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Immigration to Russia involves both temporary workers and those seeking permanent residence in theRussian Federation. Historically, theRussian Empire was one of the world's leading destinations for immigrants, starting with the reign ofPeter I (1682–1725) and especially after the ascension ofCatherine II in 1762, until theOctober Revolution in 1917. Someregions, such asNovorossiya,Slavo-Serbia,Volga, andBessarabia were specifically designated for resettlement of immigrants.
Immigration to Russia was relatively low during theSoviet period (1922–1991) and through the earlypost-Soviet years (1992–2005). Russia experienced a considerablepopulation decline during the latter period due to a decreasedbirthrate, loweredlife expectancy and growingemigration. To combat these demographic problems, theRussian government adopted in 2006 the "Program for the return of compatriots to Russia", which was made into a permanent law in 2012.[1][circular reference] The law defines "compatriots" as individuals who are direct descendants (either matrilineal or patrilineal) of people who had lived within the current territory of Russia.[2] In February 2024, in order to expedite and to simplify the immigration process the requirement for conversational ability inRussian was waived.[3]
Due to these policy changes, Russia has experienced an overall population increase starting in 2012.[4][5] According toRosstat, the federal statistics agency,[6] and theUnited Nations,[7] the number of legal immigrants in Russia between 2000 and 2015 fluctuated between 11 and 12 million, or about 8% of the population. In 2020, Russia ranked fourth globally by the largest number of immigrants, after theUnited States,Germany andSaudi Arabia.[8] At the same time, Russia ranked third worldwide by the number ofemigrants, afterIndia andMexico.[9]
The majority of recent immigrants to Russia come from formerSoviet republics, especiallyTajikistan,Kyrgyzstan,Ukraine,Armenia,Kazakhstan andUzbekistan.[10] Although the Russian government actively encourages immigration ofethnic Russians, most immigrants from the formerSoviet republics in recent years were not ethnic Russians.[11] By 2018, Ukrainians constituted the largest immigrant group outside Central Asia, exceeding 2 million;[12] in 2024, according to Rosstat, Russia hosted 8.5 million refugees from Ukraine.[13] Legal immigrants in Russia receive both grant money and repayable low-interest loans issued byRossotrudnichestvo.
The standard legalimmigration status obtaining procedure consists of the following time-divided steps: obtaining a temporaryresidence permit; obtaining a permanent residence permit and obtainingRussian citizenship.[14] Under current law, one can receivecitizenship of Russia after five years of residence and after passing an exam inRussian language,civics andhistory. Immigration to Russia is regulated by theMain Directorate for Migration Affairs of theMinistry of Internal Affairs of Russian Federation.[15]
Anyone who works in Russia for five years and develops fluency in theRussian language can become a citizen, provided they have not committed a crime. Almost anyone who is hired by a Russian firm can stay in the country and work indefinitely[16] This reflects a policy change, in response to declining birth rates, on the part of the government ofVladimir Putin from the more restrictive policy enacted after the 1991dissolution of the Soviet Union.[17] The large non-Slavic immigrant populations arriving in response to Putin's liberal policy have sometimes encounteredxenophobia. To counter this, pursuant to Russian hate-speech laws, the Russian state has shut down various anti-immigrant groups, such as theMovement Against Illegal Immigration.
The immigration process usually includes several steps. Firstly, it is required to establish connections with Russia in order to be eligible for temporary or permanent residency. It may be granted on the grounds of having employment, studying, having Russian relatives or ancestry, investing or purchasing a property. The next step is to apply for temporary residency (some applicants may skip this step). After one year of living as a temporary resident it is possible to apply for permanent residency. Finally, after 5 years of living as a permanent resident it is possible to apply for Russian citizenship.[18]
Native speakers of Russian-language, spouses of Russian citizens, highly qualified specialists (e.g. withPhD orMD degrees), investors and refugees are eligible for a simplified immigration procedure. Some categories of applicants may skip temporary residency and apply for citizenship after 1–3 years of living in Russia.[19]
| Country | Gross immigration | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
 Tajikistan | 11,043 | 4,717 | 18,188 | 47,638 | 52,676 | 63,467 | 67,929 | 89,553 | 93,333 | 126,840 | 186,560 | 171,234 | 219,739 |
 Kyrgyzstan | 15,536 | 15,592 | 20,901 | 26,045 | 28,202 | 41,165 | 44,408 | 53,810 | 45,676 | 61,101 | 62,360 | 54,162 | 146,915 |
 Uzbekistan | 40,810 | 30,436 | 24,100 | 74,242 | 60,977 | 64,073 | 55,378 | 60,796 | 50,188 | 56,808 | 54,035 | 44,536 | 146,090 |
 Armenia | 15,951 | 7,581 | 19,890 | 45,670 | 43,929 | 46,898 | 46,442 | 71,984 | 56,511 | 70,078 | 59,533 | 48,855 | 78,573 |
 Kazakhstan | 124,903 | 51,945 | 27,862 | 65,750 | 69,356 | 71,680 | 72,141 | 86,311 | 64,494 | 72,668 | 64,382 | 48,465 | 71,694 |
 China | 1,121 | 432 | 1,380 | 9,043 | 8,027 | 8,237 | 7,067 | 15,306 | 7,270 | 6,465 | 7,964 | 11,483 | 35,587 |
 Turkmenistan | 6,738 | 4,104 | 2,283 | 6,539 | 7,242 | 8,734 | 10,509 | 14,632 | 12,930 | 10,449 | 12,133 | 13,345 | 34,302 |
 Azerbaijan | 14,906 | 4,600 | 14,500 | 24,326 | 24,109 | 25,602 | 26,690 | 34,619 | 32,135 | 35,209 | 31,773 | 24,340 | 28,108 |
 India | 203 | 54 | 110 | 2,894 | 4,768 | 5,622 | 5,032 | 9,588 | 4,506 | 7,132 | 8,275 | 10,868 | 27,010 |
 Ukraine | 74,748 | 30,760 | 27,508 | 194,810 | 178,274 | 150,182 | 137,776 | 161,351 | 143,988 | 122,669 | 148,846 | 50,929 | 26,791 |
 Belarus | 10,274 | 6,797 | 4,894 | 17,741 | 14,590 | 21,282 | 19,045 | 18,428 | 14,536 | 23,120 | 18,824 | 12,496 | 22,924 |
 Moldova | 11,652 | 6,569 | 11,814 | 34,026 | 32,418 | 31,369 | 30,676 | 26,513 | 22,129 | 27,248 | 23,540 | 22,502 | 20,766 |
 Vietnam | 182 | 114 | 921 | 4,012 | 3,735 | 3,912 | 3,981 | 6,742 | 6,206 | 5,426 | 5,655 | 8,785 | 12,812 |
 Georgia*Abkhazia (disp. status) *South Ossetia (disp. status) | 20,213 – – | 5,497 – – | 5,245 814 33 | 7,038 2,267 342 | 6,511 2,261 216 | 6,809 2,357 270 | 6,345 1,975 260 | 6,925 1,429 110 | 5,764 1,217 131 | 6,506 1,190 148 | 6,002 1,262 137 | 4,602 1,074 171 | 4,781 737 – |
| Total | 359,330 | 177,230 | 191,656 | 598,617 | 575,158 | 589,033 | 565,685 | 701,234 | 594,146 | 667,922 | 730,347 | 560,434 | 958,867 |
| Country | Net immigration | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Tajikistan | 9,885 | 4,283 | 17,494 | 11,362 | 27,288 | 34,639 | 31,028 | 48,374 | 39,424 | 96,609 | 87,264 | 81,684 | 128,017 |
| Uzbekistan | 37,724 | 29,841 | 23,266 | −20,668 | 19,672 | 22,167 | 6,807 | 19,129 | 4,927 | 36,009 | −8,455 | 3,639 | 106,901 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 13,679 | 15,119 | 20,260 | 9,935 | 11,043 | 19,355 | 8,978 | 15,106 | 1,402 | 42,549 | −6,824 | 4,956 | 104,645 |
| Armenia | 14,432 | 6,961 | 19,192 | 20,533 | 11,993 | 13,999 | 14,358 | 35,109 | −1,836 | 45,235 | −10,706 | 11,188 | 42,068 |
| Kazakhstan | 106,990 | 39,508 | 20,533 | 34,767 | 37,130 | 32,736 | 26,516 | 39,166 | 8,440 | 48,317 | −4,947 | 11,435 | 36,354 |
| China | 463 | −24 | 1,132 | −778 | −810 | 637 | −477 | 6,679 | −3,764 | 4,248 | −3,018 | 3,971 | 24,252 |
| Turkmenistan | 6,062 | 3,979 | 2,178 | 2,320 | 2,418 | 2,873 | 2,951 | 6,198 | 778 | 7,230 | −3,702 | 4,750 | 23,369 |
| India | − | 41 | 93 | 1,282 | 1,421 | 1,437 | −185 | 4,326 | −4,779 | 5,007 | −851 | 3,051 | 15,631 |
| Belarus | −3,002 | 763 | 1,995 | 4,909 | 2,127 | 11,770 | 7,191 | 6,283 | −1,403 | 15,424 | −161 | –261 | 12,349 |
| Azerbaijan | 11,719 | 3,326 | 13,389 | 10,660 | 10,439 | 8,599 | 8,737 | 17,005 | 10,894 | 23,659 | −3,712 | 3,516 | 7,137 |
| Vietnam | 149 | 69 | 889 | 1,004 | 394 | 1,194 | 684 | 3,461 | 308 | 3,402 | −2,564 | 3,452 | 6,620 |
| Moldova | 9,415 | 5,783 | 11,197 | 17,380 | 14,364 | 9,605 | 7,688 | 5,385 | 3,490 | 16,144 | 2,355 | 8,750 | 6,576 |
| Georgia *Abkhazia (disp. status) *South Ossetia (disp. status) | 18,411 – – | 4,806 – – | 4,786 732 23 | 3,309 1,272 -282 | 2,294 1,240 83 | 2,586 1,975 180 | 2,031 1,975 96 | 2,840 147 -4 | 1,274 30 14 | 3,838 245 87 | −196 1,134 39 | 771 343 103 | 1,200 44 – |
| Ukraine | 39,147 | 18,120 | 21,230 | 146,131 | 118,819 | 47,691 | 14,822 | 64,245 | 52,775 | 64,669 | 27,267 | –29,618 | –26,243 |
| Total | 213,610 | 107,432 | 158,078 | 245,384 | 261,948 | 211,878 | 124,854 | 285,103 | 106,510 | 429,902 | 61,917 | 109,952 | 535,715 |
As of May 2022, there are 5.99 million foreigners residing in the Russian Federation (up from 5.66 million in 2021 but down from 10.13 million in 2019), with the vast majority (91%) being citizens ofCIS countries. Central Asians make up the most numerous group, followed by Ukrainian citizens. Temporary migration from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan increased after a marked decline in 2020–2021. OtherCIS countries have steadily demonstrated a decrease in the number of migrants.[23]
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of November 2021, there were 5.5 million migrants in Russia. Of these, 819,600 were in the country illegally.[24] In the first quarter of 2021, 1345 migrants were deported, more than in the same period last year. The number of deported migrants increased in Russia.
Foreign residents from theCIS in Russia:[23]
| Country of origin | Population (2022) | 2021–2022 change |
|---|---|---|
| Uzbekistan | 1,626,308 | +435,674 |
| Tajikistan | 1,262,695 | +453,529 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 681,165 | +58,122 |
| Ukraine | 597,051 | -57,869 |
| Belarus | 428,239 | -134,722 |
| Armenia | 280,520 | -67,160 |
| Kazakhstan | 228,142 | -35,349 |
| Azerbaijan | 215,481 | -83,600 |
| Moldova | 76,645 | -56,230 |
Foreign residents in Russia:[25]2019
2021
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