According to Konstantin Romodanovsky, a total of 7.3 million foreign citizens registered for migration in Russia this year. "With the entry into force of the new migration legislation in 2007, the number of foreigners who register for migration increased because we simplified the registration procedure," said the head of the FMS.
Romodanovsky also noted that in 2007 the inflow of migrants compensates for 47% of natural population decline in Russia. Last year these figures were half that. The director of the FMS emphasized that in 2008 the quota for foreign labor will remain at the level of this year and will amount to 2 million people, of which 600 thousand are for citizens of non-CIS countries with which Russia has a visa regime.
According to Konstantin Romodanovsky, the amount of fines imposed on employers who improperly registered foreign workers has increased several times. "This year fines totaling 4 billion rubles were issued, half of which have already been collected. In 2006, this amount was only 500 million rubles," said the head of the FMS. According to him, the average fine in Moscow was 91 thousand rubles.
Addressing the situation at food markets, where foreign sellers used to predominate, the head of the FMS emphasized that "currently only Russians work there." "True, they look a little different - they are mainly southerners, but they are citizens of Russia," remarked Romodanovsky. He also pointed out that in the recent period the number of marriages between foreigners and Russian women has doubled.
Next year Russia intends to attract up to 2 million foreign citizens to work in Russia under quotas, the director of the Federal Migration Service also reported. According to him, in 2008, compared to 2007, the quota for attracting foreign labor has been reduced. "Quotas will be determined taking into account 14 professional categories. It will amount to up to 2 million people. We reached this figure collectively. At the same time, a 30 percent reserve is maintained for attracting additional foreign labor if needed," he said.
Speaking about the program of resettlement to Russia of former compatriots, Romodanovsky reported that in 2007, 143 families came to Russia in this way - fewer than expected. At the same time, the head of the FMS expressed hope that next year this figure will increase significantly and amount to about 88 thousand people.
At the same time, Romodanovsky promised that "from January 1, 2008, a central bank for registering foreign citizens will begin functioning in Russia, where information about all foreigners who have visited the country will be stored," he said. Romodanovsky explained that as soon as a foreign citizen crosses the border of the Russian Federation, data about his identity will immediately be entered into the database. Currently, the central bank contains information on more than 56 thousand foreigners. However, the data on them is scattered across departments. The central data bank will help organize it, quotes Konstantin Romodanovsky ITAR-TASS.
ITAR-TASS