OTK-Group

OTK-Group “OTK-group” have been proposing legal services in the area of migration law since 2002.

We engage in the processing of permit documents for employers and obtaining legal permission for foreigners wishing to work in the Russian Federation (plastic card) , including highly qualified specialists and specialists who works in international companies.

16/03/2020

Who can easily become a citizen of the Russian Federation?

Who is likely to obtain a Russian citizenship fast: entomologist or education professional? As of February 29, 2020 the right answer is both. It also refers to the editor, agricultural worker, teacher, tractor driver, etc. – a total of 135 professions are now included in the list of the Labor Ministry. Having worked for at least a year, a foreign citizen will be able to apply for Russian citizenship in a simplified manner. Qualified foreign specialists, Russia’s object of interest, are now granted such preferences. Previously, the list contained only 74 professions, approved in 2015. The list expansion is aimed at meeting the goals and needs of the migration policy implemented by the Russian government.

10/03/2020

Post-Soviet republics suffer from Dutch disease due to migration

According to the World Bank, Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have demonstrated a significant increase in spending relative to GDP (up to 36%). These countries are focused mainly on the service sector rather than manufacturing (10-15%). Their national currencies are strengthening while the competitiveness is plunging. This can be explained by migration processes – after all, four out of eight post-Soviet republics have been experiencing a major outflow of citizens to countries with higher labor productivity and incomes. This allows migrants to send money back home. The four mentioned countries are part of the 24 globally with a population of more than 1 million people, where the total migrant remittances exceed 10% of their countries’ GDP. The fifth on the list is Moldova. This phenomenon has been studied by the IMF and the expert conclusions are not comforting – on the one hand, dependency on donor countries (Russia in the case of the above-mentioned countries) stabilizes these countries’ economies, but on the other, promotes volatility in their own markets.

06/12/2019

Notification on the conclusion or termination of an employment contract (Hereafter Notification) should be submitted in one day.

Ministry of Labor of Russia prepared a bill on decreasing the submission period of notifications to MIA. The bill says about the submission of notifications in a period not exceeding 1 business day and only in electronic form. Recall that the deadline for submitting notifications today is 3 business days from the date of conclusion or termination. You can also send notifications in person or by post.
It is planned that the Heads of the regions will select and form a List of professions for which either too many or too few foreign workers apply. Based on that List, Authorities may not issue required documents, like patent, for professions with high demand among Russian citizens. Authorities should inform Employers of such limits in a period not later than 3 months.

26/11/2019

Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI) policy under the program “Labor Migrant” - a mandatory document for the employment of a foreign citizen in the Russian Federation

Recently, cases of purchase by foreign citizens from the CIS countries and the EAEU of policies under the “anti-mite” (ANTIKLESH) program have become more frequent. Employees of the Russian Post and Mobile Communications misinform foreign citizens who plan to work on the territory of the Russian Federation. The cost of such policies attracts the latter, because the price is lower than the VHI policies of the Labor Migrant program, which contain the types of medical care established by law.
The insurance agents cite many reasons why the “anti-mice” policy is attractive for migrants: the amount of insurance payment exceeds 1 million rubles; emergency care; the doctor's consultation. However, insurance agents do not warn that medical assistance in this case will be provided only upon the occurrence of an insured event, i.e. mite bite.
Before purchasing a VHI policy for employment in the territory of the Russian Federation, we recommend that foreign citizens familiarize themselves with the Directive of the Central Bank (September 13, 2015 No. 3793-U), which sets out the requirements for the conditions and procedure of obtaining VHI for foreign citizens and stateless persons.

19/11/2019

Violated traffic rules - pay a fine!

From December 2019, Rostransnadzor will control cars with foreign numbers traveling outside the Russian Federation. At checkpoints, cameras for reading numbers will be installed. Information on crossing the border will be transmitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Customs Service, and in the opposite direction will receive data on unpaid fines and traffic violations.
According to the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, if fines are not paid, then the wheels of the car at the checkpoint across the State Borders
of the Russian Federation will be blocked. Such a tough measure is directed to comply with the principle of inevitability of punishment, including for foreign drivers.
Starting from February of the next year, all interested departments should ensure the exchange of data on vehicles temporarily entering into the Russian Federation, including between EAEU countries.
We also remind you that in July of this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs already tightened control over passenger traffic and knowledge of traffic rules by foreign drivers.

28/10/2019

Payments for deportation from the budget of Russian Federation or Compulsory Insurance?

In October, a bill was considered in which foreign citizens were offered to have compulsory insurance of the risk of deportation and expulsion. It was assumed that the policy will be mandatory for legal residence, as well as for the work of foreigners in the territory of the Russian Federation. This event is aimed at reducing payments from the country's budget related to the deportation and expulsion of foreign citizens from the Russian Federation.
However, the Government of the Russian Federation did not support the bill, referring to the Law “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation”, which does not indicate mandatory insurance for deportation or expulsion.

22/10/2019

For violations of registration rules, the foreigner-owner will answer according to the law of the Russian Federation.

As of October 2019, a foreigner-owner does not have the right to register familiar foreign citizens and even his relatives on his living space. Only highly qualified specialist workers can register relatives in their own apartment.
Lawyers saw an infringement of the rights of owners and suggested amendments to the law “On Migration Registration of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in Russia”. The relevant bill has already been prepared and considered. It takes into account responsibility for fake registration. The legal presence of relatives and friends of the owners in the territory of the Russian Federation will also be checked. For false information, the owners will be punished by law.

24/09/2019

Fingerprints before coming to Russia!

Recently, the authorities have undertaken a series of measures to combat illegal migration. Newly adopted laws have increased the punishment for false registration and fictitious marriages with Russian citizens in order to obtain Russian citizenship. Consequently, the Russian Interior Ministry Migration Service has reported that the number of foreign citizens who prefer to follow a legal pathway has increased. This, for example, is very important for working foreigners, as they make up almost half of the total number of foreigners located in the Russian Federation.

Unlike the labor migrants, the situation with illegal immigrants is not so transparent. They cross the Russian border to carry out illegal activities on its territory.

Experts from both the Russian Interior Ministry Migration Service and State Duma consider it essential to finance measures to strengthen border control. Among the proposals is the installation of equipment for mandatory fingerprinting at each checkpoint. This measure would assist with timely screening of foreign citizens who seek to get into the country to pursue illegal activities rather than sightseeing – no matter whether it’s illegal work or extremist doings.

18/09/2019

The Border Service of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation shares information

15 million foreign citizens arrived to the Russian Federation with different purposes over the first half of the year. Of these, 2.4 million people entered with the objective to perform work on the territory of the Russian Federation. The majority came from neighboring countries (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Kazakhstan). Other countries (China, Turkey, Germany, Great Britain) sent much fewer workers to Russia. These data were shared by the Federal Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation. It turns out that the data of the Federal State Statistics Service, which previously provided information on the number of foreigners based on the report of local authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are incomplete and take into account a much smaller quantity of foreign citizens.

According to an expert from the Moscow State University, this discrepancy has to do with different counting approaches of foreign citizens. For example, take a foreign citizen crossing the border 5 times during the year. The Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service would count his crossings 5 times, while the Federal Migration Service only considers it as 1 time, because the purpose of entry was always the same – WORK. On the contrary, the numbers of the Border Guard Service may not be entirely accurate, believes the expert.

10/09/2019

Did the Ministry of Internal Affairs count migrants correctly?

The number of foreign citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation increased in the first quarter of 2019, compared with the same quarter of 2018. This could be explained by the fact that the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) incorrectly provided data on arriving foreigners, and in its turn the Ministry of Internal Affairs furnished Rosstat with incomplete information. Yet experts argue that the increase is due to the number of foreigners temporarily registered in the Russian Federation. Most migrants registered for more than six months, and according to the Federal State Statistics Service estimates, many of them will leave Russia by the end of the year and at the beginning of 2020.

03/09/2019

Electronic visa entry to Russian Federation

The President of the Russian Federation has instructed that the entry into the Russian Federation for Japanese, Chinese and European citizens was simplified with the help of electronic visas starting early 2021. The e-visa holder will be able to visit the Russian Federation for tourist, business, humanitarian purposes, as well as with a guest visit. Today, foreign tourists can visit the Far East and the Kaliningrad region with electronic visas, with St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region to adopt the same measure in the autumn.

Unlike other countries where tourists explore different cities, in Russia the preference is mainly given to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Consequently, the number of tourists can increase dramatically, which can have a negative impact on both cities. On the other hand, tour operators forecast that tourist flow to Russia will grow by at least 20-25%, adding substantial contribution to country's GDP by the tourism sector.

29/08/2019

Outstanding traffic violation – an entry ban to the Russian Federation!

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that in the near future foreign citizens will be checked for unpaid fines when crossing the Russian State Border. They could be temporarily banned from entering the Russian Federation, until the fine is settled.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Customs Service are planning to launch a database that will track whether a traffic violation fine has been paid by foreigner. This measure is aimed at reducing the number of deaths due to accidents.

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Moscow

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Monday 09:00 - 18:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 18:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 18:00
Thursday 09:00 - 18:00
Friday 09:00 - 18:00

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