Peculiarities of International Labor Migration Regulation in the Russian Far East

ERI FEB RAS	Issue's contents	RUS
	Regionalistica 2026 Volume 13 number 1 pages 40-57

Title of the article	Peculiarities of International Labor Migration Regulation in the Russian Far East
Pages	40-57
Author	Kuryan Snezhana Pavlovna junior research fellow Economic Research Institute FEB RAS 153, Tikhookeanskaya Street, Khabarovsk, Russia, 680042 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ORCID: 0009-0001-5808-9293
Abstract	Using eleven Far Eastern constituent entities of the Russian Federation as examples, this article analyzes policies regulating foreign citizens’ access to regional labor markets, identifying common trends and regional specifics. The author examines the following regulatory instruments: the patent system and quotas, sectoral bans on the employment of patent migrants, and the establishment of a permissible share of foreign workers in certain types of economic activity. The chronological framework of the study varies: for patents and quotas, the starting point was 2018 (the year the Far Eastern Federal District expanded to include the Zabaykalsky Krai and the Republic of Buryatia); for the permissible share of foreign workers, 2007; for sectoral bans, 2015 (when these restrictions were first introduced); and the final point was 2025. These instruments are valid for visa and visa-free workers, while citizens of Eurasian Economic Union member states and foreign citizens with temporary residence permits or permanent residence permits remain outside the scope of these regulations. It has been established that patents have become more affordable in most regions of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) compared to other regions of Russia; quotas granted in the FEFD for the employment of workers from visa countries are increasing. At the same time, the number of regions imposing sectoral bans on the employment of migrants with patents is increasing, these lists are expanding in regions that have already adopted such restrictions, and the permissible share of foreign workers in certain industries is being reduced. In most cases, regions are restricting foreign citizens’ access to strategically important sectors of the economy; economic activities that involve direct contact with the population; those related to security; and industries where migrants are already in low demand and are practically unemployed. However, the economic activities most dependent on the influx of foreign labor remain outside the restrictions.
Code	314.7+332.1
DOI	10.14530/reg.2026.1.40
Keywords	international labor migrants, foreign workforce, migration policy, restrictions on migrant labor, quotas, patents, FEFD
Download	2026-01.40.pdf
For citation	Kuryan S.P. Peculiarities of International Labor Migration Regulation in the Russian Far East. Regionalistica [Regionalistics]. 2026. Vol. 13. No. 1. Pp. 40–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.14530/reg.2026.1.40 (In Russian)
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Financing	The article was carried out within the state assignment for research work of the Institute of Economic Research FEB RAS.
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