On 26 July 2026, the President of the Russian Federation signed and published Federal Law No. 241-FZ of 26 July 2026 (the “Law”), introducing amendments to Federal Law No. 115-FZ of 25 July 2002 “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation”.
The Law establishes a number of changes aimed at tightening requirements for labour migration, including new salary thresholds for highly qualified specialists (“HQS”), an obligation for foreign citizens to be self-supporting at the level of the subsistence minimum, as well as new grounds for the annulment of permit documents and the reduction of the term of stay of foreign citizens in the territory of the Russian Federation. An overview of the main changes is provided below.
New Salary Thresholds for HQS
From 1 March 2027, the minimum salary amount will be:
I. Not less than RUB 385,000 per calendar month for HQS who are:
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scientific workers or teachers, where they are invited to engage in research or teaching activities under bachelor’s, specialist, master’s, residency (ordinatura), or assistantship-traineeship programmes that hold state accreditation, or under programmes for training scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel in postgraduate studies (aspirantura/adjunktura) by higher education institutions, state academies of sciences or their regional branches, national research centres, or state scientific centres;
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engaged in activities by residents of industrial-production, tourism-recreational, or port special economic zones, or technology-innovation special economic zones (with the exception of individual entrepreneurs);
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entering into a contract with organisations operating in the field of information technology that have obtained, in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation, a document confirming the state accreditation of an organisation operating in the field of information technology (with the exception of organisations holding the status of a resident of a technology-innovation special economic zone);
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medical, pedagogical, or scientific workers, where they are invited to engage in the relevant activity in the territory of an international medical cluster;
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engaged in labour activity by legal entities operating in the territories of the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol;
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engaged in labour activity by legal entities operating in priority development areas of the “Sirius” federal territory, upon the recommendation of the public authorities of the “Sirius” federal territory;
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participating in the implementation of the “Skolkovo” project in accordance with the Federal Law “On the Skolkovo Innovation Centre”, as well as foreign citizens participating in the implementation of the project to create and ensure the functioning of an innovation science and technology centre in accordance with the Federal Law “On Innovation Science and Technology Centres and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”.
II. Not less than RUB 717,000 per calendar month for other categories of HQS.
At the same time, the Law establishes a new mechanism under which the minimum salary amounts for HQS will be indexed annually based on the rate of growth of the average monthly accrued wage of employees of Russian organisations for the previous year. The indexation coefficient is to be determined by the federal executive body responsible for state regulation in the field of remuneration of labour.
In addition, foreign citizens who obtained HQS status prior to 1 March 2027 may, without leaving the Russian Federation, obtain a patent or work permit in accordance with the provisions of migration legislation. Foreign citizens who arrived in the Russian Federation under a procedure requiring a visa and who obtained a work permit in this case are, upon the employer’s petition, issued an ordinary multiple-entry work visa for the term of validity of the work permit.
It should be recalled that at present a general threshold of RUB 750,000 per quarter applies to most HQS, which on average amounts to RUB 250,000 per month. Once the changes take effect, the minimum annual salary of such specialists will increase from RUB 3 million to RUB 8.604 million.
In practice, the salary of HQS is set on a pre-tax (gross) basis. The Law, however, does not expressly provide any clarification in this respect.
Self-Support Obligation and the Regional Coefficient
A key novelty of the Law is the establishment of an obligation for a foreign citizen carrying out labour activity in the Russian Federation to support themselves and their dependent family members at a level no lower than the amount of the subsistence minimum per capita, multiplied by a regional coefficient, calculated per the foreign citizen and each dependent. This amount becomes the baseline for all income-level checks provided for by the Law.
The regional coefficient is an increasing coefficient applied to the subsistence minimum, established by a law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation for the relevant year. If such a coefficient is not established by the constituent entity or is less than one, it is deemed to equal one. At the same time, the subsistence minimum multiplied by the regional coefficient may not exceed the average monthly nominal accrued wage in the relevant constituent entity according to Rosstat data. Where activity is carried out in several constituent entities simultaneously, the highest of the relevant subsistence minimum amounts applies.
Reduction of the Term of Temporary Stay
The Law establishes a mechanism whereby, upon receipt of information that the income of a foreign citizen carrying out labour activity without a patent or work permit has fallen below the established level, or that they have failed to pay the fixed advance personal income tax payment, the contract with such a foreign citizen is deemed terminated, and their term of temporary stay (as well as the term of stay of their family members) is reduced. For spouses, the amounts of income are counted jointly. These provisions do not apply to citizens of a state party to the treaty on the establishment of a union state and to members of their families.
In the event of a reduction of the term of temporary stay on this ground, the foreign citizen is obliged to leave the Russian Federation within fifteen days from the day the relevant decision enters into force.
In addition, the Law establishes that a foreign citizen, upon reaching the age of eighteen, is obliged to leave the Russian Federation within thirty days, except where:
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there are other lawful grounds for their stay (residence) in the Russian Federation; or
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before the expiry of the departure period, an application for the issuance of a patent has been submitted and the fixed advance personal income tax payment has been paid in the manner established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
New Ground for Annulment of a Residence Permit and a Temporary Residence Permit
From 1 January 2027, the Law establishes a new ground for the annulment of a residence permit (“RP”) for a foreign citizen, under which the RP is annulled if:
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within one year from the date of issuance of the RP, the foreign citizen does not carry out labour and/or entrepreneurial activity in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
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the amount of income received by the foreign citizen from carrying out the relevant activity for that year and/or income for the past calendar year is less than the subsistence minimum multiplied by the regional coefficient, calculated per such foreign citizen and each family member residing in the Russian Federation as their dependent, on average per month of the reporting period;
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the foreign citizen carried out labour activity for individuals to meet personal, household, and other similar needs not connected with entrepreneurial activity, and failed to pay personal income tax in the form of a fixed advance payment taking into account each family member residing in the Russian Federation as their dependent.
Previously, a foreign citizen’s RP was annulled where they were unable to provide evidence of their ability to support themselves and their family members in the Russian Federation within the subsistence minimum without resorting to state assistance (except where the foreign citizen is recognised as incapacitated for work).
The above circumstances are not taken into account with respect to foreign citizens who:
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are enrolled full-time in Russian vocational, higher education, or scientific organisations;
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are pensioners;
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are recognised as incapacitated for work (as well as their children under 18);
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are under 18, or are recognised as legally incapable or of limited legal capacity and are dependents of a parent (adoptive parent, guardian, or custodian) who is a citizen of the Russian Federation;
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obtained an RP in connection with being recognised as being of interest to the Russian Federation;
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are citizens of a state party to the treaty on the establishment of a union state, as well as members of their families;
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graduated with honours full-time from an accredited higher education programme in the Russian Federation and found employment within 6 months after the issuance of the RP with income meeting the requirements (proportionate to the period of work);
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terminated their employment relationship within one year from the date of receipt of the RP but found employment with a new employer within 3 months with income meeting the requirements (proportionate to the period of work in the reporting period).
The Law introduces a similar ground with respect to a temporary residence permit (“TRP”). A TRP is annulled if, within a given year from the date of its issuance, the foreign citizen did not carry out labour and/or entrepreneurial activity in the established manner, or the amount of income received by them is less than the subsistence minimum multiplied by the regional coefficient, calculated per the foreign citizen and each family member who is their dependent, on average per month of the reporting period, or likewise if a foreign citizen who worked for individuals to meet personal, household, and other similar needs failed to pay personal income tax in the form of a fixed advance payment taking into account each dependent.
Previously, a TRP was annulled where, within a given year from the date of its issuance, the foreign citizen did not carry out labour activity for one hundred and eighty days or did not receive income, or did not have sufficient means to support themselves and their family members at a level no lower than the subsistence minimum; the regional coefficient and the fact of payment of the fixed advance payment were not taken into account.
The list of circumstances under which this ground does not apply is analogous to that provided for the annulment of an RP.
New Grounds for Refusal to Issue and for Annulment of a Patent and a Work Permit
The Law introduces additional grounds under which a patent is not issued and a previously issued patent is annulled, namely: where there is no information on income received by the foreign citizen, or where the amount of such income is less than the subsistence minimum multiplied by the regional coefficient, calculated per the foreign citizen and each of their minor children. These grounds do not apply upon the initial issuance of a patent, nor where labour activity is carried out exclusively for individuals to meet personal, household, and other similar needs. For spouses, the amounts of income are counted jointly. Previously, the above grounds with respect to a patent were not provided for by legislation.
In addition to the previously existing ground (a decision on the undesirability of stay or on refusal of entry), a work permit is now not issued, and a previously issued one is annulled, also where there is no information on the income of the foreign citizen or where the amount of their income is less than the subsistence minimum multiplied by the regional coefficient. Both of these grounds do not apply upon the initial issuance of a work permit. Previously, a work permit was not annulled on the above grounds relating to income level.
Regulation of Labour for Individuals for Personal Needs
The Law separately regulates the procedure for engaging foreign citizens in labour activity for individuals to meet personal, household, and other similar needs not connected with entrepreneurial activity. Employers who are citizens of the Russian Federation are entitled to engage foreign citizens residing in the Russian Federation in such activity. The foreign citizen, in turn, is obliged, within ten days from the day of commencement of this activity, to submit to the territorial body in the field of internal affairs a notification of its performance. Such notification may be submitted in several ways: directly to the territorial body; through a subordinate enterprise or an authorised organisation; by postal item with acknowledgement of receipt; or in the form of an electronic document through the unified portal of state and municipal services, with a copy of the relevant contract attached.
Interdepartmental Exchange of Income Information
As a separate block, the Law establishes a mechanism for information interaction between the tax authorities, the Pension and Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, and the federal executive body in the field of internal affairs. The tax authorities will transmit information on the income of foreign citizens (for calculations of insurance contribution amounts – quarterly; for data on the professional income tax – annually) within a period not exceeding forty-five days, and the Pension and Social Insurance Fund will transmit information on their labour activity. The exchange is carried out in electronic form, including through the unified system of interdepartmental electronic interaction.
Automation of Registration for Tax Purposes
The Law provides that, after the issuance of a TRP or RP to a foreign citizen, the body in the field of internal affairs verifies the fact of their registration with the tax authority and, in the absence of such registration, transmits the relevant information to the tax authorities. In addition, the list of documents submitted when filing a notification confirming residence is expanded: in addition to the previously required information, it now includes data on the payment of the fixed advance payment, income from deposits, dividends, securities, remuneration, and insurance payments; at the same time, income information may be provided directly by the tax authorities through the interdepartmental interaction procedure.
Access to the “Digital Profile of a Foreign Citizen”
The Law empowers the body in the field of internal affairs to verify the existence and level of a foreign citizen’s income, as well as the fact of their payment of the fixed advance personal income tax payment. With the assistance of the said body, a subordinate enterprise and an authorised organisation are granted access to the state information system “Digital Profile of a Foreign Citizen”.