The specifics of the legal situation for people with experience of migration: the rights and responsibilities of labor migrants

Dmitry Mikhailov is an expert at the Center for Migration Research and the lead lawyer at the European Legal Service. He is a director of international projects for the protection of the rights of migrants; these projects were implemented with the support of the IFRC, the European Commission, and other organizations. He is co-author of an academic paper on the protection of the rights of Moscow-based children who do not have citizenship of the Russian Federation.

Text published with the author’s changes

I.     The Russian Federation is a nexus of migration flows grounded in the socio-economic connections between the countries of the former Soviet Union and widespread knowledge of the Russian language.

According to official statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 19,518,304 people were registered as migrants in 2019—13,863,521of whom were registered for the first time. 

It is important to understand that these numbers are legally relevant but do not reflect the actual number of foreign citizens living in our country. The rules are such that one person can register as a migrant ten or more times in a single calendar year. According to most experts, around ten million foreign citizens live within the Russian Federation at any one time, but one should not forget that there are also those individuals who arrive or remain in the country illegally. As a result, a precise automatic calculation of the number of migrants is impossible. 

II.     A foreign citizen’s legal status depends on the means by which they arrive or live in the Russian Federation, as well as on their rights and responsibilities. 

Federal Law 115-FZ from 25 July 2002, «On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation, ” establishes three official statuses:

1. Temporary visitor: a person who has arrived in the country on a visa or (in cases outlined in international agreements and accords) without a need for a visa and received a migration card at the national border, but does not have a residency permit or temporary residence permit;
2. Temporary resident: a person who has received a temporary residency permit;
3. Permanent resident: a person who has received a residency permit. 

The entry and residence procedures for a migrant in the Russian Federation differ based on the individual’s citizenship status. The classification of foreign citizens:

• Citizens of countries with visa-free travel agreements with the Russian Federation
  
  • Citizens of countries in the Eurasian Economic Union
  • Citizens of countries outside the EEU
• Citizens of countries for whom travel into the Russian Federation requires a visa
  • Highly qualified specialists
  • Other citizens with visas

Terms of stay are regulated by the law, «On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation.»

Those who have entered the country on a visa can stay in the country while the visa is valid. 

The term of stay for a highly qualified specialist who has arrived from another country, as well as that of the members of their family, is determined by the length of their work permit.

If a citizen of another country enters the Russian Federation in a manner that does not require them to obtain a visa, their total term of stay cannot exceed 90 days in a 180-day period. After that, the person must leave the Russian Federation if they do not have legal grounds to stay. 

The most common means for prolonging temporary residence in the Russian Federation is by gaining employment in the manner ascribed by law. 

In order to understand the origins of the main labor migration flows, we turn to the official statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2019, MID granted 126,879 work permits and 1,767,254 licenses for employment for foreign citizens and stateless persons.

To work in the Russian Federation, foreign citizens arriving in the country on a visa must receive the corresponding permit. If we compare the number of work permits issued by MID with the overall number of foreign citizens living in the country, we can conclude that the role of visa-carrying foreigners in the overall labor migration flow in the country is insignificant (even if we account for informal employment). 

The labor force primarily comes from countries that have reached agreements on visa-free travel with the Russian Federation (primarily countries of the former Soviet Union). Citizens of these countries have the right to work in Russia after reaching 18 years of age and upon receiving a license. 

Federal Law «On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation» states that the overall validity of a patent/license along with its extensions cannot exceed one year from the date of issue. In order for the patent/license to remain valid, an individual must pay a fixed amount of personal income tax every month. This amount is set by each federal subject (region) based on its regional coefficients. The subjects have the right to manage their own labor flows, with the ability to both reduce the sum of the advance payment and make the region more attractive to labor migrants, as well as considerably increase it in order to reduce the influx of labor. In the event that a worker fails to pay their advance, the patent/license loses its validity, and the foreign citizen loses their right to work in the Russian Federation. Personal income tax must be paid continuously, even if the worker fails to find employment. This means that the advance payment system has essentially created a system of paying to remain in the country legally.

It is important to note that in May 2020, amendments were made to current legislation that allows workers to renew their patent/license an unlimited number of times upon the expiry of their previous one. Previously, a labor migrant could only renew this document once without leaving the Russian Federation. This new amendment helped reduce the financial burden on labor migrants who were previously forced to leave the country simply in order to return once more. 

Those who have received their patents/licenses must provide a copy of their employment contract or civil agreement to perform work (provide services) to the Migration Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs within two months of the issuance of the patent/license. If an individual does not fulfill this responsibility, the patent/license can be canceled. Unfortunately, the market situation is such that a foreign citizen is often unable to acquire official employment within two months (though at the same time, law enforcement agencies rarely use this justification for canceling a patent/license).

Returning to the classification in Diagram 1, we can see that all visa-free foreign citizens can be divided into citizens of EEU member countries and those of other countries. This division is key to understanding the rights and responsibilities of each category. 

The aforementioned responsibilities to acquire a patent/license and pay the monthly advance payments do not apply to citizens of EEU member countries. The «Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union, ” signed in 2014, gives citizens of member countries the right to work in the Russian Federation without the need for additional permit documentation. The term of residence in our country for this category of citizen is automatically extended after signing an employment contract or civil agreement, so it is far easier for these individuals to remain in the Russian Federation on legal grounds. 

III.     Foreign citizens on either short-term or extended residence in the Russian Federation are, as a rule, faced with the need for medical care. However, it must be noted that medical care for migrants is essential to maintaining proper sanitary and public health conditions in the country.

Both Russian Federation law and international agreements serve as the legal basis for providing medical help to foreign citizens:

1. European Agreement concerning the Provision of Medical Care to Persons during Temporary Residence (signed in Geneva, 17 October 1980). 
2. Agreement by the Governments of the Commonwealth of Independent States from 27 March 1997, «On the provision of medical care to citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States.» 
3. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Government of the Russian Federation from 24 November 1998, «On the mutual provision of equal rights to urgent and emergency medical care to citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation.» 
4. Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union (signed in Astana, 29 May 2014).

From the perspective of access to free-of-charge medical care, all foreign citizens living in the Russian Federation can be divided into two categories.

The first category comprises individuals insured by the Mandatory Medical Insurance (OMS) system, according to Federal Law № 326-FZ from 29 November 2010, «On mandatory medical insurance in the Russian Federation.» This category of citizens has the right to free-of-charge medical care as part of the OMS. 

Registration in the OMS system is open to those who have received a permanent resident card or a temporary residence permit, as well as foreign citizens recognized as refugees (in accordance with Federal Law № 4528-1 from 19 February 1993, «On refugees») or those who have received temporary refugee status. 

The rise of new international bodies is also leading to new international agreements. For instance, in accordance with the Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union, citizens of member states have the right to use the OMS system if they have an active employment contract and if they pay into the Mandatory Medical Insurance Fund (FOMS). Labor migrants in the Russian Federation from these countries have a unique opportunity to receive medical care equivalent to that offered to Russian citizens. An OMS policy is typically issued to them through the end of a given calendar year. However, it cannot be valid for a longer period of time than the employment contract itself. 

The second category comprises foreign citizens not insured by the OMS system. This group includes all other foreign citizens living in the Russian Federation.

Federal Law № 323-FZ from 21 November 2011, «On the fundamentals of protection of public health for citizens of the Russian Federation» states that the procedure for providing medical care to foreign citizens is set by the Government of the Russian Federation. In addition, Order of the Government of the Russian Federation № 186, «On the approval of Rules for providing medical care to foreign citizens within the Russian Federation, ” was passed on 06 March 2013.

According to the Rules, medical care should be provided free of charge even if an individual does not have an OMS policy or is living in the country illegally. This occurs should they need:

• emergency medical care for sudden acute conditions or complications of chronic illnesses that threaten the patient’s life. 
• emergency medical services, including specialist care, from state and municipal organizations for illnesses, accidents, injuries, poisonings, and other conditions that demand emergency medical intervention.

It should be noted that the decision to provide free-of-charge medical care to citizens without an OMS policy is only made when there is a threat to the patient’s life, and their state demands immediate specialist intervention. However, practice shows that the severity of a patient’s condition on arrival at a hospital or upon the arrival of an ambulance is assessed subjectively, which presents a serious problem. 

According to Order № 388n by the Russian Ministry of Health from 20 June 2013, «On the approval of the Procedure for providing emergency and specialized emergency care, ” such care can be provided:

• outside of a medical institution: at the location of an ambulance crew or specialized ambulance crew’s arrival, as well as inside a vehicle during a medical evacuation;
• outpatient (in situations where round-the-clock medical observation and treatment is not required);
• inpatient (in situations that offer round-the-clock medical observation and treatment).

Unfortunately, labor migrants are often refused this free-of-charge care because their state is subjectively assessed as not life-threatening and not requiring emergency intervention. These refusals are common even when calling for an ambulance if a patient or bystander cannot convince the dispatcher that help is urgently needed due to a poor command of Russian or a strong accent. This forces foreign citizens to turn to commercial organizations. 

If a labor migrant is nevertheless admitted to a medical institution, attempts are still frequently made to restrict their legal right to care. The most common argument for ceasing to provide care free-of-charge is a lack of clear signs of a life-threatening condition (which could very well not reflect the patient’s actual state). In addition, medical workers do not always know the specific scope of medical care that can be provided free of charge. Personnel at state and municipal medical institutions are mistakenly convinced that foreign citizens cannot be kept on an inpatient basis for more than three days. After this period, they often attempt to move the patient into paid medical care, regardless of their condition. However, it is important to remember that Russian legal instruments do not place any time restrictions on the provision of medical care free of charge. 

IV.     One type of international migration is family migration. Studying in the country of arrival allows children to adapt to their new surroundings rapidly and helps their older relatives do the same; still, access to preschool and primary education remains complicated for children without Russian Federation citizenship. 

The right to receive an education, as one of the most important human rights, is declared by Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948), as well as Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted on 16 December 1966 by Resolution 2200 (XXI) at the 1496th plenary session of the UN General Assembly).

In addition, Federal Law № 273-FZ from 29 December 2012, «On education in the Russian Federation, ” states that citizens of our country and other states have equal rights to receive preschool, elementary, primary, and secondary education. 

Unfortunately, cases of restricting stateless children’s access to education institutions still exist. It is often explained by schools and kindergartens already being at capacity and that it is impossible to enroll even children who are registered locally, much less the children of labor migrants.

The reason behind this refusal is often grounded in Clause 9 of Order № 32 by the Ministry of Education and Science from 22 January 2014, «On the approval of the Procedure for admitting citizens to study in elementary, primary and secondary educational programs.» The document states that: 

«For admittance into educational institutions, a child’s parents (legal guardians) must additionally provide  a document confirming the child’s residency registration, as well as a document confirming the applicant’s right to reside in the Russian Federation.»

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation heard a case arguing that paragraphs 11 and 13 of Clause 9 of Order № 32 by the Ministry of Education and Science from 22 January 2014 should be declared illegitimate. The Supreme Court’s decision on this case, delivered 27 August 2015 (№ AKPI15-694), established that it is impossible to refuse a child enrollment in an educational organization, even if their parents fail to provide a document confirming their registration at their place of residence. Unfortunately, discrimination still continues against the children of foreign citizens, despite the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation’s interpretation of the provisions in the aforementioned order. 

In order to solve problems concerning the rights of foreign citizens to receive preschool, primary, and secondary education, information must be added to the current legislation that prohibits refusing enrollment in educational institutions to children based on their parents’ lack of documents confirming their registration at their place of residence, as well as their legal status in the Russian Federation.