The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has resumed the practice of cancelling work permits of foreign citizens – highly qualified specialists who have been outside Russia for more than 6 months.
These amendments are effective starting from October 13, 2022 and are applied to any highly qualified specialist (HQS) who has a work permit.
Please be reminded that earlier, in order to overcome the consequences of the spread of a new coronavirus infection, the President of the Russian Federation in his Decree suspended the following terms for foreign citizens:
of temporary stay;
of temporary or permanent residence;
of the registration of foreign citizens at the place of their stay or registration at the place of residence;
of the residence outside of Russia of participants in the State Program to assist the voluntary relocation to the Russian Federation of Russian expatriates, their family members, as well as persons who have received a temporary residence permit or a resident card or who are HQS.
In other words, starting from June 16, 2021 before the expiry of 90 days from the date of lifting the temporary restrictions imposed by the Russian Federation on transport communication with a foreign state, the validity period of the following permits was not counted:
visa;
temporary Residence Permit (TRP);
residence Card (RC);
arrival-Departure Record with Marks of Expiration Dates;
certificate of the State Program Participant;
work permit;
patent;
permit for the Hiring and Employment of Foreign Employees.
However, with the entry into force of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 5, 2022, all coronavirus restrictions on transport communication with foreign countries have been lifted starting from July 15 of this year. It was from this date when the 90-day period intended for the following started to be counted:
entry in the Russian Federation of foreign citizens who were outside of it because of the coronavirus;
departure from Russia of foreign citizens who were in the country for the same reason.
The deadline for the expiration of the specified period is October 12 of the current year. And if it turns out that after the specified date, the HQS has been outside the Russian Federation for more than 6 months, his or her work permit will be canceled. On the basis of which the employer is obliged to terminate the employment contract with such an employee and report it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within 3 working days.
In the matters of the application of migration legislation and registration of permits for foreign employees, please contact Acsour legal department.