Three legal entities in Krasnoyarsk Krai were held liable under Article 18.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (КоАП РФ; Russia’s administrative offences code). According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД; the federal law enforcement authority), the violations were identified during unscheduled documentary inspections (внеплановые документарные проверки; inspections based on documents submitted for review). The cases described concern the purpose of entry, work permits, alignment of the work with the stated occupation, and the employment of visa-required foreign nationals.
Violations identified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД)
In the Yeniseysky District, an organization allowed 18 foreign nationals who had entered for business purposes and did not have work permits to work.
In the same district, two more foreign nationals performed work that did not correspond to the occupation stated in their authorization documents.
In the Kansky District, a company employed six visa-required foreign nationals without the required documents. In addition, the organization itself did not have a permit to employ foreign labor.
What this means for the HR process
Verification before allowing a foreign national to work should not be limited to the fact that the foreign national is included in the HR records. In the Ministry of Internal Affairs practice described, the purpose of entry, the availability of permits, alignment of the actual work with the occupation in the documents, and the employer’s permit when employing visa-required foreign nationals were relevant.
For an employer, this means it is necessary to compare information about the planned work with the employee’s available authorization documents before allowing the employee to begin work. For visa-required foreign nationals, it is separately important to monitor the employee’s documents and the organization’s permit to employ foreign labor.
Checkpoints before allowing a person to work
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs materials, a risk arises if a foreign national is allowed to work with a business purpose of entry, without a work permit, or in work outside the occupation stated in the authorization documents.
With respect to visa-required foreign nationals, the report identifies two separate circumstances: the absence of the required documents for six employees and the company’s lack of a permit to employ foreign labor. The Ministry of Internal Affairs publication does not provide a specific list of such documents, so it should be clarified using official Ministry of Internal Affairs guidance and current regulations.
Liability and time limits
Three legal entities were held liable under Article 18.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (КоАП РФ). The aggregate amount of fines exceeded 7 million rubles.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not report any legislative amendments, new time limits, or transition period. The publication describes the results of applying the current rules following unscheduled documentary inspections.
What to check
- Check whether the foreign national’s purpose of entry corresponds to the planned employment.
- Check that foreign nationals have work permits where they are required.
- Compare the work actually performed with the occupation stated in the authorization documents.
- When employing visa-required foreign nationals, check that employees have the required documents and that the organization has a permit to employ foreign labor.
- Refer to the current version of Article 18.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (КоАП РФ) and official Ministry of Internal Affairs guidance.