularly help other foreigners – those who want to build a career here, get loans, acquire housing," the lawyer said. "People with temporary residence permits in Russia are not hired into government structures; they are also denied medical insurance under various pretexts. The status of a temporary resident itself does not inspire confidence. Therefore, preference is given to workers with registration and citizenship," Kirakosyan believes.
At the same time, according to human rights activists, even such liberalization of migration policy is better than none at all. Recognizing that the legal basis of these laws is still somewhat weak, Svetlana Gannushkina, chair of the committee "Civic Assistance", stated that the reforms were hard-won and expected. "I hope that the situation with migrants in the country will still change. Since 2002, the law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" has not worked at all in the country," Gannushkina noted. At the same time, it remains unclear how the situation will develop with those migrants who are already on the territory of the country. "After all, the rights-free position of illegal immigrants is an excellent source of income. To change the situation, much more serious willful decisions are needed," the human rights activist summed up.
Elya Vermisheva.
Gazeta.Ru