Russian Immigration Policy and Foreign Skilled Labor Problems

The Russian immigration policy might seem rigid or un-accepting to the rest of the world, however, Central Asian nations like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan find the Russian society to be very attractive as majority of the immigrants residing in Russia are from these countries.

The credit for this goes to the more educated and practical trend in the Russian society than these countries. People living in these countries are most eager to learn Russian to better understand the society. The potential for migrants from these countries is quite high for Russia and it could conveniently avail such an opportunity.

The Russian immigration department has been known to be dynamic in their immigration policies. The policy has been adjusted more than once for migrants living in the country. Currently anyone living in Russia for more than nine (9) months is termed a migrant.

But still the Russian immigration is struggling to create an immigration policy that would accommodate the integration of immigrants in the Russian society. In the process of improvisation, a new concept for the State Migration Policy has already been adopted and is expected to complement the progress in creating a policy that would be the answer to Russia’s immigration population problems.

On the question of integration of migrants the current policy is not supportive. As per the current policy labor contracts with migrants are only to be made for one year and afterwards should be renewed every six months (This is with the exception of highly qualified specialists). Because of this rule, the Russian corporations feel it unnecessary to make sure that migrant employees are well integrated into their workplaces, as there is no certainty that they would have one, after every six months.

Rules like these are the only reason that the Russian society doesn’t pay any attention towards establishing integration programs in Russia. Therefore, reforms in the immigration law are required.

Another example of the flaw in the policy is women coming to the country as illegal immigrants. These women come to Russia as illegal immigrants to be reunited with their husbands. After coming here they give birth to children. Now why the women had to choose to come illegally to Russia is a question of fact. It’s because of the rigid immigration rules.

The government must introduce favorable changes for the immigrants and their families, wife and children to be particular. The point of doing this is quite simple as a person living with a family will feel more responsible and mature than a person living alone.

This would help the immigrants to integrate and adapt to the society in a more favorable manner, both for them and the society.

The government must also pay some attention towards streamlining the opportunities available for migrant laborer in Russia. The foreign laborer must be certain of the work he is going to do when he comes to Russia. The labor market of the country must be made more vibrant and full of varieties for them to select the occupation that best suits their mentality. Although new mechanisms have been introduced to create certainty in the labor market, they still seem a little vague.

New categories of foreign workers are being expected to be introduced for potential skilled-migrant workers. These are very important decisions as developed countries around the world are making favorable reforms to their immigration policies just to encourage foreign skilled-labor to enter their markets and re-establish the economy.

Tags: Central asia, Foreign Worker, Immigration, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Russian Immigration, Russian society, State Migration Policy, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan