Work permit for highly qulified specialists (HQS)

Who is a highly qualified specialist (HQS)?

A highly qualified specialist (Article 13.2, Federal Law 115) is a foreign citizen with working experience, skills or achievements in a particular field of work, who receives wages (compensation) for his involvement in labor activity in the Russian Federation:

The employer himself (independently) estimates the competence and skill level of foreign citizens, whom he wants to attract as highly qualified specialists. For such purposes, the employer or the customer (of works or services) uses:

• documents and data confirming that this specialist has all the required professional knowledge and skills;
• information on the results of the work as a highly qualified foreign specialist with reviews of other employers and customers (including foreign employers and customers);
• the information provided by professional organizations engaged in evaluation and recruitment;
• information on the results of intellectual activity, the author or co-author of which is a highly qualified foreign specialist;
• information on professional awards and other forms of recognition of professional achievements;
• information on the results of work (services) conducted by the employer or customer;
• other objective, reliable and verifiable documents and information.

Who has the right to attract highly qualified foreign specialists?

Highly qualified foreign specialists (HQS) can be attracted by:

• Russian commercial organizations;
• Branches of foreign legal entities, accredited in accordance with the established procedure on the territory of the Russian Federation;
• Russian scientific organizations, educational institutions of professional education (with the exception of institutions of professional religious education (spiritual educational institutions));
• Health care institutions, as well as other organizations engaged in scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activities, experimental development, testing, and training of personnel in accordance with state priority areas for the development of science and technology of the Russian Federation, if they have state accreditation.
• Sports organizations carrying out their activity on the territory of the Russian Federation, Russian non-commercial organizations, as well as national sports federations in case of attraction of highly qualified specialists for the positions included in the list of positions of foreign citizens and individuals without citizenship employed as highly qualified specialists in the field of physical culture and sports physical culture and sports organizations and national sports federations.

Should the organization have a quota for attracting foreign citizens when applying for a work permit for a HQS?

The quota for issuing invitations to foreign citizens for entry into the Russian Federation for the purpose of work and the quota for the issuance of work permits to foreign citizens do not apply to highly qualified foreign specialists.

Validity of the HQS work permit and HQS visa

The HQS work permit is issued for the period of validity of the employment contract or civil contract concluded by him, but not for more than 3 years with the possibility of repeated extension.

A HQS visa is issued for the same period as a work permit (up to 3 years) on the basis of an invitation for HQS issued in parallel with the process of obtaining a work permit.

If a work permit is issued to a foreign employee who is already in the Russian Federation on the basis of a work visa, this visa can be extended for the period of the issued work permit.

If the validity period of the HQS work permit or the validity period of the HQS visa expires between March 15 and December 15, 2020, then in accordance with the provisions of the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin "On measures to regulate the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons in Russia due to the threat of COVID-19 distribution", the validity period of these documents is temporarily suspended. 

Validity of permits for early termination of an employment / civil contract with the HQS

• Within thirty working days from the date of early termination of the employment contract or civil contract for the performance of works (services), a highly qualified specialist has the right to search for another employer or customer of works (services) and obtain a new work permit for the HQS. During the specified period, a work permit issued to a highly qualified specialist, as well as a visa and residence permit issued to such a highly qualified specialist and his / her family members, are considered valid.
• The validity of a work permit issued to a highly qualified specialist, as well as the validity of a visa and residence permit issued to such a highly qualified specialist and his family members, is extended for the period of consideration of the application submitted by the employer or customer of works (services) with which the highly qualified specialist has concluded a new employment / civil contract

In case a highly qualified specialist has not concluded a new employment/civil contract on the expiry of the 30-day period or if the petition of the employer or customer of works (services) on attraction of a highly qualified specialist is rejected, issued such a highly qualified specialist work permit and visa and the residence permit issued to highly qualified specialist and his family members are valid for thirty working days, during which a highly qualified specialist and his / her family members are required to leave the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The territory of validity of the HQS work permit

If, in accordance with an employment contract or a civil contract for the performance of works (services), it is assumed that a foreign HQS will work on the territories of two or more subjects of the Russian Federation, it is possible to issue a work permit valid on the territories of these subjects of the Russian Federation

Does a highly qualified specialist have to prove his knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history, and the basics of Russian legislation when obtaining a work permit?

Foreign citizens who are highly qualified specialists are exempt from confirming their Russian language proficiency, knowledge of Russian history and the basics of Russian legislation when applying for a work permit

Does a highly qualified employee need to have a medical examination to obtain a work permit?

When applying for a work permit of a highly qualified specialist, it is not required to provide medical certificates, however, HQS are not exempted from the obligation to have such certificates (otherwise the work permit may be canceled (according to clause 10, article 13.2 FL № 115).

Is it possible to obtain a work permit for a highly qualified specialist in the context of a coronavirus pandemic?

At the moment, it is possible to issue a work permit for a highly qualified specialist only for the following foreign citizens:

• foreign citizens located on the territory of the Russian Federation;
• HQS included to a special list, which must be sent to the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation by the Executive authority responsible for the employer/customer (according to the Government Order No. 1671-R of 25 June 2020). 

The above mentioned wording “sent to the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation by the Executive authority responsible for the employer/customer” implies that the executive authorities should control the organization, and not its activities.

In other words, the literal interpretation of the discussed part of the text of the upd ated Government Order suggests that the ability to arrange entry to Russia for their high qualified specialists appeared not to all employers or customers of services but only to organizations themselves (not their activities) subordinated to (controlled by) the Executive authorities of the Russian Federation.

However, on the example of a similar wording of the government Order No. 635-R concerning persons entering for technical maintenance, it can be assumed that this detail will not be important, and employers and customers of services will be able to apply to the Executive authorities in charge of their activities in order to enter the cherished lists of their employees HQS.

Please, kindly note, that in this case only a single entry to the Russian Federation is available, that is, if the HQS leaves the territory of Russian Federation after arriving in it, he will not be able to re-enter it. It is also important that entry is only available for HQS and this option does not apply to members of his family.

For further entering HQS shall have:

• identity document;
• visa (for visa countries);
• a valid employment contract or civil law contract for the performance of works (services) with the employer or customer of works (services).

When making a new employment contract, please note that its entry into force will not be linked to obtaining a work permit, because you need a valid contract to enter. Entering into force of the contract before receiving the work permit may be seen as employment without permits and  fines can be up to 1 million rubles.

Where should an employer apply for a work permit for a highly qualified specialist?

The territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the regional level are authorized to make a decision on issuing a work permit for HQS.

If you plan to apply for a work permit in Moscow, you must apply for a work permit in the Multifunctional Migration center (MMC), which is located in New Moscow, near the village of Sakharovo (50 km from MKAD).

You can read about the procedure for applying for documents in the Moscow region here.

For more information about documents processing in other regions of the Russian Federation, please contact the consultants of Сonfidence Group.

Term for issuing a work permit for a highly qualified specialist

The total time for issuance of a work permit for a HQS is 14 working days from the moment of submission of documents. A foreign citizen can obtain a work permit only personally. Upon receipt, he/she may be accompanied by organization representatives and other authorized representatives.

In addition, before a personal visit, it is better to make sure that the work permit is ready. Unfortunately, this can not be done by the phone. Therefore, organization representatives shall personally apply to the Multifunctional Migration Center in Sakharov village for information about the readiness of the work permit.

Working hours of the Migration center in Moscow (MMC in Sakharovo)

From 09.04.2020, the migration center will be open from 8:00 to 18:00. Every day, seven days a week.

How to get to the Migration center in Moscow (MMC in Sakharovo)

The Confidence Group company provides a full range of services related to the arrival, stay and work of highly qualified specialists in any region of the Russian Federation.

In the table you can find the stages, terms, as well as the cost of services related to issuance of permits for highly qualified specialists.