Negotiations to discuss issues related to Tajikistan-Russia migration collaboration took place in Dushanbe on April 19. Representatives of relevant ministries and agencies of the two countries attended the event, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
Co-chaired by Tajik Minister of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population Shahnoza Nodiri and Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Rudenko, the negotiations were reportedly focused on the state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia in the field of migration.
The two sides discussed issues requiring immediate solution, the Tajik MFA information department noted.
They reportedly also exchanged views on a number of draft documents pending consideration by the parties
The negotiations ended with signing of a protocol.
Recall, the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on April 16 that Russia has asked migrants from post-Soviet states living there illegally to leave the country by June 15.
“These people will be punished by expulsion and closure of borders” if they don’t leave by the June 15 deadline,” RIA Novosti quoted Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Gorovoy as saying at a meeting of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.
According to Interior Ministry data, more than 332,000 illegal migrants from Uzbekistan currently reside in Russia, along with 247,000 from Tajikistan, 152,000 from Ukraine, 120,000 from Azerbaijan, 115,000 from Kyrgyzstan, 61,000 from Armenia, 56,000 from Moldova and 49,000 from Kazakhstan.
Russian media reports note that speaking at a plenary session of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, Russian Deputy Interior Minister, Alexander Gorovoy, said, “There are many of your citizens who are currently on the territory of my country illegally. And if we do not reduce this number by June 15, as the presidential decree implies, these people will be punished, up to the expulsion and closure of borders." Gorovoy said at a plenary session of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.
According to him, more than 1 million illegal immigrants from CIS countries currently live in Russia.
A moratorium on the expulsion of illegal immigrants, introduced in Russia because of the pandemic, is effective until June 15. Until that date, illegal immigrants can freely leave Russia and not receive penalties.
Recall, Russia President Vladimir Putin in mid-December extended the residence status of foreign citizens living in Russia until June 15, 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic. This covered migrants from the CIS member nations living in Russia without proper documentation.
Meanwhile, the head of the representative office of the Tajik Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population (MoLMEP) in Moscow, Zohir Mirzoyev, considers that the number of illegally employed nationals of Tajikistan in Russia provided by the Interior Ministry of Russian Federation is overstated.
“This number – 247,000 – has been accumulated over many years… Over 5, 10, 5 years. We suspect that most of these people left for Tajikistan with other documents and are now there,” Mirzoyev said.
“As far as other Tajik labor migrants working in Russia are concerned, most of them have only one or two administrative offenses,” Tajik official added.
Russia is experiencing a labor shortage due to pandemic-related border closures and is looking to simplify entry requirements for migrant workers in industries like construction and agriculture. More than a year since the start of the pandemic, only a handful of countries' citizens are permitted to enter Russia.
