The size of state duties for migrants in Russia may increase 10–12 times. On April 27, the Russian government approved the corresponding bill drafted by the Ministry of Finance. The increase will affect the processing of entry invitations, residence permits, and obtaining citizenship.
In addition, new fees are introduced for replacing residence permits, as well as for issuing a new document in case of loss or damage.
Thus, the fee for foreigners and stateless persons for obtaining a residence permit will increase from 6,000 to 30,000 rubles, which is a 400% increase, Izvestia writes.
According to the amendments, the fee for obtaining Russian citizenship and exiting it will rise from 4,200 to 50,000 rubles.
The cost of an entry invitation will increase from 960 to 8,000 rubles, a regular visa from 1,200 to 2,000 rubles, and a multiple-entry visa from 1,920 to 6,000 rubles.
A temporary residence permit may increase in cost from 1,920 to 15,000 rubles, and a residence permit from 6,000 to 30,000 rubles.
For foreign students, the processing of temporary residence will cost 8,000 rubles instead of the previous 1,920 rubles.
It is also proposed to increase the fee for hiring foreign workers from 12,000 to 15,000 rubles.
New types of fees will be added — replacement of a residence permit (6,000 rubles) and for issuing a duplicate temporary residence permit, including for educational purposes (5,000 rubles).
RBC reports that according to the financial and economic justification, the expected volume of additional federal budget revenues from the increase and introduction of new state duties in the migration sphere will amount to about 7.9 billion rubles from July 1, 2026, and about 15.8 billion rubles per year from January 1, 2027.
The draft law provides for the exemption from paying fees for the admission to citizenship of stateless persons (former USSR citizens), as well as participants of the State Program for the Resettlement of Compatriots and their family members.
In addition, foreigners who have signed a contract for service in the Russian Armed Forces during the so-called Special Military Operation (for a period of one year) and their family members are exempted from paying fees for admission to citizenship and issuing a residence permit, including in the event of the serviceman’s death.
The explanatory note to the draft law notes that the increase in fees is related to significant expenses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for verification activities, as well as for maintaining a database of foreign citizens and their migration statuses. RBC notes that the authors of the initiative indicate that in other countries, fees for processing entry and stay documents for foreigners are higher than in Russia and can reach €90.
Experts, meanwhile, warn that such a sharp increase in fees may increase shadow employment, complicate the hiring of workers, and reduce Russia’s attractiveness for foreign students and specialists.
