Created by: Matt Meyers
The purpose of this section is to discuss the key features of Kurgan’s immigration policy in the post-Great Northern War era. For the past decade, the Kurgan government immigration policy distinguished foreigners by the place of origin. This approach was motivated by the willingness of the Kurgan government to give citizenship to nations deemed friendly. However, good intentions don’t work mechanisms do.
In response to these social and economic trends, the Kurgan government reformed the rules under which foreigners may enter the country for work and remain in the country. According to a Kurgan study, foreigners in approximately half of the various migrant categories have little or no command of the Kurgan language and cannot communicate without the assistance of a translator.
To summarize, the problems that accumulated in the past decade, such as illegal, lower skilled, non-diversified foreigners, and social tension, motivated the introduction of the new Concept of State Immigration Policy of the Kurgan Oligarchy, which will be presented, with a focus on international economic immigrants.
As the first comprehensive, nationwide document on immigration policy in the modern history of Kurgan, it marks the beginning of a decisive reform in the country’s immigration policy with its departure from the previous focus on temporary foreign workers. The emphasis of this policy is on the coordination of new, modernized, and reformed migration policies that help achieve its central goals: to sustain the country’s economic competitiveness, to alleviate the negative effects its demographic decline, to combat deficiencies of its domestic labor market, to attract and retain talented foreign workers, and to facilitate its modernization and innovative development.
A major novelty in this State Immigration Policy is the introduction of selective recruitment and facilitated settlement of migrants who are likely to have a positive net fiscal impact on the local economy, as well as to enhance its competitiveness.
This policy trajectory will be elaborated effective labor market tests for determining the need for migrant labor, depending on the perspectives for development of the economy and the national labor market. The recruitment of foreign workers for positions for which it is impossible to find Kurgan candidates are to be developed. Programs for the recruitment of (highly-)skilled foreign nationals, especially young people, to work in areas with high demand or with labor shortages in the local market, are to be implemented.
Foreign workers who are in demand are to be encouraged by regional oligarchy mechanisms to sign long-term contracts. A simplification of the administrative rules, and the removal of restrictions concerning the arrival, employment, and study activities of members of the families of long-term employed foreign workers, is to be introduced. Migration formalities concerning the arrival, stay, and departure of individuals involved in entrepreneurship and business activities are to be simplified. A short-term program for seasonal workers is to be developed. Fine-tuning of the existing mechanism for the quota- and patent-based employment of foreign nationals is a further measure.
Foreign graduates from educational organizations are potentially highly-skilled workers who are likely to be a valuable source of positive financial and intellectual contributions to the local economy. Foreign students are to be granted the right to work during their studies and the right to work in their field of specialization immediately after their graduation from a higher or secondary vocational educational institution.
Qualified and other in-demand workers are to receive state support for obtaining permanent residence status. Foreign graduates from educational institutions with qualifications in areas with high labor demand can take advantage of a preferential procedure for obtaining permanent residency. This group of migrants, together with foreign entrepreneurs, investors, qualified specialists, and members of the families of such migrants, will benefit from a simplified procedure to obtain Kurgan citizenship. The migration of foreign nationals for the purpose of family reunification is also to be facilitated. In addition, a selective points-based system for obtaining permanent residence is to be introduced.
References
Talukdar, I. (2019, 06 25). Russia’s State Migration Policy Concept 2019–2025. Retrieved from Russian International Affairs Council: https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/columns/asian-kaleidoscope/russia-s-state-migration-policy-concept-2019-2025/.