A new message to migration authorities, society and migrants
A new strategically important document has appeared on the legal migration field of Russia - on October 31, 2021, President V. Putin approved the new Concept of the state migration policy of the Russian Federation for 2021 - 2025. What does this mean for the further development of the migration situation in the country? Why did it become necessary to replace the previous Concept, which was signed in 2012 and designed for the period until 2025, with a new Concept? What new message does the new document convey to migration authorities, society and migrants - current and potential?
In order to answer these questions, we need to look back and remember what happened to Russian migration policy in the years following the approval of the 2012 Concept as a defining document.
At that time, the Concept 2012 gave an alarming description of the migration situation in Russia. In particular, in the text of the document about; “the emigration outflow from the country continues”; “The population has low internal territorial mobility.” It also directly pointed out the miscalculations of migration policy: “the migration legislation of the Russian Federation does not fully comply with the current and future needs of economic, social and demographic development, the interests of employers and Russian society as a whole”; “with the exception of the State program to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation, there are no programs for attracting for permanent residence migrants with professional qualifications, educational, economic, demographic, sociocultural and other characteristics that are in demand in the country, capable of successfully adapting and integrate into Russian society"; “difficulties in obtaining temporary residence permits and residence permits complicate the process of obtaining citizenship for the majority of law-abiding migrants”; “The system for attracting temporary labor migrants is imperfect, which leads to numerous unregistered employment of foreign citizens in the Russian labor market.”
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The conclusion was drawn: “To realize the positive potential inherent in migration processes, the entire system of their management in the Russian Federation must be modernized.”
What has been done in the years since the approval of the 2012 Concept to “modernize the system for managing migration processes”?
Perhaps the period between 2012 and 2021. should be conditionally divided into three stages, not in accordance with the stages of implementation outlined in the Concept - 2012, but in connection with the reformatting of the institutional support of Russian migration policy that took place during these years. So, the first stage is until 2021, while migration issues in the country were managed by the Federal Migration Service; the second (conditional) stage is the second half of 2021 and 2017, when cases were transferred from the FMS to the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and migration legislation as such practically did not develop; and the third stage - from the end of 2021, when legislative initiatives began to come from the walls of the new migration department.
After the adoption of the Concept 2012, which seemed to indicate a course towards realizing the positive potential inherent in migration processes for the purposes of economic and demographic development of Russia, in fact, the legislative efforts and practical actions of the FMS were focused mainly on strengthening control over the implementation of migration legislation by migrants and tightening the legislation itself. In 2013, the State Information System for Migration Registration (GISMU) was created, which provided personalized registration of foreign citizens staying in Russia. In 2014, the “90/180 rule” was introduced, violators of which were subject to a ban on entry into Russia for a period of 3 to 10 years. At the same time, “black lists” of foreign citizens who were prohibited from entering Russia if they had committed two or more administrative offenses on the territory of the Russian Federation appeared, and these lists reached hundreds of thousands of people. The initially simple and transparent system for issuing patents for the right to employment for individuals has been extended since 2015 to all citizens of the CIS countries finding employment in Russia, and is complicated by additional requirements, primarily the need to pass an exam on knowledge of the Russian language, history and legislation of Russia. The result of these measures was a reduction in the number of persons applying for a patent, despite the fact that the number of CIS citizens entering Russia for the purpose of employment did not decrease at all (4,045 thousand people entered in 2014, and 4 in 2015). 517 thousand people). In other words, the tightening of migration policy measures regarding labor migrants has led to an increase in illegal migration and unregistered employment.
The state program to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation was clearly stalled, at least until 2014–2015, when the number of its participants was replenished with forced migrants fleeing the war zone in southeastern Ukraine.
It is obvious that in the current circumstances, providing residents of the LPR and DPR with the opportunity to acquire Russian citizenship in a simplified manner is a necessary measure. The overwhelming majority of them are ethnic Russians, and under the current government in Ukraine they are threatened with extermination or, at best, expulsion.
To be fair, it must be said that positive steps have been taken at the legislative level aimed at optimizing migration processes. In order to stimulate internal migration and improve employment conditions for the Russian population, an Action Plan to increase the mobility of citizens for 2014–2018 was adopted. At the end of 2014, a special chapter was adopted in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation “Features of labor regulation of workers who are foreign citizens or stateless persons,” which outlined the labor and social rights of foreign workers. Since 2015, a network of multifunctional migration centers has been created to provide various types of migration services to foreign citizens. Russian regions received the right to independently regulate the influx of foreign citizens, including foreign workers.
In 2021, the institutional support for migration policy was reformatted: the Federal Migration Service was liquidated and migration issues were transferred to the jurisdiction of a specially created department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The transfer of migration to the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has caused a wary attitude among experts. Still fresh in my memory is the transfer of the Federal Migration Service “under the Ministry of Internal Affairs” in 2002, when this was followed by a clear tightening of migration policy, a change in its priorities in favor of the “forceful” fight against illegal migration, a clear perception of migration as a threat to Russia, adoption in 2003 d. the “non-working” Concept for regulating migration processes, as well as the department’s loss of transparency and its closedness to contacts with the scientific community and human rights organizations.
This time the situation is different. After a forced “lull” in the development of migration legislation due to the transfer of cases from the FMS to the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, 2021 and especially 2021 became a period of active migration innovations. First of all, they concern simplification of procedures for obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation for a number of categories of foreign citizens. “Native Speakers of the Russian Language” - a channel designated back in 2015, but never realized - received an additional incentive thanks to the introduction of a rule that persons (primarily citizens of Ukraine) located on the territory of Russia and recognized as native speakers of the Russian language, there is no need to receive confirmation of renunciation of citizenship from the Ukrainian authorities, which is virtually impossible due to the position of the Ukrainian side. It is enough to write a corresponding application for renunciation of citizenship and send a notarized copy to the Ukrainian Embassy. This actually opened the door for more than 1 million residents of south-eastern Ukraine who fled to Russia after 2014. And also for those who are just thinking about the possibility of moving to Russia as a country with which they maintain an internal connection, considering themselves people of Russian culture . As a rule, these are educated city dwellers with a high level of qualifications who reasonably expect to get a well-paid job in their specialty in Russia.
Another bill concerning the simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship, which was considered by the State Duma on October 25, 2018 in the first reading, is also addressed primarily to citizens of Ukraine - we are talking about admitting Russian citizenship in a simplified manner to compatriots living in countries with complex social political and economic situation, where armed conflicts and (or) changes in political regime occur.” The right to determine “for humanitarian purposes” categories of foreign citizens who have the right to acquire Russian citizenship is vested in the President of the Russian Federation. And this is no coincidence: in today’s unstable world, today this channel can be open to citizens of Ukraine, and tomorrow - to any other country where there will be a danger to the lives of persons who can be considered “compatriots”. This is not so much a migration issue as a political one, or rather, an example of how closely migration policy is connected with foreign state policy.
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It is obvious that in the current circumstances, providing residents of the LPR and DPR with the opportunity to acquire Russian citizenship in a simplified manner is a necessary measure. The overwhelming majority of them are ethnic Russians, and under the current government in Ukraine they are threatened with extermination or, at best, expulsion. Many of them, for one reason or another, do not have Ukrainian passports and cannot obtain them - Ukraine has stopped issuing its passports in “rebellious” areas. Many people found their rights truncated, including the right to movement and choice of place of residence. While on Russian territory, they are forced to violate the rules and terms of stay, and cannot find employment or rent housing. Therefore, obtaining a Russian residence permit and citizenship is a chance for them to get out of the legal trap in which they find themselves.
In 2021, new legal measures also addressed domestic policy issues. In particular, significant attention is paid to attracting the population to the Far East in coordination with the state program “Socio-economic development of the Far East and the Baikal region”. Amendments have been made to the Law “On Migration Registration” (Federal Law No. 163), which guarantee that foreign citizens have an address of their actual residence. A direct line has been opened to the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to receive requests and complaints from Russian and foreign citizens.
The 2021 FIFA World Cup turned out to be a test of the country's migration openness in the special conditions of the influx of football fans. A special procedure was introduced that simplified as much as possible the entry of foreign citizens and their registration at the place of stay (the period for issuing visas for competition participants and fans was shortened, multiple-entry visas were issued for a period of 1 year, personalized fan cards were valid for the entire period of the World Cup, movement between cities during the matches were simplified as much as possible). And the efforts made were justified: Russia’s international prestige increased, and the organization of the 2018 World Cup was recognized, according to the unanimous opinion of FIFA, as the best in the history of the World Cup.
Concept 2021 has not passed the stage of public discussion. Apparently, this explains the absence in the latter of a critical analysis of the existing migration situation and miscalculations in migration policy that need to be corrected.
Thus, it should be recognized that the transfer of issues of formation and implementation of migration policy to the jurisdiction of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was not accompanied by the tightening of migration policy that could be expected. Rather, we can talk about the rationalization of migration policy measures and the emergence of a certain logic of legislative innovation aimed at streamlining migration processes, ensuring the influx of permanent and temporary migrants necessary for Russia and solving foreign policy problems.
So, let’s return to the Concept 2021. Note that the new document in the section “Conditions for the formation and implementation of migration policy” gives its assessment of the results of 2012–2017, and it is extremely positive: “the instruments of legal regulation in the field of migration have been improved,” “ the rules for the stay of foreign citizens studying in the Russian Federation have been optimized”, “additional conditions have been created to facilitate the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation”, “the rules for admitting Russian citizens to Russian citizenship have been simplified who are native speakers of the Russian language, investors, entrepreneurs or graduates of Russian educational organizations”, etc. As a result, “the total migration increase during this period amounted to 1.6 million people”, “the migration influx into the Russian Federation compensated for the natural population decline and became a source of additional labor resources for the national economy”, “the number of foreign citizens illegally staying in the Russian Federation decreased” , “the intensity of internal migration has increased.” Such an exceptionally positive assessment of the activities of the migration service over the past 5 years gives a clear understanding that the Concept was written in the department to which it was ultimately addressed.
And the question involuntarily arises: if everything works out so well, why revise the Concept and approve a new one?
In passing, we note that unlike the Concept 2012, which was developed over two years by a large group of experts and was discussed many times at different platforms even before its approval, the Concept 2021 did not go through the stage of public discussion. Apparently, this explains the absence in the latter of a critical analysis of the existing migration situation and miscalculations in migration policy that need to be corrected.
Meanwhile, the factual background against which the Concept 2021 was developed and approved is extremely unfavorable. It seems that this was one of the main reasons for the revision of the Concept - the need to increase the country’s migration attractiveness for “compatriots” and other categories of foreign citizens ready to join the population of Russia.
We are talking primarily about the emerging negative trends in the demographic development of Russia, which replaced the optimistic results of 2015 and 2021. Natural population decline, defined as the excess of the number of deaths over the number of births, amounted to 136 thousand at the end of 2021 (versus 2 thousand in 2021). Migration growth decreased by almost 20% and amounted to 212 thousand people in 2021. (in 2021 it reached 262 thousand). As a result, the overall population growth in Russia decreased almost 3 times and amounted to 76 thousand people. against 260 thousand in 2021. Having reached 1.777 in 2015, the total fertility rate decreased in 2016 to 1.762, and in 2021 it completely “collapsed” to 1.527, making illusory the goal set by President Putin in the Decree of 7 May 2012 [] the target for this indicator is 1.753 in 2021. In such conditions, it becomes clear that the role of migration as a way to compensate for negative natural population growth is increasing, and in order to ensure a more or less noticeable increase in population, it is necessary to take additional efforts to attract immigrants to Russia.
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It is clear that the attractiveness of a country for resettlement depends primarily on the general political situation, socio-economic climate, life safety, socio-psychological atmosphere, but the general orientation of migration policy and its specific mechanisms also matter. In this regard, it is very important if the fundamental document of migration policy clearly demonstrates understanding and recognition at the official level of the positive role of migration for the development of Russia and formulates a convincing message to society that migrants are an absolutely necessary part of Russian life, and migrants (current and potential) - that they are welcome and invited to “organize into a system of positive social connections.”
The Concept emphasizes the readiness to create a favorable regime for the voluntary resettlement to Russia of persons ready to become full members of Russian society, and also guarantees “the openness of the Russian Federation for those foreign citizens who do not connect their future or the future of their children with it and do not intend to fully integrate into Russian society, but view Russia as a country with favorable conditions for satisfying their economic, social and cultural needs.”
Concept 2021 is a logical, succinct and clear document in language and meaning. This is fundamentally important, since only an extremely clear and convincing document that does not allow for omissions and double interpretations can serve as a guide for government bodies involved in the development of legislation and the implementation of specific measures in the area to which the concept is dedicated, as well as local government, business, and institutions civil society and finally the media.
The goals and objectives of migration policy formulated in Concept 2021 are arranged in a sequence that truly reflects the place of migration processes in Russian political, economic and social life. The concept aims to “create a migration situation that contributes to solving problems in the field of (1) socio-economic, (2) spatial and (3) demographic development of the country, (4) improving the quality of life of its population, (5) ensuring state security, ( 6) protection of the national labor market, (7) maintenance of interethnic and interreligious peace and harmony in Russian society, as well as (8) in the field of protection and preservation of Russian culture, the Russian language and the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia, which form the basis of its cultural (civilizational) ) code".
This distinguishes the new Concept from the 2012 Concept, where in the hierarchy of goals, “ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation” was given first place, and understood, judging by the text of the document, as protecting the country from migrants.
In Russia, the quality of migration statistics remains extremely low; the scarce aggregate statistical data available does not allow researchers to build a comprehensive picture of the migration situation in the country.
As a member of the Government Commission on Migration Policy in 2011, I had the opportunity to observe how, during the discussion of the draft Concept - 2012, the liberal-pragmatic position of “civilian” departments, such as the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Rostrud, driven by the economic and demographic interests of the country, came across very the tough position of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the Federal Drug Control Service, which pointed out that the proposed draft Concept does not adequately reflect the interests of national security. In other words, the proposed model of migration policy is too open to migrants. It is unlikely that the “security” departments have softened their position on this issue. So it remains to be assumed that at the state level the understanding of national security has changed, and demographic security, lack of labor resources, and depopulation of the Far East are also perceived as real threats to the prospects for the progressive development of the country.
The Concept 2021 repeatedly refers to the “effectiveness of migration policy”, the need to monitor the implementation of the Concept and submit to the President of the Russian Federation an annual report from the Government on the progress of the implementation of migration policy - this allows us to hope that the next 7 years will demonstrate an improvement in the quality of management of migration processes in the country.
Noteworthy is the significant strengthening of the section concerning “improving mechanisms for the prevention, warning, detection and suppression of violations of the migration legislation of the Russian Federation and corruption violations in the field of migration.” This means that, firstly, illegal migration continues to be one of the pressing problems, and secondly, that the methods of combating it have been adjusted. Instead of a rather vague section on combating illegal migration in the 2012 Concept, in the current Concept the focus has been shifted to identifying organizers and accomplices of illegal migration, to monitoring employers hiring foreign citizens, and in combating corruption, the emphasis is on the introduction of electronic forms of interaction between recipients of public services and by the bodies providing them, in particular, through the use of the format of multifunctional centers, in order to increase the transparency of administrative procedures and reduce the likelihood of making unfounded decisions. Note that the need to “ensure simplicity, transparency of procedures and understandability of conditions” is mentioned in the Concept 2021 three times! At the same time, special emphasis is placed on ensuring the possibility of participation of civil society institutions in the implementation of public control over the implementation of migration legislation.
It is no secret that one of the most important conditions for an effective migration policy that meets the interests of the state and society is the fact that decisions made must be based on a deep knowledge of the migration processes taking place in the country, their scale, structure, and consequences for the economy and society. This involves collecting statistical information on a wide range of demographic, professional, qualification and other characteristics of migrants, as well as conducting scientific research based on this information. In Russia, the quality of migration statistics remains extremely low; the scarce aggregate statistical data available does not allow researchers to build a comprehensive picture of the migration situation in the country.
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Concept 2021, for the first time at the state level, recognizes the importance of achieving “a deeper understanding of the migration situation, including by increasing the number of assessed parameters that reflect its impact on economic, social, cultural, national, ethno-confessional and other aspects of the life of Russian society.” At the same time, the task is set to improve “the language for describing migration processes and the migration situation in order to create an accurate and unambiguous idea of the implemented migration policy.” It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this provision, which promises mutual understanding between society and the state in the implementation of such a socially sensitive area as migration policy.
So, the overall impression of the new Concept of state migration policy remains very positive and encouraging.
However, this Concept also leaves reasons for confusion and questions. In addition to the already mentioned unjustifiably optimistic assessment of how Russian migration legislation developed in 2012–2017. and what results this had, I would like to point out a few more points.
Firstly, like the previous Concept, this strategic document is distinguished by a somewhat one-sided approach to migration. Rather, it can be called “The Concept of Immigration
policies...", since in fact only migration flows directed towards Russia and forms of their regulation are considered.
But Russia is also experiencing an outflow of population to other countries (emigration for permanent residence and temporary labor migration, which, in large part, with the continued inaction of the Russian authorities to ensure its return, turns into irrevocable migration). In the section “Conditions for the formation and implementation of migration policy” it is succinctly stated: “More than 2 million citizens of the Russian Federation are registered with consulates abroad. Every year, about 60 thousand Russian citizens go abroad to work.” However, this topic does not receive any further development. Is this simply an omission or, since the document came from within the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, did its authors consider that the outflow of the population is not so important for Russia, because it turns out to be “outside the area of competence” of this department? Or maybe they believe that these processes cannot be controlled, since in a democratic society freedom of movement (in this case, freedom to leave) cannot be limited? So no one is proposing to limit freedom of exit. But to help ensure the return of migrants, the use of their “new” qualification potential, if acquired while working abroad, assistance in employment, increasing the investment potential of migrant remittances [] - all this is a vital task for Russia. Yes, it is impossible to solve these problems only by the efforts of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but this is where the relationship between migration policy and state policy in other areas is revealed: economic, innovation, scientific and technical, social, youth, policy in the field of higher education.
More than 2 million citizens of the Russian Federation are registered with consulates abroad. Every year, about 60 thousand Russian citizens go abroad to work.
Secondly, (and this is important!) in paragraph 22-b, where we are talking about improving the mechanisms for implementing the State program to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation, there is a clear confusion between the economic goals of migration policy and humanitarian orientation State programs. We are talking about supporting the “voluntary resettlement of sought-after specialists (including scientists and teachers, engineers, doctors), farmers, entrepreneurs, investors and outstanding cultural and artistic figures” within the framework of the State Program, while in essence this program is open to all compatriots who wish to voluntarily move to Russia, regardless of their age, social status, education and qualifications. An attempt to “build in” the pragmatic interest of the Russian economy in attracting the specialists it needs into the State Program distorts its repatriation humanitarian character and damages the image of Russia as the “gatherer of the Russian people.”
Thirdly, against the backdrop of a completely reasonable understanding of the importance of the participation of civil society institutions in the implementation of migration policy (which was indicated both in the 2012 Concept and in other program documents), the “addition” in the form of the phrase “subject to the principle of non-interference in the activities of federal bodies” is puzzling state power, government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies" (paragraph 20-d). There is a feeling that the institutions of civil society in Russia pose a danger to government structures dealing with migration issues. Or in this way the state is closing itself off from "foreign agents "?
The very next few years will show whether the new Concept has succeeded in cementing previously fragmented and contradictory migration legislation and really solving the problems that currently hinder the use of the positive potential of migration. I would like to think that the new Concept of state migration policy, subject to the implementation of the intended goals in new legal acts, the development of which should follow the adoption of the Concept, will mark a new stage in Russian migration policy, in which migration policy will acquire an internal logic and become an effective integral part of the national strategy, will increase the migration attractiveness of Russia, ensure an influx of population into the country, solve the problems of labor shortages without infringing on the labor rights of Russian citizens, ensure a reduction in the scale of illegal migration and illegal employment of migrants, and lead to a reduction in corruption, xenophobia and intolerance in Russian society. In other words, it will turn migration into an effective resource for Russia’s development.
. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2012 No. 606 “On measures to implement the demographic policy of the Russian Federation.”
. Migrant remittances to Russia in 2021 amounted to more than $8 billion, according to the World Bank.
Why does Putin need migrants? What does the new concept lead to?
Vladimir Putin approved the principle of openness to migrants in the new concept of migration policy. The Kremlin decided to thoroughly tackle conceptual documents related to national and demographic issues.
In addition to the State National Policy Strategy, the Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation was updated. Despite the fact that the Caucasus as a special region is not specifically mentioned in it, several important points that are relevant at the present time are touched upon.
As it states, the creation of a new document was caused by the need to update the goals, objectives and main directions of activity of the Russian Federation in the field of migration.
The Decree “On the Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for 2019–2025” was signed by the Head of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on October 31. The Concept describes in detail the conditions for the formation and implementation of the country's migration policy and its current trends. These circumstances led to the adoption of a new concept to replace the earlier one signed in 2012, also designed for the period until 2025.
The document states that in 2012–2017, the intensity of internal migration in the Russian Federation increased by 10 percent, while the continuing trend towards outflow of population to the Central, North-Western, South-Western regions of the country is a constant factor in the growth of disproportions in the distribution of the population. It is emphasized that almost the entire potential of internal migration occurs in urban agglomerations such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in the Krasnodar Territory.
The authorities also intend to solve the problem of differences in the country's economic development, not least by increasing internal migration flows. In particular, they will help reduce disproportions in the distribution of the population (including ensuring transport connectivity of the regions and creating an affordable housing market).
The text of the Concept contains quantitative indicators characterizing the migration situation in the country. Thus, more than 2 million citizens of the Russian Federation are registered with consulates abroad, and about 60 thousand Russian citizens go abroad to work annually.
In 2012–2017, the migration influx to the Russian Federation compensated for the natural population decline and became a source of additional labor resources for the national economy. More than 1 million people were granted Russian citizenship, 525 thousand of them within the framework of the State program to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation.
The total migration increase during this period amounted to 1.6 million people. The average annual number of migrant workers was about 3 million people (3–4 percent of the average annual number of all labor resources). About 10 million foreign citizens and stateless persons reside on the territory of the Russian Federation annually, and more than 1 million foreign citizens reside permanently or temporarily in the Russian Federation.
The centers of migration attractiveness for foreign citizens are primarily the large economically developed cities of the European part of Russia, as well as the border territories of Siberia and the Far East.
According to the new concept, the goal of migration policy is to create a migration situation that contributes to solving problems in the field of socio-economic, spatial and demographic development of the country, improving the quality of life of its population, ensuring state security, protecting the national labor market, maintaining interethnic and interreligious peace and harmony in Russian society, as well as in the sphere of protection and preservation of Russian culture, the Russian language and the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia, which form the basis of its cultural (civilizational) code. The document says nothing separately about the languages of the peoples of Russia, including those that have the status of state languages of the republics.
Falling into another “demographic hole”, which in the next 10-20 years will sharply reduce the working-age population, is forcing the authorities to attract an increasing number of labor migrants to the country.
Thus, the Concept notes that it is important to maintain the country’s openness for those foreign citizens who do not connect their future or the future of their children with it and do not intend to fully integrate into Russian society, but consider Russia as a country with favorable conditions for satisfying their economic, social and cultural needs, comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, take care of its environment and natural resources, material and cultural values, respect the diversity of regional and ethnocultural ways of life of the Russian population.
The new Concept devotes an important place to the issue of resettlement of compatriots. To this end, it provides for the improvement of mechanisms for implementing the state program to facilitate the voluntary resettlement to the Russian Federation of compatriots living abroad, as well as other persons who are able to successfully integrate into Russian society.
Amil Sarkarov
Tags: state programsmigrationborder regionsRussiacompatriots
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About the Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for 2019–2025
On October 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Decree “On the Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for 2019–2025.” The head of state announced this at the VI World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad.
Speaking to the delegates of the forum, which brought together more than 700 Russian compatriots from other countries, V. Putin emphasized that the participants of the congress belonged to the “vast Russian world, which was never built exclusively on ethnic, national or religious grounds,” but “gathered and united everyone who spiritually connected with Russia, who feels a spiritual connection with our Motherland, who considers themselves carriers of the Russian language, culture, Russian history.”
The President noted that issues crucial for the entire planet are currently being resolved.
“The situation in the world is not easy. Tension and unpredictability increase. The foundations of international law are being undermined, long-term agreements between states are collapsing. Russophobia and, unfortunately, other forms of extreme, aggressive nationalism are also used. In Ukraine, to be honest, in the Baltic countries and in a number of other states history is being rewritten, a fight is being waged against monuments, against the Russian language. People are intimidated and simply terrorized. The natural desire for every person to preserve his national roots is declared a crime, separatism. The right to freedom of speech and to preserve one's traditions is being grossly violated. For some of our compatriots, professions are prohibited for political reasons,” the President of the Russian Federation recalled.
Following this, Vladimir Putin made a key statement: “We will resolutely defend your rights and interests, using all available bilateral and international mechanisms for this... We count, first of all, on your participation in promoting cooperation projects with Russia. However, let's face it, circumstances can develop differently. Therefore, we will be glad to see both those who want to come to us on a temporary basis and those who decide to obtain citizenship and permanent residence in Russia. And for those who are unlawfully persecuted and in danger, we will do everything to ensure their protection and provide refuge.”
“Today I signed a new edition of the Concept of State Migration Policy,” the head of state continued. “It is aimed, among other things, at creating more comfortable conditions for compatriots from abroad to move to Russia for permanent residence, as well as at creating clear rules for entry and obtaining the right to reside, work, and acquire Russian citizenship. Many problems and bureaucratic barriers in this area, which compatriots rightly spoke about, have been removed. In any case, I hope that an attempt has been made to remove them and debureaucratize this system” (kremlin.ru).
As noted in paragraph 21 of the Decree “On the Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for 2019–2025”, published on the Kremlin website, the main tasks in this area are:
“a) improvement of legal, organizational and other mechanisms regulating and ensuring:
voluntary resettlement to the Russian Federation for permanent residence of compatriots living abroad, as well as other persons who are able to successfully integrate into Russian society;
entry into the Russian Federation and stay on its territory of foreign citizens who wish to develop economic, business, professional, scientific, cultural and other ties, study the language, history and culture of our country, who, thanks to their work activity, knowledge and competencies, contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of Russia;
b) creating conditions for adaptation to legal, socio-economic, cultural and other living conditions in the Russian Federation of foreign citizens experiencing difficulties in adaptation due to the characteristics of their culture and usual way of life, as well as other factors;
c) creation of a favorable regime for the free movement of students, scientific and teaching workers in order to develop science, professional education, increase the level of training of scientific personnel and specialists for sectors of the economy and public administration of the Russian Federation;
d) creating conditions for reducing disproportions in the distribution of the population and solving the problems of spatial development of the country;
e) further development of mechanisms and means of prevention, prevention, detection and suppression of violations of the migration legislation of the Russian Federation and corruption violations in the field of migration, including improvement of measures of responsibility for violation of the said legislation and the legislation of the Russian Federation on combating corruption;
f) providing, in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of international law and the legislation of the Russian Federation, assistance to foreign citizens seeking protection on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
In addition, paragraph 22 of the document highlights, as one of the main directions of migration policy, ensuring simplicity and transparency of procedures for entering the Russian Federation (including issuing visas), obtaining the right to reside in the Russian Federation (including for the purpose of carrying out labor activities), acquiring Russian citizenship.
Subparagraph “b” of paragraph 22 implies improving the mechanisms for implementing the State program to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation, including:
“- adjustment of the conditions for the voluntary resettlement of sought-after specialists (including scientists and teachers, engineers, doctors), farmers, entrepreneurs, investors and outstanding cultural and artistic figures, taking into account their expectations and requests, as well as support for Russian organizations that attract such persons;
— concentration of financial resources on facilitating the voluntary resettlement of compatriots for permanent residence in the Russian Federation in the territory of priority settlement and increasing the efficiency of spending financial resources for these purposes;
— elimination of unreasonable administrative barriers, time and financial costs associated with the import into the Russian Federation and registration of property, including intellectual property, means of production and other fixed assets” (kremlin.ru).
The main provisions of the new Concept of State Migration Policy for 2019-2025 are being actively discussed by politicians and experts.
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs Mikhail Degtyarev has no doubt that the document signed by V. Putin gives a chance for millions of compatriots who remained abroad against their will to return to Russia.
“By signing the new Concept of State Migration Policy, the President... made it clear that the time has come to correct the mistakes of history. It’s time to give the Russian people the right to reunification,” the parliamentarian said.
“Everywhere in the former USSR there is one problem - many people want to go to Russia, but cannot get passports,” he noted, adding that “the Russian economy is waiting for these people” (pnp.ru).
In turn, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin
admitted that he was not entirely satisfied with the way the document covered repatriation issues.
“It would probably be necessary to highlight this area - the attraction and return of compatriots - in a separate chapter, to emphasize the fundamental differences between repatriation and all other migration actions. And from migration policy, which is aimed at providing, say, the Russian economy with qualified specialists, foreign citizens who are not compatriots,” the deputy said.
Nevertheless, he noted that the presented version of the document compares favorably with the sample six years ago.
“In the previously valid Concept of 2012, there was a conclusion, which turned out to be erroneous, that the migration potential of the CIS countries would decrease,” the deputy explained. The balance of power changed the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. “Since the coup took place, the situation has changed dramatically, and we have been walking for a very long time towards recognizing this fact at the Concept level,” said K. Zatulin
. – First of all, we are talking about the need to take into account the presence of a large number of forced migrants from Ukraine who are entangled in the slingshots of our legislation and the barriers of our administrative practice in relation to them... Along with the positive slogan “Russia does not abandon its own,” we have not done enough to so that these people can feel comfortable enough in Russia from the point of view of legitimizing their position. In this regard, we have too many reinsurance laws. And I can only support the desire, expressed twice in the new Concept, to provide a simple and clear, accessible and understandable mechanism for acquiring citizenship.”
Among the shortcomings of the new Concept, the deputy named the ignoring of important legislative initiatives already developed in the lower house of the Russian parliament.
“I can only regret that traditionally, due attention is not paid to bills that have already been submitted to the State Duma. They are like cuckoo’s children, they are always put off, although they could have removed and solved some of the problems long ago,” emphasized the first deputy chairman of the Duma committee.
Thus, the new Concept “says nothing about the gray zone in which, say, forced migrants from Ukraine reside, who today are simply afraid to contact the migration authorities, because they are already violators of the 90-day rule of stay in Russia, since they cannot leave: they have nowhere to go.”
“To resolve this issue, we proposed a bill on a migration amnesty for refugees from Ukraine. Unfortunately, we have not yet received positive feedback on it and continue to fight for its adoption in the first reading,” complained K. Zatulin
. “There are a number of other issues that should be named in the Concept” (vz.ru).
As political scientist Alexander Vedrussov notes, the sphere of Russian migration policy obviously needs reform.
“Ukraine alone, even if we take only the southeast, has potential millions of our compatriots who not only speak the same language as us, belong to the same culture and historical tradition, but also have the corresponding professions that are in demand among us. Especially in distant regions, in rural areas, they may be in demand,” the analyst said on Sputnik radio.
According to A. Vedrussov, efforts in the field of migration policy require a systematic approach.
“If our policy systematically turns towards favoring the migration of compatriots, then this can only cause approval. It will be necessary to see how the migration authorities will react to this. If the prohibitive nature of the practice of migration services changes due to the correct emphasis placed in the legislation, then this will only be a plus for the country. There is one more point: in response to migration, we need to reconsider our socio-economic policy, the development of distant regions and the development of rural areas, otherwise people will not be able to find work here under acceptable conditions. That is, if new jobs are created to accommodate the migration influx and the corresponding programs work systematically, then all this will be for the benefit of the country. There is no doubt about this,” the political scientist expressed confidence (ria.ru).
As the chairman of the Commission of the Public Chamber of Russia for the harmonization of interethnic and interregional relations Joseph Diskin pointed out, the new edition of the Migration Policy Concept is distinguished by greater pragmatism and focus on solving real problems.
“There is more understanding of what kind of migrants we need,” he noted. “The procedure has been simplified for migrants who are highly qualified, have graduated from Russian universities, have a job, etc.”
Also, according to the expert, the Concept better regulates the mechanism for obtaining quotas for regions for migrants.
“That was also a problem. The regions took it for future use, without really accounting for whether people found work,” explained I. Diskin.
“Of course, the corresponding law has yet to be adopted, but already in the Concept the issue of the need to adapt migrants, study the Russian language, and know legal norms is stated more clearly and consistently,” the expert noted.
In addition, I. Diskin pointed to overcoming the interdepartmental barrier that prevented the solution of many migration problems. This became possible after the Ministry of Internal Affairs was vested with basic powers in the field of migration regulation.
“When all this was within one department, interdepartmental coordination turned out to be much simpler,” noted I. Diskin. – An example of this was the discussion at the Council on Interethnic Relations in Khanty-Mansiysk, when the representative of the Crimean Tatars in the Council began to say that the issues of obtaining citizenship for those who arrived in Crimea before 2014 had not been fully resolved... The President’s reaction is indicative: he definitely I knew who to contact - a member of the Council, the head of the department for migration problems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And the answer was wonderful: the general problems have been solved, now it is necessary to go to Crimea and deal with each case separately. I am convinced that if this were still the case, then in the context of complex interdepartmental interactions between the migration service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it would have been buried. And so this is decided within one department. There is one less departmental partition.”
According to the General Director of the Institute of Regional Problems, Dmitry Zhuravlev, the innovation about removing bureaucratic barriers should be considered as a signal to potential applicants for Russian citizenship.
“For many years, declarations by the Russian authorities that the homeland was waiting for its children in exile to return, contradicted the actual procedures for such return. I personally know a lot of people, for example in Kazakhstan, who started to move to Russia, but abandoned this idea halfway, seeing how many paper obstacles stood in front of them,” the expert said.
At the same time, the analyst believes that the influx of compatriots from abroad is unlikely to be massive.
“In the world as a whole, and in the CIS in particular, there simply are no longer enough Russian speakers left to reverse the demographic situation in Russia. By the way, the authors of the Concept themselves understand this - and that is why, according to the new rules, a potential Russian will no longer have to prove that he has a historical right to return. They will take the visitor’s word for the existence of such a right,” noted D. Zhuravlev.
At the same time, the head of the Institute of Regional Problems predicts that it will not be the Slavs who will flock to Russia first, but mainly representatives of Central Asian ethnic groups.
“When I worked in the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, I traveled to places where displaced persons were resettled. And, for example, in the Kaliningrad region, almost 100% of new arrivals turned out to be ethnic Uzbeks. I don’t think that now this picture will be any different,” predicts the expert (ridus.ru).
The opinion about the “wave of returnees” is not shared by the official representative of the Moscow House of Compatriots, Arkady Beinenson.
“There are several reasons for this: political, economic, and even, if you like, climate,” he believes. “For the combination of these reasons, living in Russia is not so much easier as to make moving here an end in itself, once a person has decided to move away” (ridus.ru).
In turn, in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru, human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, who has been helping refugees and internally displaced persons for many years, admits that she does not understand why it was necessary to adopt a new concept until the previous one was implemented.
