Migrants: next stiffening

By Vestnik Kavkaza


Moscow as the most economically-developed region of the Russian Federation is still a center of migration inflows. According to the Central Data Base on Foreign Citizens Accounting of the FMS of Russia, more than 940 thousand foreign citizens live in Moscow. Most of them are citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine.

According to Olga Kirillova, the head of the Federal Migration Service Department for Moscow, “the six months show that we were kept busy; a series of legal initiatives were undertaken. We are grateful to the central apparatus, which managed to lobby the initiatives; and a series of amendments begins its operation. A part of them from the 3rd of August and another part from the 9th of August. They are about harsher punishment for offenders of the migration law. For instance, fines for offenders will grow in Moscow, the Moscow Region, St.-Petersburg, and the Leningrad Region. For individuals the fine will rise to 5-7 thousand roubles; for administrative persons – 35-70 thousand roubles; for entities – 400,000-1 million roubles. This is the most important. When we analyse the situation, we can see that the initial reason for breaking the law is our Russian citizens, our employers who do not provide adequate conditions and understate salaries. That is why foreign citizens do these jobs, rather than Moscow residents or Russian citizens from other regions of the RF.”

As for quoting the demand, how many foreign workers Moscow needs and what is being done in this direction, recently the head of the Service has made a speech and referred to the European experience – the three-step system. “There are three steps of employment: if in a month a job hasn't been taken by a Moscow resident, in the second month there is a chance for Russian citizens from other regions; if in two months the job is not taken, after an analysis of the salary and the conditions provided by the employer, a foreign citizen can take the job. The struggle against illegal migration is impossible without a centre of keeping foreign citizens, especially in Moscow. The existing centre doesn’t match the requirements, according to the number of places and its technical conditions. We are ashamed of showing it. At the moment it is under the control of the Interior Ministry, but from January 1st 2014 the FMS takes it. We have addressed the mayor, and Sergey Sobyanin promised to help. And he fulfilled his promise. The current centre is being reconstructed, and in the future a new centre can be built, as Moscow needs it so much,” she said.