Russia plans to tighten control over labor migration, including in the healthcare sector. The upcoming meeting of the State Duma Council will consider the issue of introducing quotas for the employment of foreign medical workers. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, there are currently no restrictions on hiring foreign specialists in 192 professions, including 38 medical specialties and 46 positions of mid-level medical personnel.
In addition, deputies are discussing the transfer of some powers from the Ministry of Labor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. In particular, this concerns the right to approve the list of professions for which labor migrants can be recruited. According to Volodin, this will strengthen control in the field of labor migration.
"In our country, especially in such sectors as healthcare, highly qualified specialists with knowledge of the Russian language should work," the State Duma speaker said.
He explained the need for changes by identified violations. According to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, last year violations in the accreditation of doctors with foreign diplomas were found in 27 regions of the country. In another 17 regions, foreign doctors were hired without mandatory qualification checks.
Volodin also recalled that the list of professions for qualified foreign specialists who can obtain a residence permit in a simplified manner has already been reduced almost tenfold — from more than 200 to 29 specialties.
According to him, Russian regions continue to introduce restrictions on attracting migrants with work patents. While in 2024 such measures were in effect in 43 regions, they have now been introduced in 56 regions.
The State Duma speaker noted that since 2024, the Russian parliament has adopted 27 federal laws aimed at combating illegal migration, but acknowledged that certain issues of labor migration regulation still require refinement.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that citizenship and residence permits for foreigners in Russia will become 12 times more expensive.