The number of Indian citizens arriving to work and study in Sverdlovsk Region is increasing. For companies in the region, this may create an additional channel for finding personnel. At the same time, employers should not interpret the growing inflow as making hiring simpler: Indian citizens are still required to have their grounds for stay and right to work verified.
Hiring from India is becoming part of workforce planning
Information about the growing number of workers and students from India is useful for companies facing staff shortages or seeking to diversify their recruitment sources. Indian candidates may be found through direct search, as well as through educational institutions, contractors and foreign employees already working in Russia. For a manager, this is a reason to include international hiring in workforce planning in advance rather than address migration matters after a person has started working at a site.
At the same time, the source does not identify the industries in which arriving Indian citizens are employed, nor does it provide the number of people, the growth period or the terms of recruitment. Therefore, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the availability of specialists with a particular profile or the size of the talent pool. A company should assess its own needs and each candidate separately.
A growing inflow does not change the legal framework for employment
Indian citizens are not citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (ЕАЭС). As a rule, they need an appropriate legal basis permitting employment in Russia. Before offering a position, the HR department must establish the candidate’s status, purpose of entry and the set of documents on which the employment process will be based.
The general procedure for a visa-required foreign national may involve authorization procedures for both the employer and the employee. However, the legal basis for hiring may differ: for example, separate rules apply when engaging highly qualified specialists or when students may lawfully be employed. The appropriate process should be selected before documents are signed, not after the person has actually been admitted to work.
Document checks must be built into recruitment
When selecting a candidate, the employer must request a passport, visa, migration card, migration registration document and documents confirming the right to work. Migration registration is the required registration of a foreign national’s place of stay with the Russian authorities. This information is needed not only for the personnel file: it makes it possible to compare the foreign national’s status with the proposed work and prevent employment based on an unsuitable legal basis.
It is important to verify the purpose of entry, the region covered by the authorization documents, the position and the place of work. If the information does not match the planned terms, the risk cannot be resolved through a verbal agreement with the candidate. The person should not be admitted to work until the mandatory procedures have been completed and the authenticity of the documents has been verified.
Compliance control starts after onboarding, not with the employment contract
The company should determine in advance who is responsible for migration registration and document monitoring. The control framework usually includes the visa, registration, work permit and employment contract. This approach is particularly important when foreign employees work at different sites or are supported by several departments—recruitment, HR, legal and site management.
It is also necessary to check whether the employer must notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (МВД), the federal agency responsible for migration and law-enforcement administration, after an employment contract is concluded or terminated. The material provided does not specify the notification deadlines: they depend on the basis for stay and the category of foreign national. Therefore, a single internal deadline must not be applied without checking the rules applicable to the particular employee.
The cost of an error is more than a failed hire
Allowing an Indian citizen to work without the required documents or violating migration registration and notification requirements creates administrative risks for the employer and its officials. In the cases provided by law, fines and suspension of operations may apply. The source material does not state the amounts of the sanctions, so planning should not rely on unverified figures.
For the employee, violations may result in termination of employment, a fine and migration-related consequences. Correct verification is therefore necessary for both parties: the business gets a controlled hiring process, while the candidate understands the legal basis on which they may start work. The right to work and migration registration must be checked before admission to work, not on the employee’s first day.
What to check
- Request the candidate’s passport, visa, migration card, migration registration document and documents confirming the right to work.
- Verify the purpose of entry, position, place of work and the region covered by the authorization documents.
- Determine the legal basis for hiring: the general procedure for a visa-required foreign national, highly qualified specialist status or legally permitted employment of a student.
- Do not admit the candidate to work until the authenticity of the documents has been verified and the mandatory procedures have been completed.
- Appoint a person responsible for migration registration and for monitoring the visa, registration, work permit and employment contract.
- Check whether notifications to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (МВД) are required, and their deadlines, when entering into or terminating the contract under the specific legal basis.