Moscow’s migration policies

No large city worldwide can do without a foreign work force. Moscow is no exception. The world trends have been for large urban conglomerations to have to invite workforce. As far as Moscow economy is concerned, there are always occupations lacking personnel, alongside surplus human resources. Yet there are quite a few people with higher, uncompleted higher and intermediate vocational education among the unemployed in Moscow.

As of today, 1.74 million foreign migrants are registered in Moscow. Despite the toughened migration laws, many employers tend to hire illegal arrivals. Thus, while in 2007 penalties totaling RUR450 million were imposed on employers hiring illegal migrants, for the first month and a half of 2008 alone the penalties were as much as RUR150 million. And still the increasing crime rates in Moscow are related to non-residents. Migrants from Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia have formed the criminal contingent.

The city authorities have resolved to arrange legalization of illegal migrants who have arrived in the capital. Any illegal migrant in Moscow may approach the Federal Migration Service for registration and obtaining a migration card. Legalization will require payment of a duty of RUR2,000 to obtain a month-long legal worker status. If after expiry of this period a migrant fails to find a job or get admitted to a training institution, he or she will have to leave Moscow.

From 2008, the Moscow authorities are planning to issue electronic Moscow guest cards to all foreign workers who have come to the city legally. A unified databank is being created which will contain the entire body of information about the number of migrants who have arrived in Moscow and whether these people have obtained a work permit, been through a health checkup and signed an employment contract with the employer.

The police, which have previously dealt with the migrant problem, have now the passport and migration services combined. The new Federal Migration Service assumed the functions which had earlier been a responsibility of law enforcement agencies.

Subject to a resolution adopted by the Interdepartmental Commission for Attraction and Use of Foreign Workforce, in 2008 the city’s need for foreign workers requiring Russian entry visas was 50,000 people and for those requiring no entry visas amounted to 250,000. This amount, however, will be adjusted to suit the current economic reality.

Since providing normal living conditions for work migrants arriving in Moscow is still of critical importance, migrant hotels, known as welfare facilities, have started to emerge in Moscow. Such hotels will be built at the expense of employers interested in attracting foreign workforce rather than at the city budget’s cost. Apart from the living space, the hotels will feature a lounge, restroom and cafeteria. The daily room rate at such hotels will be 50 to 70 rubles.

Problems related to migrants’ health also need to be addressed. Three hundred foreign migrant workers who arrived in Moscow in 2008 were found to be HIV-infected. Also during a health checkup in 2007, TB and hepatitis were revealed in 600 and in more than 12,000 migrants, respectively.

The city authorities have sought to create an atmosphere for arrivals, if they have a residence permit and are living in Moscow, to feel full-fledged city residents, Muscovites.