Standard work permit vs HQS work permit

Foreign citizens’ employment in Russia is closely connected with many difficulties including multi-step procedure of their hiring as well as inconsistency of migration legislation, bureaucracy prevented quick and convenient issuing of permission documents. The procedure of hiring seems very difficult both for employers and employees especially for employees fr om visa countries.

This article is dedicated for the above-mentioned category of foreign citizens and their employers. Therefore, we hope that this article will help to define the right variant of legalization on the Russian territory for both parties.

So what an employer should do if he plans to hire a foreign citizen?

If an employer decides to hire a foreign citizen from visa country, he can use two variants of legalization procedure:

• standard procedure;
• as highly qualified specialist (HQS).

How to decide what variant to choose?

There are several factors that help employer to choose the most convenient variant of legalization.

What difficulties will have the employer? How long will the standard procedure of issuing permission documents take?

Please pay attention that this variant is not fast. Moreover, the employer needs quota for hiring foreign citizens. Such quota should be obtained the year before hiring an employee. Thus, as usual it takes more than half of the year form the moment of quota application and possibility to start the process of legalization. Moreover, the chance of quota obtaining is rather low. On the basis of our company's statistics over the past two years, only 20-30% of employers obtained the quota for hiring foreign employees in Moscow.

Of course, employers have the possibility to obtain quota during quota correction campaign. Such procedure should provide employers the possibility to increase already obtained quota or obtain new one for companies that were recently registered. The possibility to obtain quota during quota correction campaign is rather high. According to statistics of our company up to 50% of requests for quotas are met. Employers who obtained such quota have the possibility to use it till the end of current year.

The main problem of such quota obtaining is the period of waiting the Order on quotas and disposal of the Department on migration issues of Russian Interior Ministry (previous FMS) allowing the submission of documents for work permits. The publication of such Order can take about half of the year. Moreover, there is no guarantee that employer will obtain quota. The employer just can waste time.

Due to the imperfection of the quota system, as well as a huge number of failures in quota obtaining, the majority of employers almost completely refused from quota in the last few years, choosing other variant of foreign employees’ legalization, including HQS legalization variant or use quota-free positions.

Of course, the use of quota free positions significantly reduce the total period of legalization process as there is no necessity of quota obtaining. But unfortunately the list of such positions is rather limited and consists of management and technical positions that are in high demand in the labor market. Due to this fact, it is very difficult to receive work permit for such positions. Therefore, employers have to apply for a quota for foreign employees.

There are other several difficulties with quota-free positions such as necessity to prepare all internal company documents (labor contract, job description, division documents and schedule) in accordance with foreign employee position. The number of such positions in the company should be proportionate to its staff. For example, if there are only three people working in the company, of course the employer has no possibility to hire three foreign citizens on the quota-free position "Head of the department."

Moreover, education of foreign citizen, applying for definite position, should correspond such position as well as correspond the main company’s activity (excluding company’s management). For example, if foreign citizen applies for work permit on the position of Director of Economic Affairs, he should have financial education.

Another problem that our company had while applying work permit on the quota-free position for one great corporation is the total number of quota-free positions in the company. If the number of quota-free positions in the company is more than ten the Department on migration issues of Russian Interior Ministry calls the head of the organization for an interview for explanations and the provision of relevant documents confirming the actual need to hire such number of foreign employees.

So applying for quota as well as for quota-free position the employer will spend at least 3.5 months for receiving permission documents starting from the moment of contacting the employment center and finishing with visa extension for the foreign employee.

The standard procedure of legalization consists of the following steps:

1. Contact to the Center of employment for making application on the necessity of employees;
2. Application for foreign labor hire permit;
3. Application for work permit;
4. Company’s registration at the Department on migration issues of Russian Interior Ministry (previous FMS) if your company applies for invitation for the first time;
5. Invitation letter for single work visa receiving (up to 3 months):
6. Work visa receiving (up to 3 months validity) at Russian Consulate abroad;
7. Multiple-entry work visa obtaining/extension (valid up to 1 year);
8. Migration Department of Internal ministry notification on hire of foreign employee.

Moreover, foreign citizens must confirm their knowledge of the Russian language, history and laws of Russia and pass the examination on knowledge of the Russian language, history and laws of Russia. Foreign citizens also must pass medical examination and receive HIV-certificate and medical certificate.

So what difficulties will employer have if he plans to hire HQS?

If a foreign citizen is highly qualified specialist in his sphere and considers that he can receive more than 167000 rubles per month in Russia, such foreign citizen has the possibility to arrive in Russia and work as HQS. Firstly, he should find an employer who will be ready to apply for work permit for such foreign citizen and pay him the above-mentioned salary.

How can a foreign employee find an employer in Russia while being abroad? There are two variants: foreign citizen has the opportunity to declare himself as HQS, leaving his curriculum vita at website гувм.мвд.рф or the employer himself finds an employee, estimates his qualification level and hires him.

What the employer should do then?

Firstly, the employer should understand that he has to pay HQS salary not less than 167000 rubles per month in case of labor contract conclusion as well as civil contract. Moreover, the employer should quarterly notify Migration Department of Internal ministry on HQS salary.

Of course, there are, some preferences for certain categories of organizations-employers, mitigating the requirements for HQS payments, but they are not significant, others must pay the above-mentioned sum.

Are there some preferences for employers applying for HQS work permits?

Of course, there are. First of all, the employer does not need quota for foreign labor hire. The employer also has no limits in choosing position for foreign citizen.

Secondly, the period of validity of HQS work permit and visa is up to three years while the validity of standard work permit is up to one year.

HQS has the right to work in several regions. It is possible if the employer specifies all necessary regions in application and provides documents that confirmed the existence of branches in each requested region. If the employer obtains work permit via standard procedure and wants his foreign citizen to work in several regions, he has to apply for permission documents in each necessary region.

Moreover, HQS has the right to be on a business trip in any Russian region with no time lim it if such condition is indicated in his labor contract. A foreign citizen having leading position with standard work permit has the right to be on a business trip in the region that not indicated in his permit only 10 days a year. A foreign citizen with standard work permit has the right to be on a business trip in any Russian region 40 days a year if such condition is indicated in his labor contract

According to Russian Law HQS is exempted fr om migration registration up to 90 days upon arrival to Russia and 30 days upon changing place of stay within Russia. Foreign employees with standard work permit have only 7 working days for migration registration upon arrival.

One of the main advantages of HQS legalization process is the period of work permit and invitation obtaining. This period is about 14-15 working days from the moment of documents submission and documents receiving. The period of standard work receiving is about 3.5 months.

Please find below table with comparison of these two legalization processes.

Arrival of foreign citizens to Russia

Thus, the employer obtained the most suitable work permit for both parties. What is the next step?

If the employer obtained standard work permit for a foreign citizen he must do the following after foreign citizen’s arrival to Russia:

1. Conclude labor or civil contract;
2. Issue voluntary health insurance policy for foreign citizen and his accompanying family members;
3. Notify Russian Interior Ministry (previous FMS) on contract conclusion in 3 business days from the moment of hiring;
4. Make migration registration in 7 working days from the moment of state border crossing;
5. Extend working visa up to the work permit validity. It is necessary due to Russian visa is  issued only for 3 months with a possible extension in Russia.

If the employer obtained HQS work permit for a foreign citizen (please note that work permit must be obtained in person) the employer must do the following after foreign citizen’s arrival to Russia:

1. Conclude labor or civil contract;
2. Issue voluntary health insurance policy for foreign citizen and his accompanying family members;
3. Notify Russian Interior Ministry (previous FMS) on contract conclusion in 3 business days from the moment of hiring;
4. Make migration registration in 90 working days from the moment of state border crossing if a foreign citizen plans to stay in Russia more than 90 days.

We hope that this article will help not only employers, but also foreign citizens to understand migration legislation peculiarities, make right decision on legalization procedure. In any case, this article does not cover all the features and nuances of the legalization of foreign citizens in Russia.

It is better to contact professionals for guaranteed permission documents receiving.