Vladimir Putin has signaled his willingness to abolish Russia’s labor patent system — the country’s work permit program for migrants, which requires citizens of visa-free countries to get special authorization for employment. The president told parliamentary faction leaders on Thursday, “Getting rid of the labor patent system for migrants is something to consider.”
This summer, the State Duma considered draft legislation that would make it harder for foreigners to work in Russia. One bill that passed its first reading would introduce fees for labor patent issuance and renewal, work permits, registration, and duplicate documents.
Sergey Mironov, who leads one of the Duma’s smaller factions, said after the meeting with Putin that he hopes lawmakers will adopt legislation this fall that replaces Russia’s labor patent system with a “fly-in fly-out” approach, wherein migrant workers are employed temporarily and then rotated home without being relocated together with their families for longer periods.