Labor migration

1. What does the term “worker of the Eurasian Economic Union Member State” mean?

A “worker of the Eurasian Economic Union Member State” is a citizen of the Eurasian Economic Union Member State who is legally present and legally engaged in labor activities in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union Member State in which he/she is not a citizen and does not permanently reside.

2. Do the Member States' nationals need to fill out a migration card when crossing the border of the Eurasian Economic Union Member States?

Yes, but if they enter with a foreign passport and their stay does not exceed 30 days, they are exempt fr om filling out a migration card.

3. When is it necessary to register (apply for migration registration) with the immigration authorities of the Eurasian Economic Union Member State?

If the Member State's nationals stay in the territory of another Member State for more than 30 days from the date of entry, they must register (apply for migration registration) in accordance with the legislation of the State of entry, if such an obligation is established by the legislation of the State of entry.

4. Do workers need to leave and enter the country when extending their temporary stay in the Russian Federation?

No, if they have a valid employment or civil law contract.

In accordance with Paragraph 32 of Decree No. 9 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated January 15, 2007 “On the procedure for migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation,” it is established that registration at the place of stay of a foreign citizen temporarily residing in the Russian Federation is carried out for the period stated in the notification of arrival, but not more than for the period of temporary stay of such foreign citizen in the Russian Federation, established by the Federal Law “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” or international treaties of the Russian Federation/

According to Paragraph 5 of Article 97 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014, the period of temporary stay (residence) of the Member State worker and family members in the territory of the state of employment shall be determined by the term of employment or civil law contract concluded by the Member State worker with the employer or customer of works (services).

If the employment or civil law contract is terminated early after 90 days from the date of entry into the territory of the state of employment, the Member State worker has the right to sign a new employment or civil law contract within 15 days without leaving the territory of the state of employment (Paragraph 5 of Article 97 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014).

5. Do workers from the Eurasian Economic Union Member States need to obtain work permits?

Workers who are nationals of the Member States need no permit to engage in activities under an employment contract or to perform work (render services).

The employment of workers who are nationals of the Member States is based on an employment or civil law contract without the need for authorization documents.

The possibility of activities not only under an employment contract but also under a civil law contract significantly broadens the scope of possible employment for nationals of the Member States.

6. Do workers from the Eurasian Economic Union Member States need to obtain a patent to be employed in the Russian Federation?

No.

7. What documents can workers obtain from their employers?

Workers (including former workers) may obtain, at no charge, a certificate (certified copy of a certificate) indicating their profession (specialty, qualifications, and position), period of employment, and salary within the time limits established by the legislation of the state of employment.

8. Do workers have the right to transfer their earnings without restriction?

Yes, they do.

However, it is important to remember that companies rendering money transfer services without opening an account may impose their own restrictions on transfers (both in the country of origin and in the country of destination of the money transfer). As a rule, such restrictions vary from 100,000 to 150,000 rubles (or the equivalent in another currency) per month.

9.1 Do nationals of the EAEU countries need to undergo dactyloscopy registration (fingerprinting), photographing, and medical examination?

Starting from December 29, 2021, all foreign citizens arriving in Russia for employment purposes must undergo dactyloscopy registration, photographing, and medical examination.

Nationals of the Eurasian Economic Union Member States who stay in the Russian Federation for more than 30 days must undergo a one-time fingerprinting and photographing procedure, as well as a medical examination.

9.2 How often does one need to undergo these procedures, and how long are the documents valid for?

Fingerprinting and photographing shall be carried out once by the internal affairs agencies. Along with that, no state duty shall be charged, regardless of the number of entries/exits to Russia.

The documents certifying medical examination are valid for one year. After a year, it is required to undergo the examination again within a month after the expiration of the previous medical commission.

9.3 Wh ere can these documents be obtained?

The mandatory state fingerprinting and photographing procedure is carried out by the immigration departments of the territorial authorities of the RF Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as by the subordinate enterprise of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Passport and Visa Service” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, and the Main Budgetary Institution of the City of Moscow “Multifunctional Migration Center” (Sakharovo).

Constituent entities of the Russian Federation establish medical organizations that can conduct medical examinations on their own.

9.4 Who is exempt from undergoing these procedures?

The following persons are exempt from undergoing these procedures:

– foreign nationals arriving for a period of less than 90 calendar days;

– nationals of the Republic of Belarus (Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus on equal rights of nationals dated December 25, 1998);

– foreign nationals aged under six years;

– officials of international organizations;

– heads and members of the administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign states in the Russian Federation.

Besides, the following foreign citizens are exempt from these procedures based on the principle of reciprocity:

– holders of diplomatic and service passports;

– employees of trade missions and other representative offices of public authorities of foreign states;

– family members of the above persons.

10. How can I change the purpose of my entry in order to start working?

In Russia, starting from January 1, 2023, the purpose of entry for nationals of the EAEU countries will change automatically if they conclude an employment or civil law contract and their employer submits a corresponding notification to the Ministry of Internal Affairs about the conclusion of an employment contract with a foreign national.

(According to Paragraph 8.3 of Article 13 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ “On the legal status of foreign nationals in the Russian Federation”).

11. Is it possible to apply for migration registration online?

Online migration registration is possible via the Gosuslugi portal.

For this purpose, the receiving party should use the public service “migration registration of foreign nationals.”

The service is provided within one business day.

Step-by-step instruction on how to register for immigration purposes using Moscow as an example can be found at the following link.

It is important to bear in mind that the notification on registration for immigration purposes is submitted not by the foreign national, but by the receiving party.

The receiving party is the person who has provided residential or other premises for actual residence of foreign nationals or stateless persons. In particular, the receiving party may be Russian nationals, as well as foreign nationals or stateless persons permanently residing in the Russian Federation, or foreign nationals who own residential premises (in accordance with Paragraph 7, Part 1, Article 2 of Federal Law No. 109-FZ dated July 18, 2006 “On migration registration of foreign nationals and stateless persons in the Russian Federation”).

12. Can nationals of the EAEU countries work as self-employed persons in Russia?

Yes, they can, in accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On conducting an experiment to establish a special tax regime “Tax on professional income”.

The self-employed status is the receipt of legal income without the risks of being held liable for illegal business activities.

Registration as self-employed constitutes grounds for extending the period of legal stay in the Russian Federation for the duration of the civil law contract concluded by the worker with the customer of works (services), in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 5 of Article 97 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union dated May 29, 2014.

A taxpayer identification number (INN) and a user account in the Taxpayer's Personal Account is enough to become self-employed. It is required to download and register in the “My Tax” mobile application using a login password from the personal account. There is also a web version of the self-employed account.

If there is no INN, it can be obtained in any tax inspectorate rendering services to citizens within five business days. An application and a passport are required to do this. A login password from the personal account can be obtained there after getting INN. It will only take 15 minutes.

One can also register as self-employed by contacting authorized banks. The list of authorized banks is available on the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia.

The self-employed pay taxes in the amount of:

- 4% when rendering services/performing works to natural persons;

- 6% when rendering services/performing works to juridical persons or individual entrepreneurs.

Detailed information on the issue can be found on the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia at the following link.