After bloody terrorist attack, Russia amends laws related to foreigners

After the bloody terrorist attack on March 22 that killed at least 139 people in the suburbs of Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Labor has drafted a bill to tighten the conditions of residence of foreigners in Russia.

The new law has been supported by the specialized committee of the State Duma (lower house) of Russia.

According to a VNA correspondent in Moscow, the main content of the new law is to reduce the term of labor contracts with foreigners to two years. The new law also defines in more detail the obligations and rights of employers.

Under the new law, a migrant worker is allowed to sign a two-year contract with one employer.

According to the authors of the bill, two years is enough time to complete a project that requires hiring experts. If there is still a need, employers will be able to find people through the recruitment mechanism.

The Russian Ministry of Labor further explained that if the labor contract expires, the employee will have to leave the country on time.

In addition to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a law firm will be created to monitor the stay of foreigners in the Russian Federation.

The company acts as a recruitment coordinator, essentially a staffing center for Russian companies.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy Yaroslav Nilov said security issues must come first.

He also supports tightening management and monitoring of the stay and movement of migrant workers in Russia, even applying fingerprint control measures at all border crossings.

However, the business sector, which is a potential employer, is of the opinion that Russia is currently in dire need of labor, and that immigrant labor is a significant resource for implementing industrial and civil construction policies in Russia, in addition, 2 years is too short a period for large projects that require hiring thousands of workers.

The Russian State Duma has already received a number of bills to tighten migration laws. Migrant workers in Russia come from many countries, of which about 90% are from Central Asian countries, in addition to European countries, which mainly provide highly qualified specialists.

On the other hand, according to the Institute of Demographic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, by February this year, Russia had 4 million illegal migrant workers, and Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said that the number of violations committed by immigrants in 2023 increased by 75%, to about 22,000 cases.