2.2 Laws Relating to Migrant Workers

Russian government laws and policies related to migration and employment for foreigners are generally complex and have changed frequently in recent years.In January 2007, amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens and a new Law on Recording the Migration of Foreign Nationals and Stateless Persons (hereafter, the 2007 laws), simplified the procedures for temporary residents to register on the migration registry, as is required for all non-Russian nationals entering Russia, and for obtaining work permits for migrants entering Russia under the non-visa regime. [36] The new laws also established quotas on work permits for this category of workers entering Russia. [37] The 2007 laws and their implementation have been examined in other research publications, [38] and the discussion here will be limited to a basic description of laws relevant to migrant workers entering Russia for temporary stay under the non-visa regime and the laws' relevance for human rights protection of migrant workers.

At the time of the 2007 laws' passage, experts believed that 90 percent of Russia's migrant workers were irregular. [39] FMS statistics demonstrate that since the 2007 laws entered into force, significantly more migrant workers are registering on the migration registry and receiving work permits and more employers are notifying the FMS about employment of foreign workers, indicating they are in compliance or partially in compliance with the law. [40] According to Zhanna Zaionchkovskaia, an expert on migration in Russia, the percentage of legal workers increased 2.5 times; previously only about 15 to 20 percent of migrants worked legally. [41] These changes indicate the amendments to the laws have had, to a degree, the intended effects of encouraging more migrant workers to stay and work in Russia in full compliance with relevant laws.