Foreign residents given permanent residency permits in Russia
The Russian government has introduced a new federal law on citizenship, effective from September 1, 2025. The law, reported by "Profile", focuses on streamlining migration registration mechanisms for highly qualified foreign specialists and their families.
According to the law, foreign specialists who have worked in Russia for at least two years in a specific capacity are eligible for a residence permit. This permit is not only for the foreign specialists but also extends to their family members.
The residence permit, a significant step towards administrative modernization, does not have an expiration date, implying a permanent legal stay for qualified foreign specialists within Russia. The law aims to facilitate registration procedures, potentially easing their legal stay and work conditions.
The experimental registration measures are designed to support state migration policy objectives, creating conditions for exercising rights and freedoms and fulfilling legal obligations of foreign citizens. The amendments also impact the legal status of family members of highly qualified foreign specialists, enabling them to benefit from similar residence and registration provisions.
While the law expands grounds for revoking Russian citizenship for naturalized citizens involved in serious crimes or actions considered threats to national security, these revocation policies generally do not apply to residence permits or temporary stays but focus on citizenship status.
In December 2021, President Vladimir Putin submitted the new law to the lower house of parliament. The law came into effect on January 7, 2022, marking a significant shift in Russia's approach to managing migration and residency for highly qualified foreign specialists.
This article provides information about the new law, focusing on the newly effective law regarding Russian citizenship and its impact on foreign specialists and their families.
[1] Federal Law No. 121-FZ of May 23, 2025 [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3] [4] [Source 4]
- Despite the new federal law focusing on citizenship, it also significantly affects the general-news of residency and registration procedures for highly qualified foreign specialists and their families.
- The politics surrounding the new law suggest that it aims to ease the administrative burden and legal stay for foreign specialists in Russia, with permanent residence permits not having an expiration date.
