Immigration to Russia

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Immigration to Russia involves foreign citizens seeking permanent residence in the territory of the Russian Federation. The standard legal immigration status obtaining procedure consists of the following time-divided steps: obtaining a temporary residence permit; obtaining a permanent residence permit and obtaining Russian citizenship.^[1] Under current law, one can receive citizenship of Russia after five years of residence and after passing an exam in Russian language, civics and history. Immigration to Russia is regulated by the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian Federation.^[2] Immigration plays an important role in modern Russian demographic processes, accounting for the increase in the population from 2011.^[3]

Anyone who works in Russia for five years and develops fluency in the Russian language can become a citizen, provided they have not committed a crime. Almost anyone who is hired by a Russian firm can stay in the country and work indefinitely ^[4] This reflects a policy change, in response to declining birth rates, on the part of the government of Vladimir Putin from the more restrictive policy enacted after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.^[5] The large non-Slavic immigrant populations arriving in response to Putin's liberal policy have sometimes encountered xenophobia. To counter this, pursuant to Russian hate-speech laws, the Russian state has shut down various anti-immigrant groups, such as the Movement Against Illegal Immigration.

The immigration process usually includes several steps. Firstly, it is required to establish connections with Russia in order to be eligible for temporary or permanent residency. It may be granted on the grounds of having employment, studying, having Russian relatives or ancestry, investing or purchasing a property. The next step is to apply for temporary residency (some applicants may skip this step). After one year of living as a temporary resident it is possible to apply for permanent residency. Finally, after 5 years of living as a permanent resident it is possible to apply for Russian citizenship.^[6]

Russian-language native-speakers, spouses of Russian citizens, highly-qualified specialists, investors and refugees are eligible for a simplified immigration procedure. Some categories of applicants may skip temporary residency and apply for citizenship after 1-3 years of living in Russia.^[7]