The Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation has proposed increasing the quota for foreign workers

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation has submitted for public discussion a draft decree establishing the quota for attracting qualified foreign specialists from visa countries for 2026 — it will amount to about 278.9 thousand work permits. This need was confirmed by interdepartmental commissions based on applications from regional employers who were unable to find the necessary workers within the country.

The quota is formed based on approved applications and includes not only new employees but also extensions of already issued permits for foreign specialists who continue to work in Russia. At the same time, the quota itself does not automatically grant the right to enter the country — each invited specialist must obtain a work visa and an official employment permit. In practice, the actual number of arriving workers is usually lower than the approved quota, as companies continue to seek personnel among Russian citizens.

The highest demand for specialists is observed in such professions as process pipeline and equipment installers, concrete workers, steel fixers, welders, and construction foremen. Most often, workers arriving under the quota come from China, Turkey, India, Serbia, and other countries with which Russia maintains a visa regime.

The quotas are requested for specific large-scale projects, including the construction of the Amur Gas Chemical and Gas Processing Complexes, the second stage of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, the methanol plant in Skovorodino, the Ust-Luga industrial cluster, the mining and processing plant at the Malmyzhskoye deposit, the Pacific Railway, the Elga coal transshipment terminal, CHP-4 in Khabarovsk, and facilities of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, the ministry noted.

Applications for inclusion in the quota are submitted by regions to the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation by September 1 of the year preceding the establishment of limits. After review by interdepartmental commissions, the approved proposals are included in the draft Government decree, which determines the final volume of foreign workers allowed from visa countries.