St Petersburg authorities have banned foreign nationals with the right to work from taking jobs in retail, healthcare, beauty salons and fitness centres. The new restrictions in the Russian city were announced in a decree signed by Governor Alexander Beglov, local media reported last week. The move extends existing measures introduced last year, when migrant workers were barred from working as taxi drivers or food delivery couriers. Employers have until December 15 to ensure their staffing complies with the new rules.
According to the Fontanka media outlet, the restrictions are intended to tackle “shadow employment” and reduce the city’s reliance on low-skilled foreign workers. Authorities said the measures would help create “a transparent, regulated labour market” and ensure more jobs were available to Russian citizens, including young people and students.
However, the ban does not cover highly qualified specialists, foreign nationals holding work permits or citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Other visa-free nationals who can apply for the right to work in Russia include citizens of Azerbaijan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Restrictions targeting foreign workers have been introduced in dozens of other Russian regions, as well as in occupied Ukrainian territories.
The measures form part of a wider federal crackdown on migrant labour following the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, which killed 151 people. A South-Central Asia-based regional affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Since then, Russian lawmakers have introduced dozens of new migration restrictions, many of which have primarily affected workers from Central Asia.
Among other measures, they made it harder to obtain Russian residence permits through a fast-track process based on marriage, approved new rules for expelling migrants, and banned schools from admitting migrant children who lack Russian-language proficiency, Russia’s independent outlet Meduza reports.
