Migrant workers may be required to work in one place for a year after entering the country

Bill No. 1131779-8, restricting the right of foreign citizens working under a patent to change employers before 12 months have elapsed from the date they cross the Russian border, has been submitted to the State Duma.

Under the bill, a foreign citizen may not enter into a new employment contract with another employer or work part-time before the one-year period has elapsed.

If an employment contract is concluded for less than a year or terminated before 12 months have elapsed, the worker will have to leave the country.

If such a contract is terminated without valid reasons, the patent will not be extended or will be revoked.

The list of valid reasons includes:
➖ liquidation of a legal entity or termination of its activities as an individual entrepreneur;
➖ the occurrence of extraordinary circumstances that prevent work from continuing (military action, a catastrophe, natural disaster, major accident, epidemic, etc.);
➖ non-payment or partial payment, by the required deadlines, of wages or other promised funds;
➖ the employer's violation of occupational safety requirements (if there is a threat of harm to the migrant's life and health).

The State Duma noted that this mechanism is intended to transform the patent from a tool for temporary earnings into a tool for stable and regulated employment.

The following results are expected from the introduction of these amendments:
🔹 a reduction in staff turnover in critically important sectors;
🔹 increased productivity through the accumulation of experience and workers' preparedness;
🔹 more effective migration, tax, and labor administration and a decline in the shadow economy;
🔹 the creation of accurate data on the actual need for foreign labor to plan quotas;
🔹 the development of a stable and legal environment for migrants in the employment sector;
🔹 a reduction in the risks of unfair use of their labor; 
🔹 increased reliability of workforce planning;
🔹 reduced social tension.