OREANDA-NEWS In 2025, the number of work permits issued to foreign professionals in Russia increased by a third. The Vedomosti newspaper reports on the increased influx of highly qualified specialists, citing statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs on external migration.

The number of visiting foreign specialists increased by 33 percent, from 50.8 to 75.4 thousand people. At the same time, the number of cancelled permits increased from 16.1 thousand to 20.2 thousand.

According to Rosstat, last year the number of highly qualified foreign citizens amounted to 90,700 people. China, India, Vietnam, Turkey, and Bangladesh became the most important suppliers of labor from non-CIS countries in the fourth quarter.

Head of the Migration department at the Center named after Mikhail Burda, Head of the Higher School of Economics of the RANEPA, explained the increase in the number of foreign professionals by the successful implementation of plans to attract such workers. The Russian economy is now becoming more complex in production processes and this requires employees to have a certain level of qualifications, he added.

One of the possible reasons for the increase in the number of work permits issued by the VKS may be the hiring of nominal employees, said Sergey Suvorov, a specialist in recruiting employees from abroad at Finval. In his opinion, this mechanism can also be used as a scheme for cashing out funds.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robots will not save the economy in a demographic downturn without an influx of migrants. This opportunity was appreciated by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in his opinion, it is impossible to prevent an economic and demographic recession without attracting imported labor.