Vladimir Putin gave illegal immigrants four months to gain legal prestige when he issues a decree that could greatly force the country by 2025.
The Russian president signed a decree on Dec. 30 that provides an April 30 deadline for those who entered the country illegally to sort out their documents through fitness checks, pay debts and take a Russian language, history and legal review.
They can also gain legal prestige by signing a military contract that could allow them to fight Ukraine in Putin’s full-scale invasion.
The Russian government said in 2021 that there were more than one million illegal immigrants from former Soviet countries living in Russia.
According to figures from the OECD of 2019, when the population of Russia exceeded 146 million, about seven percent of the population are illegal immigrants, which potentially puts many more in danger of expulsion within the framework of the Putin order.
Newsweek contacted the Kremlin email to comment.
The war in Ukraine has exacerbated an estimated labor shortage in Russia of 1.5 million people, due to high casualties, an exodus of skilled workers avoiding the draft and a more restrictive environment.
Illegal migrants, a large proportion from ex-Soviet countries in Central Asia, form a key part of Russia’s economy, often working low-skilled industries. If they are forced to leave the country, or join the military, then Putin’s decree could add to the turbulence that Russia’s sanctions-hit economy faces.
Putin’s decree, signed on Monday, goes into effect on New Year’s Day and declares that migrants who are in the country illegally will have to leave the country or resolve their legal standing by April 30.
Those who wish to remain must carry out biometric data collection and go through a medical examination that includes drug use tests and presence of diseases such as HIV.
Exemptions are granted to those who sign up for the military although concessions do not apply to migrants “who pose a threat to the national security” of Russia, state news agency Tass reported. Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs will implement the decree while the health ministry will organize the medical examinations.
The Russian government cracked down on immigration following a terrorist attack in the concert hall of the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow region that killed another 145 people and injured about 500. The investigation concluded that the perpetrators were from Tajikistan.
During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Putin said his government had to look into migration policy, especially given the need for migrants to solve labor shortages hampering economic growth.
But in its assessment of Putin’s latest decree, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Monday that going into the New Year, the Kremlin seems to be “prioritizing Russia’s force generation requirements and domestic political stability over efforts to mitigate economic pressure and labor shortages.”
Putin’s decree stated that illegal migrants “must independently leave the Russian Federation between January 1 and April 20 or settle their legal status.”
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said: “Putin’s decree will likely further exacerbate Russia’s ongoing labor shortages if a significant number of migrants who work in food service, transportation, and other low-skilled industries either leave Russia or forcibly join the Russian military.”
The ISW said it is unclear if the decree will be enforced and much depends on whether labor market challenges are more important for the Kremlin than political pressure to kick out migrants.
The Washington, DC think tank said that enforcing the decree would show that the Kremlin is prioritizing placating pro-war ultra-nationalists and security issues linked to reports of migrants committing crimes and terrorist acts than addressing economic issues.
Not enforcing the decree would indicate Moscow is “more concerned with utilizing migrant labor to overcome Russia’s economic issues and labor shortages than messaging to the Kremlin’s ultranationalist constituency,” the ISW added.
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular the war started by Moscow. He also covers other areas of geopolitics including China. Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and well as English, knows Russian and French. You can get in touch with Brendan by emailing [email protected] or follow on him on his X account @brendanmarkcole.