Tatarstan considers the idea of regions restricting migrant flows unproductive
It is more important, according to the republic's deputies, to work out other issues of labour migration
A bill that will allow Russian regions to restrict the migration registration of foreigners has been introduced to the State Duma. “We are proposing giving regions the right to independently decide how many and what kind of foreign workers they need,” explained Sergey Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia — For Truth faction, which put forward the initiative. The idea was received ambiguously in Tatarstan where people did not see the need for it and believed that it was a prerogative of “national significance, not regional.” Read more about it in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
Give regions the right to decide how many foreigners they need
In Russia, it is proposed transferring the authority to restrict the registration of foreign citizens for migration purposes to regions. The corresponding bill has been introduced to the State Duma by deputies of the A Just Russia — For Truth faction. As stated in the explanatory note, the document is aimed at improving the efficiency of migration flow management. The authors of the bill cited data from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs: as of 1 September 2024, there were almost 6.2 million foreigners in the country.
According to him, to solve this problem, regions should be given the opportunity to limit the registration of foreign citizens for migration purposes: “We are proposing to give regions the right to independently decide how many and what kind of foreign workers they need.”
According to the deputy, this is an absolutely justified measure, because the authorities of each region know very well what kind of foreign workers and in what quantities are needed to work at enterprises. With such a system, there will definitely not be an excess of foreign labour, he is sure.
“This is a matter of national importance, not regional”
The bill on amendments to Law No. 109 on migration registration of foreign citizens has been registered and sent to the State Duma committees. The document proposes to supplement Article 8 of the law with a provision stating that the Russian Federation may transfer its powers to the regions of the Russian Federation in terms of limiting the registration of foreigners in certain territories and for the required period. It is specified that currently regional authorities cannot limit the arrival of foreigners in their region — they do not have such a right under the above-mentioned law. According to the authors of the law, this complicates the management of migration processes and leads to the formation of ethnic enclaves in a number of regions.
“The formation of such enclaves is often accompanied by a worsening crime situation, increased pressure on local resources and infrastructure, as well as increased social tension between migrants and the indigenous population. As a result, not only local residents suffer, but also general social stability,” they pointed out.
In Tatarstan, the legislative initiative of the Just Russia party was perceived ambiguously. Thus, State Council deputy of the Republic of Tatarstan Eduard Sharafiyev believes that “the federal centre will not expand the powers of the regions in matters of migration policy,” even if we are talking about powers to limit the influx of migrants.
“There are questions about labour migration”
Russia needs additional labor to implement development plans, the Kremlin emphasized earlier. But labor migration in the country wants to be strictly regulated in order to exclude the commission of crimes by foreign citizens.
In November, President Vladimir Putin signed a number of laws on tightening migration policy, including initiatives on confiscation of money, valuables and property obtained during the organization of illegal migration, as well as on prohibition of intermediary organizations from taking exams from migrants.
“There are questions about labour migration. On our part, the State Duma resolution instructed the government to consider all mechanisms in this area. Now all our decisions mainly concern illegal migration, so that it does not happen. As for the systemic approach to the topic with an understanding of how many and what kind of foreign workers are needed, what measures and powers the subject and federal governments have, who is responsible for migration policy, determining the measures of responsibility of employers who accept migrants — all this should be in this law, which the government should introduce to us,” said Ildar Gilmutdinov.
Secondly, according to him, the law on the entry and exit of labour migrants from the country needs to be finaliыed. “This is already the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that is, also the government's authority, in order to once again consolidate all the mechanisms for the legal stay of migrants on our territory.” Thirdly, it is necessary to once again analyse the agreements signed within the CIS with the countries of arrival of migrants. “Including those decisions that were made earlier — that centres should work that will prepare in advance those who arrive to our territory. There are such decisions, and this is correct,” the deputy stressed.
He called the issues of migrant families’ stay in Russia, especially the education of their children, equally important. Within the framework of the above-mentioned agreements with the CIS countries, foreign children must study in Russian schools.
“We also need to establish order in this area so that a child does not simply go to school and sit at a desk without knowing a single word in Russian. He must come more or less prepared so that he can gain knowledge. We have already made a decision on testing. There is an order from the president to create preparatory groups, adaptive classes, so that migrant children come with knowledge of Russian. So that neither teachers suffer, nor the child himself feels disadvantaged,” Gilmutdinov explained.
Marat Galeyev also drew attention to the issue of education for foreign children: “That’s the problem, the current legislation does not solve the problem, and may even, on the contrary, aggravate it. We need to look for approaches, but this is a common problem for the country and in any case, federal powers. A federal law is needed here; this cannot be resolved in the republic, and even more so, it requires serious funding. Every country has such issues: when people move, they don’t know the language. But adults, of course, are obliged to solve the problem themselves: if you arrived, hire teachers, tutors, pass an exam, and everything will be fine. The situation with children is worse. Who should finance it? The state that accepts them, or the parents who bring their children? These dilemmas have not been resolved.”
The problem, according to him, is aggravated by the fact that the number of children of foreign citizens in Russia is quite large, so the issue of organising their education requires serious expenses from the state. “These are still issues that need to be worked out, which is what we are doing,” concluded Ildar Gilmutdinov.