DUSHANBE, December 2, 2014, Asia-Plus — More than 570 Tajik labor migrants have reportedly obtained Russian language test certificates this year.
An official source at the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of Population (MLMEP) says that since the beginning of the year, the Center for Russian Language Testing at Moscow State University’s Branch in Dushanbe has issued 572 certificates on passing a Russian language test, which conforms to the basic level required for issuance or extending a license for work in Russia.
“Of those 572 people that passed the Russian language test, 420 are men and 152 are women,” said the source. “The certificates are valid during five years.”
We will recall that according to new regulations that came into force on September 1 this year, those applying for work permits in Russia will need to pass a Russian history and civics exam. The new requirement, which adds to an existing mandatory language test for foreign workers, will affect millions of migrants seeking employment in the country.
Russian officials portray the measure, signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on April 21, as an effort to legalize and better integrate migrant workers, most of whom come from former Soviet Central Asia and many of whom work illegally in the shadow economy.
Four universities in Moscow and Saint Petersburg — including People”s Friendship University of Russia, which has a long history of teaching foreign students — have been authorized to organize the tests in conjunction with educational institutions across the country.
During a meeting in Moscow, Chairman of the Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament) Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov on October 22 discussed issues related to application of the simplified system of the Russian history and language tests for Tajik migrant workers. The Tajik side reportedly asked to consider the possibility of organization of the tests for migrant workers inside Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Gannushkina, who heads the Moscow-based advocacy group Migration and Rights, dismisses the new requirement as “pointless both in legal and practical” terms. She also warns that the new tests could easily become a pretext for corruption.
