MOSCOW, October 25 (RAPSI) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma a bill establishing the rules of Tajik nationals' stay in Russia. The document was published Friday on the Lower House's website.
The document allows Tajik citizens to stay in Russia without registering for a period of 15 days.
Presently, foreigners who are temporarily staying in Russia must register within 7 days of their arrival. Earlier, the Government Commission for legislative drafting activities approved this agreement produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Migration Service.
In September, the United Nations presented data showing that in this time of unparalleled international migration, Russia retains the second largest number of such migrants in the world, after the US.
Economic growth driven by revenues from oil exports and a dwindling domestic labor force have attracted millions of labor migrants, many of them the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Some 11.3 million foreigners entered Russia this year, of whom 3 million work illegally, the Federal Migration Service said in late July.
The Russian economy is heavily dependent on immigrant labor, particularly from Central Asia, but millions of migrants stay and work in Russia either unlawfully or under illegally obtained permits.