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Employment of foreign citizens in Russia

Every year more and more foreign citizens are seeking to visit our country for not only tourism or business, but also to find a job, seeking to invest their knowledge and capital in the Russian economy. To be employed officially, foreign citizens must have a work permit and a work visa.

On this page we will tell you in detail about the process of employing foreign citizens in Russia.

We offer full support with documents, as well as different options for accelerating the paperwork processing; we look for and find convenient employment options for foreign workers, and provide immigration services during the entire work period.

How to officially employ a foreign citizen?

First of all, the employer and the prospective employee stipulate the basic working conditions, determine the position and salary. There are 3 ways to hire a foreign citizen:



Ways to employ a foreigner

1st option.
Highly qualified specialist


• Salary: more than 167.000a/month
• Position: any

simplified paperwork, the whole process will take about 1 month
2nd option.
By quota


• Salary: any,
• Position: any

getting a quota is a long process and a positive result is not guaranteed


This video below is in Russian. You can turn on the English subtitles or any other language in the player settings, just click the gear-wheel icon.

Option 1. Simplified procedure for a highly qualified specialist

If the salary of a foreign citizen is not less than 2 million rubles a year, then such an employee is recognized as a highly qualified employee (HQ). In this case, it is possible to hire a foreigner for any position. HQs have the right to receive a work permit for up to 3 years without restriction on the length of the stay. To employ a foreign citizen correctly, you need to obtain a work permit and a work invitation, which will be the basis for issuing a long-term work visa. An advantage of hiring an HQ is simplified paperwork, the whole process will take about 1 month.

The cost of a work permit for an HQ
Basic services Time Cost
Work permit for citizens from the countries with low risk of immigration 14 business days 25000a/human
for citizens from the countries with high immigration risk 14 business days 35000a/human

* Stamp duty for a work permit of 4200a is paid separately.

* The price includes the notification of employment and support HQs for personal work permit.

Accreditation of the company in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a work invitation 14 business days 20000a/human
Visa extension without leaving Russia 20 business days 20000a/human
Additional services Time Cost
Invitations for accompanying family members 3 weeks 17500a/human
Salary notice 2-3 days 4500a/human
Notice of early termination of an employment contract 2-3 days 4500a/human
Obtaining a TIN Certificate 6 business days 6000a/human
Notarized translation of the passport front page 2-3 business days 1200a/human
VHI policy 2-3 business days 1 year 4000a/human

2 years 8000a/human

3 years 12000a/human

Travelmart provides services only to legal entities registered in Moscow or the Moscow region.

Apply for a work permit and work invitation

Option 2. Registration of a foreign worker by quota

If an employee cannot be appointed a high salary or provided an above quota position, then the company will have to receive a quota for employing a foreigner. A regular process of employing a foreigner is identical to the process of employing one for an above-quota position, however, you must first apply for a quota and wait for the decision of the Department of Labour and Social Protection whether to approve the application or to refuse it. The government allocates a limited number of quotas to attract foreign employees from visa-requiring countries annually, so obtaining a quota is a lengthy process and success is not guaranteed.

The cost of applying for a quota
Service Cost
Submission of information to the Department of Labour and Employment 15500a – Moscow
18500a - Moscow region

Visa-Russian.ru company provides services only to legal entities registered in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Leningrad regions.
The company must have certification of jobs.
The company should not have tax debts.

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Option 3. Work permits for above quota positions

If the salary of a foreigner is going to be less than 2 million rubles a year, it is possible to hire them for one of the above quota positions according to the classifier. Please note that the job list is published and changed annually. With this option, the salary size doesn’t matter, but the position must strictly correspond to the classifier. In this case, the whole process will take about 3 months and will require a lot of different documents. A foreign citizen is granted a work permit for a period of 1 year and the possibility of a renewal in the future.

The cost of registration of a foreign employee for an above quota position
Service Time Cost
Stage 1. Application at the employment center 30 days 10000a – Moscow
13000a - Moscow region
Stage 2. Getting a permission to attract foreign labor * 30 days 9000a/human
Stage 3. Work permit (plastic) ** 14 business days 9500a/human
Stage 4. Accreditation of the company in the Ministry of Internal Affairs 1 day 17500a
Stage 5. Single-entry Work Visa Invitation *** 12 business days 12500a/human
Stage 6. Extending a visa into a multiple-entry work visa **** 20 business days 9500a/human
Notice of a conclusion or early termination of the employment contract 2-3 business days 4500a/human

* The state duty for a permission to attract foreign labour is extra 12000a
** The state duty for the work permit is extra 4200a

Travelmart provides services only to legal entities registered in Moscow or the Moscow region.
The company must have certification of jobs.
The company should not have tax debts.

Issue a work permit and work invitation to the Russia

For more information on how to properly employ a foreigner and on the rules for doing it officially see The procedure for employment.

Here you will find information on what documents are required for the employment of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation..

Please note that in addition to a work permit and a work visa to employ a foreign citizen it is important to the timely submission of a notice on the conclusion/termination of the employment contract and a salary notice (only for HQs). you can learn more about this on our website).

The main law regulating the employment of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation is the Federal Law No. 115-FZ "On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation". In the event of its violation, companies face fines for the illegal employment of foreign citizens.



Travelmart works for you! Our support - is your peace of mind when dealing with foreign workers and confidence in the legitimacy of the documents. Our experience and knowledge are here to serve you.


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