Russia's State Duma passed in its second and third readings a law tightening rules for labor migrants, amending the federal law on the legal status of foreign citizens.
Under the new law, foreigners working under a patent or work permit must support themselves and their families at a level no lower than the regional subsistence minimum multiplied by a regional coefficient. If income falls below that threshold, the patent or permit may not be renewed, and the migrant must leave the country within 15 days together with their minor children, unless the children have other legal grounds to stay.
Separately, the law regulates the status of migrant workers' children. Minors may stay in Russia only for the duration of the parent's patent or work permit. For each child, a fixed advance personal income tax payment is required. Upon turning 18, children must either leave Russia within 30 days or, within the same period, apply for their own patent and pay the advance tax fee.
The tax service will automatically transfer data on migrants' incomes to the Interior Ministry. Migrants themselves must report their income annually — providing a certificate, a copy of their tax return, or documents proving personal income tax payment.
The law also expands grounds for revoking temporary residence permits and permanent residence permits. A temporary or permanent residence permit may be revoked if a foreigner worked less than the established norm during a year or if their income per family member fell below the regional subsistence minimum.
For highly qualified specialists, two minimum salary categories were set. For those working in innovation centers, universities, academies of sciences, special economic zones, IT companies, the medical cluster, Skolkovo, Sirius, Crimea and Sevastopol — 358,500 rubles. For others — at least 717,000 rubles. These amounts must be indexed annually.
At the same time, fees for migrants are being raised: for citizenship processing — from 4,200 to 50,000 rubles (12 times), for a temporary residence permit — from 1,920 to 15,000 rubles (8 times), for a permanent residence permit — from 6,000 to 30,000 rubles (5 times).
According to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, the amendments will help “bring order” to the migration sphere. Since 2024, the State Duma has adopted several dozen laws related to migration policy.
In January 2026, the government of Kyrgyzstan filed a lawsuit against Russia at the Eurasian Economic Union court, accusing it of violating the rights of Kyrgyz labor migrants.