OTK-Group

Post-Soviet republics suffer from Dutch disease due to migration

According to the World Bank, Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have demonstrated a significant increase in spending relative to GDP (up to 36%). These countries are focused mainly on the service sector rather than manufacturing (10-15%). Their national currencies are strengthening while the competitiveness is plunging. This can be explained by migration processes – after all, four out of eight post-Soviet republics have been experiencing a major outflow of citizens to countries with higher labor productivity and incomes. This allows migrants to send money back home. The four mentioned countries are part of the 24 globally with a population of more than 1 million people, where the total migrant remittances exceed 10% of their countries’ GDP. The fifth on the list is Moldova. This phenomenon has been studied by the IMF and the expert conclusions are not comforting – on the one hand, dependency on donor countries (Russia in the case of the above-mentioned countries) stabilizes these countries’ economies, but on the other, promotes volatility in their own markets.

For violations of registration rules, the foreigner-owner will answer according to the law of the Russian Federation.

As of October 2019, a foreigner-owner does not have the right to register familiar foreign citizens and even his relatives on his living space. Only highly qualified specialist workers can register relatives in their own apartment.
Lawyers saw an infringement of the rights of owners and suggested amendments to the law “On Migration Registration of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in Russia”. The relevant bill has already been prepared and considered. It takes into account responsibility for fake registration. The legal presence of relatives and friends of the owners in the territory of the Russian Federation will also be checked. For false information, the owners will be punished by law.

Did the Ministry of Internal Affairs count migrants correctly?

The number of foreign citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation increased in the first quarter of 2019, compared with the same quarter of 2018. This could be explained by the fact that the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) incorrectly provided data on arriving foreigners, and in its turn the Ministry of Internal Affairs furnished Rosstat with incomplete information. Yet experts argue that the increase is due to the number of foreigners temporarily registered in the Russian Federation. Most migrants registered for more than six months, and according to the Federal State Statistics Service estimates, many of them will leave Russia by the end of the year and at the beginning of 2020.

Outstanding traffic violation – an entry ban to the Russian Federation!

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that in the near future foreign citizens will be checked for unpaid fines when crossing the Russian State Border. They could be temporarily banned from entering the Russian Federation, until the fine is settled.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Customs Service are planning to launch a database that will track whether a traffic violation fine has been paid by foreigner. This measure is aimed at reducing the number of deaths due to accidents.