Russia: Wide-ranging Changes to Highly Qualified Specialist Employee Framework

Standard permanent residence permit eligibility. HQS employees and their dependents will be able to apply for a general permanent residence permit (PRP) provided that the HQS employee has already been working in Russia for two years and the applicant has previously obtained an HQS PRP.

• The HQS PRP is linked to a work permit and its validity is therefore conditional on the permit holder remaining employed. A general PRP, meanwhile, is not tied to any situation of employment. General PRP holders therefore enjoy greater flexibility.
• Accordingly, this change may improve skilled worker attraction and retention in Russia as the HQS pathway can now lead to a general PRP.

Simplified process for HQS work permit applications. When applying for HQS work permits (or renewals), employer companies will be able to provide certified copies of the employment contract (instead of an original copy).

Furthermore, HQS will no longer need to provide migration registration documentation as part of a work permit renewal application.

• Currently, only original copies of the employment contract are accepted, and migration registration documentation must be provided.
• These changes will simplify, and likely hasten, the HQS work permit application process, making the process easier for both employers and employees.

Restriction to regions on permit. HQS work permits will only be able to list the Russian regions in which the HQS employee is working - either with their employer (including its various subdivisions) or interdependent entities.

Where a request is made to list multiple regions on a permit, the employer company will be required to apply to the migration authority located in the employer’s main region of business.

• This change will formalize into law an approach that has been a de facto requirement of migration authorities. Employers can currently apply in regions where they have a registered subdivision.
• This change reduces administrative flexibility for employers applying for HQS permits.

Deadline to collect work permits. HQS employees (or their employers) will be required to collect HQS work permits (or renewals) within 30 calendar days of the authorities approving the permit. By petition to the authorities, this term may be increased by 30 calendar days (from the date of petition).

Failure to collect the work permit by the deadline will result in the permit’s cancellation, and will require the HQS employee (and their dependents) to leave Russia within the next 15 calendar days.

• Currently, the storage and retention of approved work permits is unregulated.
• HQS employers should establish internal administrative systems to monitor the deadlines for collection of approved HQS permits, so as to avoid the unintentional cancellation of work permits.

Leaving Russia upon termination of contract. HQS employees who fail to arrange a new HQS employment contract within 30 business days of the termination of their existing HQS employment contracts will be required to leave Russia (along with their dependents) within the next 30 calendar days.

Currently, employees (and their dependents) have 30 business days to depart. Accordingly, after the change, the actual period of time to depart will decrease.

Tax reporting obligations and HQS employees. Employers may be barred from employing HQS employees for two years if they fail to report the amount of taxes withdrawn from a HQS employee's salary within a six-month period following the reported tax period, or if they report fake such amounts. 

• Currently, no equivalent formal administrative penalty exists.
• HQS employers should review their internal HQS employee payroll practices and systems to ensure they can discharge these reporting obligations.