Kyrgyz Migrants Wait Days at Russian Immigration Office
| Publisher | Institute for War and Peace Reporting |
| Publication Date | 6 March 2015 |
| Cite as | Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Kyrgyz Migrants Wait Days at Russian Immigration Office, 6 March 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54f9bf684.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Sakharovo, a village 50 kilometres from central Moscow, has become the first port of call for foreign nationals seeking the right to live and work in Russia.
The village is home to the new Multifunctional Migration Centre, responsible for processing applications under new regulations in force since the beginning of 2015. These rules affect nationals of countries who do not need Russian visas - mostly migrant workers from other parts of the former Soviet Union. Those from Belarus, Kazakstan and Armenia, which are part of the Eurasian Economic Union, are exempt.
Applicants from Kyrgyzstan and other states covered by the rules have to undergo a health check, pass Russian language and history tests, submit various documents and apply for a work permit called a "patent". Failure to do so in time could lead to them being deported and barred from coming back for up to ten years.
The migration centre is struggling to cope - about one third of the 3,000 people queuing up every day will actually get seen.
"Many people wait for their turn for more than three days. It's honestly hard to queue for days, especially since they don't even have benches here. You have to get up at five in the morning just to get into the centre," Farida, an applicant from Kyrgyzstan, told IWPR.
