Immigration to Russia involves both temporary workers and those seeking permanent residence in the Russian Federation. Historically, the Russian Empire was one of the world's leading destinations for immigrants, starting with the reign of Peter I (1682–1725) and especially after the ascension of Catherine II in 1762, until the October Revolution in 1917. Some regions, such as Novorossiya, Slavo-Serbia, Volga, and Bessarabia were specifically designated for resettlement of immigrants.

Immigration to Russia was relatively low during the Soviet period (1922–1991) and through the early post-Soviet years (1992–2005). Russia experienced a considerable population decline during the latter period due to a decreased birthrate, lowered life expectancy and growing emigration. To combat these demographic problems, the Russian government adopted in 2006 the "Program for the return of compatriots to Russia", which was made into a permanent law in 2012. The law defines "compatriots" as individuals who are direct descendants (either matrilineal or patrilineal) of people who had lived within the current territory of Russia. In February 2024, in order to expedite and to simplify the immigration process the requirement for conversational ability in Russian was waived.

Due to these policy changes, Russia has experienced an overall population increase starting in 2012. According to Rosstat, the federal statistics agency, and the United Nations, the number of legal immigrants in Russia between 2000 and 2015 fluctuated between 11 and 12 million, or about 8% of the population. In 2020, Russia ranked fourth globally by the largest number of immigrants, after the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Russia ranked third worldwide by the number of emigrants, after India and Mexico.

The majority of recent immigrants to Russia come from former Soviet republics, especially Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Although the Russian government actively encourages immigration of ethnic Russians, most immigrants from the former Soviet republics in recent years were not ethnic Russians. Legal immigrants in Russia receive both grant money and repayable low-interest loans issued by Rossotrudnichestvo.

Procedure The standard legal immigration status obtaining procedure consists of the following time-divided steps: obtaining a temporary residence permit; obtaining a permanent residence permit and obtaining Russian citizenship.Immigrate to Russia https://www.immigratetorussia.com/russian-residence-permit-2/ Under current law, one can receive citizenship of Russia after five years of residence and after passing an exam in Russian language, civics and history. Immigration to Russia is regulated by the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian Federation.

Anyone who works in Russia for five years and develops fluency in the Russian language can become a citizen, provided they have not committed a crime. Almost anyone who is hired by a Russian firm can stay in the country and work indefinitely. This reflects a policy change, in response to declining birth rates, on the part of the government of Vladimir Putin from the more restrictive policy enacted after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. The large non-Slavic immigrant populations arriving in response to Putin's liberal policy have sometimes encountered xenophobia. To counter this, pursuant to Russian hate-speech laws, the Russian state has shut down various anti-immigrant groups, such as the Movement Against Illegal Immigration.

The immigration process usually includes several steps. Firstly, it is required to establish connections with Russia in order to be eligible for temporary or permanent residency. It may be granted on the grounds of having employment, studying, having Russian relatives or ancestry, investing or purchasing a property. The next step is to apply for temporary residency (some applicants may skip this step). After one year of living as a temporary resident it is possible to apply for permanent residency. Finally, after 5 years of living as a permanent resident it is possible to apply for Russian citizenship.Immigrate to Russia // SDV Consulting, Inc. Retrieved on 22.07.2024.

Native speakers of Russian-language, spouses of Russian citizens, highly qualified specialists (e.g. with PhD or MD degrees), investors and refugees are eligible for a simplified immigration procedure. Some categories of applicants may skip temporary residency and apply for citizenship after 1–3 years of living in Russia.Immigrate to Russia // SDV Consulting, Inc. Retrieved on 22.07.2024.

Statistics Recent trends

+ Countries with at least 5,000 persons immigrating each year."Migration of the people " at gks.ru (Russian Statistical Bureau) website.Demography. "International migration " at gks.ru (Russian Statistical Bureau) website. Country Gross immigration 2000 2005 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 202220232024 Tajikistan 171,234219,739 Kyrgyzstan 54,162146,915 Uzbekistan 44,536146,090 Armenia 48,85578,573 Kazakhstan 48,46571,694 China 11,48335,587 Turkmenistan 13,34534,302 Azerbaijan 24,34028,108 India 10,86827,010 Ukraine 50,92926,791 Belarus 12,49622,924 Moldova 22,50220,766 Vietnam 8,78512,812 Georgia*Abkhazia (disp. status)*South Ossetia (disp. status) –– –– 81433 2,267342 2,261216 2,357270 1,975260 1,429110 1,217131 1,190148 1,2621371,0741714,781737– Total 359,330 177,230 191,656 598,617 575,158 589,033 565,685 701,234 594,146 667,922 730,347560,434958,867 Country Net immigration2000200520102015201620172018201920202021202220232024 Tajikistan81,684128,017 Uzbekistan3,639106,901 Kyrgyzstan4,956104,645 Armenia11,18842,068 Kazakhstan11,43536,354 China3,97124,252 Turkmenistan4,75023,369 India3,05115,631 Belarus –26112,349 Azerbaijan3,5167,137 Vietnam3,4526,620 Moldova8,7506,576 Georgia*Abkhazia (disp. status)*South Ossetia (disp. status) ––––732231,272-2821,240831,9751801,97596147-43014245871,134393431031,20044– Ukraine –29,618 –26,243 Total 213,610107,432158,078245,384261,948211,878124,854285,103106,510429,90261,917109,952535,715

Foreign population As of May 2022, there are 5.99 million foreigners residing in the Russian Federation (up from 5.66 million in 2021 but down from 10.13 million in 2019), with the vast majority (91%) being citizens of CIS countries. Central Asians make up the most numerous group, followed by Ukrainian citizens. Temporary migration from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan increased after a marked decline in 2020–2021. Other CIS countries have steadily demonstrated a decrease in the number of migrants.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of November 2021, there were 5.5 million migrants in Russia. Of these, 819,600 were in the country illegally. In the first quarter of 2021, 1345 migrants were deported, more than in the same period last year. The number of deported migrants increased in Russia.

Between January 2025 and January 2026, amid new migration legislation, a 10% reduction in the number of foreigners living in Russia was shown. In 2026, the foreign population in Russia was shown at 5.7 million down from 6.3 million the year before.

Foreign residents from the CIS in Russia:

Country of originPopulation (2022)2021–2022change 1,626,308 +435,674 1,262,695 +453,529 681,165 +58,122597,051 -57,869 428,239 -134,722 280,520 -67,160 228,142 -35,349 215,481 -83,600 76,645 -56,230

Foreign residents in Russia: 2019 Country of citizenship Number 97 132 96,501 35 33413 104 90,659 6 4300 154 2 34,748 142 29 2 1439 36 529 174 2 10 490 151 56 13,133 2 5 2 3 57 7 46 12 2632 1 1336 21,142 70 2 35 1262 14 3 1807 1074 49 434 581 359 53 11 346 1117 328 521 86,358 2 136 155 17 51 24,625 8576 80 2 69 33 143 597 6 54 327 9 18 3347 3 1 227 65 4025 1 12 17 170 1 8 9 1 10 281 66 9 54,826 478 6 1 79 11 287 209 13 22 60 7 5 324 261 13 6 80 950 45 5 121 12 3 17 1 2326 4 3629 181 413 1153 4 104 144,222 133 20 12 3 364 7150 4607 12 135,447 270,400 5 93 205 689 152 1 9 240 176 32 101 152 69 56 1410 10 57 4 206Stateless persons 8157Total 1,046,056

Naturalisations in Russia 2021 Country Number 19 9 1 30,791 13 909 17 46,931 1,411 51 24,539 17 12 309 9 144 45 2 99 27 19 1,947 2 4 4 1 1 1 1 19 3 9 4 4 481 9 3 183 5,076 16 10 414 10 5 466 159 2 127 159 137 48 226 111 184 49,862 55 1 69 5 6 19,241 83 31 31 15 5 11 11 26 98 1 1 1 375 107 10 380 34 2 9 90 8 14 6 23,697 30 6 128 2 24 6 3 7 3 324 68 89 2 25 163 2 2 1 35 2 4 8 3 566 1 1,270 10 19 388 35 103,681 33 1 1 122 3,628 1,388 3 31,867 375,989 19 24 167 54 5 56 39 10 21 32 11 19 153 5 12 3Stateless persons 6,118Total 735,385

See also Opposition to immigration Remigration Demographics of Russia Illegal immigration to Russia Visa policy of Russia

References