Work permit in Russia

Aliens arrived to the Russian Federation with an intention to work have to obtain either a patent or work permit.

Patent is issued to foreign nationals who are allowed to enter Russia on a visa-free basis (Ukraine, CIS citizens).

Foreign nationals who work on the basis of patent can be employed both with legal and individual employers.

Aliens with working patent are obliged to be employed in the region where it was issued. 

Advantages of working patent:

1. The right to be issued in any region without quotas;
2. Issued for 1-year period with possible extensions;
3. Allows being registered for the patent validity period;
4. Allows prolonging the stay in the Russian federation for a term of up to two years subject to the payment of official fee for prolongation.

Disadvantages of working patent:

1. Patent must be issued within 30 days of arriving to the Russian Federation;
2. The compulsory monthly contribution of an amount established by the local immigration authority;
3. Pass the tests on Russian language proficiency and knowledge of basic laws of the Russian Federation;
4. Health insurance is a compulsory requirement for working patent;
5. In the section “Purpose of arrival” of migration card it is necessary to indicate “Work”.

Every year the government of the Russian Federation publishes quotas for vacancies for which a foreigner has the right to hold certain positions.

Advantages of work permit on quota basis:

• A foreigner can count on the minimum wage established in the region where he will work;
• Issuance and extension of a work visa do not imply the necessity for leaving the territory of the Russian Federation.

Disadvantages of work permit on quota basis:

• A foreigner has the right to get a job only on the basis of the allocated quotas;
• The process of issuance is quite complicated, it requires a number of documents and takes up to 4 months;
• Work permit is issued for a maximum period of 1 year.

Every year the government of the Russian Federation publishes a list of occupations for which a foreigner has the right to work not within the quotas.

Advantages of work permit on a quota-free basis:

• A foreigner has the right to be employed on a quota-free basis;
• A foreigner can count on the minimum wage established in the region where he will work;
• Issuance and extension of a work visa do not implies the necessity for leaving the territory of the Russian Federation.

Disadvantages of work permit on a quota-free basis:

• The list of occupations a foreigner has the right to be engaged in on a quota-free basis is quite limited;
• The process of issuance is quite complicated, it requires a number of documents and takes up to 4 months;
• Work permit is issued for a maximum period of 1 year.

Aliens on a full-time training in higher educational establishment with state accreditation are eligible to work.

• It is issued to aliens who arrived in the Russian Federation both on a visa and visa-free basis;
• Allows to be employed without quotas, as well as without a permit to attract foreign labor for the company;
• Minimum time to acquire (up to 1 month).

Highly qualified specialist is a foreigner with higher education and successful experience in a particular field.

The main requirement for attracting such a specialist is salary, which must be at least 2 000 000 rubles per year.

Work permit for such categories of persons is issued out of quotas for a period of 3 years.

Foreigners who have a high-skilled specialist work permit have the right to work in several regions of the Russian Federation.

High-skilled professional has the right for extension of his work permit for an unlimited number of times for the duration of the contract, but for no more than 3 years one-time.  

After work permit issuance employer must notify the Federal migration service authorities about tax registration of the employee and notify the tax authorities about compliance with the agreement on the minimum wage payment (at least 2 000 000 rubles per year) no later than 30 days.

Advantages of work permit for highly skilled specialists:

• An alien has the right to obtain work permit for any occupation regardless of quotas;
• A foreigner receives a work permit on his own; no permission for recruiting foreign labor is required;
• The terms of issuance are no longer than 2 weeks;
• An alien has the right to invite his family members without any supplementary entry documents.

Foreign nationals are not eligible to hold the following positions:

1. Government positions and positions in local self-government bodies;
2. Crew member of marine vessel (in case it is flying the flag of the Russian Federation);
3. Positions in organizations that have access to any classified information;
4. To be a captain of a civil airliner;
5. To be a crew member of a naval vessel;
6. Work in security companies.

Extension of work permit

Work permit is not a permanent document and is issued for a maximum period of 1 year with possibilities for extension. Work permit can be extended under condition the contract was signed for a longer period or employer wishes to renew it. In this case an alien is obliged to obtain a new immigration card, and then renew the work permit.

Change of employer

The work permit must indicate the change of an employer. The same is required form the employer as well. At the same time, the employer is obliged to sign a contract with a foreigner, notify the employment office, the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Migration Service and then submit the relevant documents.

In the time a new package of documents is being prepared, an immigrant is issued a receipt stating that the documents are being processed. On the basis of this receipt a foreigner can be engaged in employment. After completing all the necessary documents, the foreigner personally picks them up at the office of the Federal Migration Service on a specified day.

A foreigner is not eligible to change his occupation or region where he is engaged in labor activity. For this he is obliged to obtain new work permit.

Penalties

The Migration Service carefully monitors both the company that hires a foreign employee and the foreigner himself. Severe sanctions will be imposed in case of any violations. Penalties will be imposed on both alien and employee in the event of the discovery of violations by the Migration Service.

If the employing company hires a foreigner without work permit or who crossed the border with violation of the terms of the visa regime, it will be liable to a fine up to 1 000 000 rubles for each employee. In case of repeated violation, the company may be deprived of the right to be engaged in business activities in the territory of the Russian Federation. The decision of the Federal Migration Service can be appealed in court, however, as practice shows, entrepreneurs usually lose.

A fine is also imposed on a foreigner. Depending on the region it can be from 2000 to 7000 rubles, with further deportation.

Refusing to issue a work permit

A foreign national may be denied the issuance of work permit or canceled already issued in the following cases:

1. The validity period of the migration card is out;
2. There is no temporary registration;
3. The passport expires in less than 6 months;
4. A foreigner is a minor or retiree;
5. A foreigner indicated false information in the documents;
6. A foreigner violated the rules for being on the territory of the Russian Federation;
7. Within the last 5 years has been subjected to deportation from the territory of the Russian Federation;
8. A foreigner has a criminal record or is wanted for arrest;
9. A foreigner is a drug addict or have dangerous diseases;
10. A foreigner is not inside Russia for more than six months and is not an employee of the company specified in work permit.