On June 13, 2012, the President of Russia approved the Concept of the State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025. The document was developed by the Federal Migration Service.
The Concept states that the new migration policy aims to compensate for the decline in the country's population at the expense of migrants, which has actually been carried out over the past 20 years. Rosstat predicts that only 54-57% of the country's population will be able to work by 2030. It is also predicted that by that time the population will decline by several million people, which is especially critical for strategically important regions of Siberia and the Far East.
According to the authors of the document, at present, according to the law, foreigners can come to work in Russia only for a short period. Now, those who wish to move to the Russian Federation for permanent residence are planning to give such an opportunity. According to statistics, 4-5 million migrants out of 9, 2 work in Russia illegally. And the budget suffers huge losses due to tax evasion.
The document says about the need to promote the adaptation and integration of migrants in the Russian Federation. However, it is not specified exactly how many newcomers are planned to be adapted, and nothing is mentioned about their cultural and confessional affiliation. Namely, on this basis, interethnic clashes in large and small settlements of Russia have recently become more frequent. While the integration of mentally close Ukrainians, Belarusians and Moldovans does not cause difficulties, with the representatives of the Caucasus, everything is somewhat more complicated.
The Concept, on the other hand, sets out the task of countering illegal migration. Thus, it is planned to introduce an exam on the knowledge of the Russian language, history and law of the Russian Federation for labor migrants by November 2012. Violators of the migration legislation will extend the term of the ban on entry into the Russian Federation and, possibly, introduce criminal liability for violation of this legislation. It is planned to strengthen control over the registration of tenants in rented apartments in order to end the practice of settling several migrants into one apartment.
According to critics, the concept of selective migration is not disclosed in the document, and there are no clear selection criteria. They believe that such an open migration policy creates the danger of the gradual dissolution of the Russian nation as such in other peoples. Critics point out that migrants are mainly low-skilled workers. At first they agree to work for a small salary, but then their demands grow, and they begin to establish their own rules, as happened, for example, in France.
Some experts note that it would be possible to encourage the birth rate in the Russian Federation by raising the living standards of Russians, to give land plots in the Far East and Siberia to those wishing to cultivate them, and then foreigners would not have to compensate for the shortage of labor. It would also help reduce unemployment among Russians. Repatriation could also have an effect - encouraging the return of Russians to their homeland from other countries.
