Russia Passes Sweeping Legislation Tying Migrant Workers' Legal Status to Income

Russia’s lower-house State Duma on Wednesday passed sweeping legislation tying the legal status of migrant workers and their families to their financial earnings. Under the newly approved bills, foreign workers must prove they earn enough income to support themselves and their dependent family members, according to the cost of living mandated by both the Russian government and the regions in which they live and work. Income below that baseline or unemployment will result in the non-renewal or annulment of temporary low-skilled work visas called patents. They would then face deportation within 15 days. Migrants will also be required to pay a fixed advance income tax for themselves and each dependent. Foreign dependents will be permitted to stay in Russia for the duration of their parents’ patents. Once they turn 18, children of migrants will be required to obtain their own work patents or face deportation within 30 days. Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed the bills were a direct response to public concern and "are aimed at bringing order to migration issues.” The amendments to Russia’s law on the legal status of foreign citizens are part of a raft of migration restrictions following anti-migrant sentiment since the March 2024 mass shooting at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue. Volodin boasted that the Duma has passed 30 migration laws since 2024. The latest bills passed in both the second and third readings, after which they go to the upper-house Federation Council for a vote and President Vladimir Putin for signing into law.