Starting in 2026, the Moscow region will introduce new rules regulating the activities of foreign citizens working on patents. These changes aim to create a clearer division of employment sectors and simplify labor regulation.
It is worth noting that legal employment opportunities for migrants will still remain extensive. Foreign workers will be able to continue working in key and in-demand sectors of the economy.
Work on patents will be permitted in areas such as construction and repair, at manufacturing enterprises, in cleaning services, as well as in delivery and logistics. Additionally, labor migrants will be able to find work in agriculture, housing and communal services, and landscaping.
However, restrictions will be imposed on labor activities in certain sectors. A ban will be in effect in the retail sale of alcohol and tobacco, street food sales, including fast food (such as kiosks and food trucks), as well as in educational institutions (schools, kindergartens) and medical facilities. Work on patents will also be unavailable in the fields of culture, sports, and leisure, including museums, libraries, and concert venues.
It is important to understand that these changes apply only to those foreign citizens who work on the basis of a patent. Citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) have the opportunity to work in Russia without a patent, based on an employment contract, so the new restrictions do not apply to them.
Nevertheless, employers and labor migrants are advised to consider additional requirements under both regional and federal legislation that applies to foreign citizens in general.
Authorities emphasized that the changes are not aimed at reducing jobs, but rather are intended to make the labor market more transparent and balanced. Most of the in-demand areas for foreign labor in the Moscow region will remain unchanged.
