Russia's Federal Migration Service has suggested introducing a points-based system for migrants seeking to obtain a residency permit in which younger, well educated Russian speakers have a better chance of passing the qualifying threshold.
Under the proposal, candidates will have to gather 65 points out of a possible 100 to receive the residency permits, which allow recipients to live in Russia for five years.
Posted on the official regulation.gov.ru website Tuesday, the project will be open for public discussion until the middle of September.
Potential candidates for a residency permit get more points under the suggested system if they score higher in eight different categories including level of education, age, fluency in Russian, whether they own property in Russia, whether they have relatives in Russia and the length of time they have worked in Russia.
For example, those between the ages of 21 and 45 get 20 points, those with property in Russia get five points and those who have worked for more than five years in Russia get 15 points. While those aged between 45 and 55 get 12 points, those with less than one year of work experience in Russia get 3 points and those with “elementary” Russian language get just one point.
Most applicants for long-term residency in Russia, which has one of the largest migrant populations in the world, must first receive a temporary residency permit, valid for three years. The process of gaining residency permits in Russia takes about six months and is notorious for its bureaucratic complexity.
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