As Russia's working population ages, attracting quality personnel from abroad is going to continue to be a priority, but red tape and an often contradictory official policy still frustrate both employers and employees alike.

file photo
While the government often demonstratively cracks down on low-wage migrant workers, such moves ignore the fact that most locals no longer wish to work as laborers ­ and can also result in problems for foreigners of all stripes.

A year ago, the Moscow expat community brimmed with outrage when a new law on registration forced foreign employees living in Russia to register their visas only at their landlord's and not at their employer's.

Most rental agreements in Moscow are made on an "unofficial" basis, and the vast majority of landlords would never go for such a procedure. Only after the involvement of a few prominent business associations, like the American Chamber of Commerce and the Association of European Business, was the bill abandoned.

Quota nightmares

The process of hiring a foreign employee remains a nightmare of paperwork.

"Hiring foreign employees in Russia is still a gamble," Michael Germershausen, general director of Antal recruitment agency, told The Moscow News. "In May, I have to say which foreign workers I want to hire next year and order a quota, and then I have to prove that I can't hire the same employees here in Russia ­ the latter procedure was adopted from the EU bureaucratic tradition."

The process of obtaining a quota may last for months, during which the employer has to collect piles of documents, and there is no guarantee that the quota will be obtained.

Only after getting the quota does the company submit an application for hiring an employee, as well as the appropriate visa application. Quotas are nationalityspecific ­ a quota for a German cannot be transferred to a Briton, for example.

"Quotas don't allow companies to safely hire foreigners, one year a company may get a quota and the next year not get it," Timur Beslangurov, Managing Partner at VISTA Foreign Business Support, told The Moscow News. "What Russia definitely has to do is get away from the quota system."

Every three months, an employer has to send paperwork to the Federal Migration Service, proving that foreign workers are still employed by the company and indicating their compensation level.

Beslangurov thinks that red tape in Russia is being eroded, though key proposals remain on the table. "As far as I know there are proposals to the FMS to give 10 days instead of seven for registration upon arrival, to allow a person to register only once a year and not upon each re-entry into the country, and to hire foreign personnel on special contracts," he said.

Highly skilled labor

To boost modernization efforts, a special migration law for highly skilled employees was adopted in May 2010. It eased the rules for migration of foreigners whose salaries start from 2 million rubles per year, or those who work in the innovation hub of Skolkovo.

Such workers can obtain work permits within a single month and a visa for the term of the work contract, which will last up to three years. Their families can easily relocate to Russia, and highly paid specialists do not have to register if they remain in the country for less than 90 days.

Experts, meanwhile, continue to criticize the registration rules. "The registration process remains very strict, even for high-quality specialists," Germerhausen said. "If they forget to register or to cancel their registration more than two times, their company is penalized and is deprived of the right to hire more highly-skilled specialists."

And highly skilled employees still have to face outdated and senseless bureaucratic rules, such as an obligatory health insurance policy ­ with the FMS rejecting insurance certificates if they do not have the word "policy" written on them.

Exploitation a problem

Experts point out that low-skilled labor in Russia, meanwhile, remains a major demographic. "We can't talk of modernization or mechanization of labor while millions of people work in the country for bread and water," Alexei Zakharov, president of recruitment site Superjob.ru, told The Moscow News.

According to Zakharov, lowskilled labor remains a priority for many employers. "Instead of hiring few workers with high labor efficiency, there are unqualified people put to work with spades," he said. "Highlyskilled foreign specialists won't be enough to modernize the country."

New policies

Last month, President Vladimir Putin signed a new migration policy that should be in place up until 2025. It sets a target for drawing more skilled specialists, entrepreneurs and investors to Russia for a long-term period.

Under the policy, Russia is also going to raise the number of migrants coming to live and work in the country, partly by repatriation of Russians living abroad. By the end of 2015, the authorities want to attract at least 200,000 Russians living abroad back home.

At the same time, the FMS is going to crack down harder on those who break migration laws ­ organizers of illegal migration will face prison sentences of 10 years and those who break registration rules will get be fined 5,000 rubles ($150).

Keywords: Russia, Economy, Labor, Migrants - Russia, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas - Russian News - Russia

As Russia's working population ages, attracting quality personnel from abroad is going to continue to be a priority, but red tape and an often contradictory official policy still frustrate both employers and employees alike.

file photo
While the government often demonstratively cracks down on low-wage migrant workers, such moves ignore the fact that most locals no longer wish to work as laborers ­ and can also result in problems for foreigners of all stripes.

A year ago, the Moscow expat community brimmed with outrage when a new law on registration forced foreign employees living in Russia to register their visas only at their landlord's and not at their employer's.

Most rental agreements in Moscow are made on an "unofficial" basis, and the vast majority of landlords would never go for such a procedure. Only after the involvement of a few prominent business associations, like the American Chamber of Commerce and the Association of European Business, was the bill abandoned.

Quota nightmares

The process of hiring a foreign employee remains a nightmare of paperwork.

"Hiring foreign employees in Russia is still a gamble," Michael Germershausen, general director of Antal recruitment agency, told The Moscow News. "In May, I have to say which foreign workers I want to hire next year and order a quota, and then I have to prove that I can't hire the same employees here in Russia ­ the latter procedure was adopted from the EU bureaucratic tradition."

The process of obtaining a quota may last for months, during which the employer has to collect piles of documents, and there is no guarantee that the quota will be obtained.

Only after getting the quota does the company submit an application for hiring an employee, as well as the appropriate visa application. Quotas are nationalityspecific ­ a quota for a German cannot be transferred to a Briton, for example.

"Quotas don't allow companies to safely hire foreigners, one year a company may get a quota and the next year not get it," Timur Beslangurov, Managing Partner at VISTA Foreign Business Support, told The Moscow News. "What Russia definitely has to do is get away from the quota system."

Every three months, an employer has to send paperwork to the Federal Migration Service, proving that foreign workers are still employed by the company and indicating their compensation level.

Beslangurov thinks that red tape in Russia is being eroded, though key proposals remain on the table. "As far as I know there are proposals to the FMS to give 10 days instead of seven for registration upon arrival, to allow a person to register only once a year and not upon each re-entry into the country, and to hire foreign personnel on special contracts," he said.

Highly skilled labor

To boost modernization efforts, a special migration law for highly skilled employees was adopted in May 2010. It eased the rules for migration of foreigners whose salaries start from 2 million rubles per year, or those who work in the innovation hub of Skolkovo.

Such workers can obtain work permits within a single month and a visa for the term of the work contract, which will last up to three years. Their families can easily relocate to Russia, and highly paid specialists do not have to register if they remain in the country for less than 90 days.

Experts, meanwhile, continue to criticize the registration rules. "The registration process remains very strict, even for high-quality specialists," Germerhausen said. "If they forget to register or to cancel their registration more than two times, their company is penalized and is deprived of the right to hire more highly-skilled specialists."

And highly skilled employees still have to face outdated and senseless bureaucratic rules, such as an obligatory health insurance policy ­ with the FMS rejecting insurance certificates if they do not have the word "policy" written on them.

Exploitation a problem

Experts point out that low-skilled labor in Russia, meanwhile, remains a major demographic. "We can't talk of modernization or mechanization of labor while millions of people work in the country for bread and water," Alexei Zakharov, president of recruitment site Superjob.ru, told The Moscow News.

According to Zakharov, lowskilled labor remains a priority for many employers. "Instead of hiring few workers with high labor efficiency, there are unqualified people put to work with spades," he said. "Highlyskilled foreign specialists won't be enough to modernize the country."

New policies

Last month, President Vladimir Putin signed a new migration policy that should be in place up until 2025. It sets a target for drawing more skilled specialists, entrepreneurs and investors to Russia for a long-term period.

Under the policy, Russia is also going to raise the number of migrants coming to live and work in the country, partly by repatriation of Russians living abroad. By the end of 2015, the authorities want to attract at least 200,000 Russians living abroad back home.

At the same time, the FMS is going to crack down harder on those who break migration laws ­ organizers of illegal migration will face prison sentences of 10 years and those who break registration rules will get be fined 5,000 rubles ($150).