If the Russian Federation declares migration amnesty it will allow legalizing a significant number of Tajik labor migrants working in Russia. Tajik Ambassador to Imomuddin Sattorov was quoted as saying by Russia’s Parlamentskaya Gazeta (Parliament Newspaper). .
“We have always asked Russia to give these people a certain time to be legalized,” Sattorov was cited as saying at the 6th Tajikistan-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Forum in Moscow last week.
According to him, many Tajik labor migrants have lived in Russia illegally for many years. “If the process of migration amnesty is launched, I think a significant number of our citizens working in Russia, especially in Moscow and Moscow oblast as well as St. Petersburg, will be legalized. That means that we will know the exact number of Tajik labor migrant working in Russia,” Tajik ambassador said.
Recall, the Minister of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population of Tajikistan, Sumangul Taghoizoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 6 that the Russian Federation last year granted migration amnesty for nearly 122,00 Tajik citizens who had been deported from Russia for violation of Russia’s migration legislation. According to her, nearly 20,000 Tajik nationals managed to legalize their stay in the Russian Federation and 102,000 others were permitted to enter the Russian Federation.
The migration amnesty for Tajik nationals reportedly took place from March 25, 2017 to April 24, 2017.
The migration amnesty reportedly applied on the migrant workers who were deported for not satisfying legal requirements of staying in Russia and did not commit any serious crimes.
Some Russian experts consider that legal status should be given to those migrants who are already working in Russia. If millions of illegal migrants in Russia obtained legal status, they would be able to contribute much more to the country’s economy, according to them. .
The Russia Federation is reportedly the world’s second-largest host of foreign migrants, following the United States.
The immigration issue remains a focal point of Russian politics, and polls have shown that most Russians have negative attitudes toward migrants.
