The State Duma (Russia’s lower chamber of parliament) has passed, in its second and third readings, a law prohibiting Russian schools from admitting the children of migrants who have not passed a Russian language proficiency test, RBC reports.
Under the law, schools will also be required to verify the legality of the child’s stay in Russia as part of the admission process.
The Russian language proficiency test for migrant children will be free, and its administration will be determined by the Ministry of Education.
"Since the beginning of the year, the State Duma has passed 14 federal laws initiated by deputies aimed at improving migration policy and combating illegal migration," said Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the State Duma, commenting on the law’s adoption.
In the first reading, the initiative was unanimously approved. The authors of the legislation did not specify the exact number of migrant children enrolled in Russian schools. As of 2021, their number was estimated at 140,000.
According to the document, the law is set to take effect on April 1, 2025.
Since the terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March this year, the Kremlin has taken active steps to complicate the lives of migrant workers in Russia, further tightening legislation in what was already a hostile environment for outsiders.
In July, Moscow region police chief Viktor Paukov said publicly that his main task was to “lighten up the Moscow region so that it won’t be darkened — as it were — by foreigners.”
