Interior Ministry proposes to release part of migrant workers from language exam

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia proposed to exempt foreign citizens who received work permits from employers - residents of priority development territories (TOR), from confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history of Russia and the basics of Russian legislation. This follows from the bill of the Ministry.

Now foreigners, as a rule, must confirm their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and the basics of legislation in order to obtain a work permit. The bill proposes to extend the existing exemptions to employees employed by employers and customers of works or services that are residents of the TOPR.

According to the materials of the Ministry of Economic Development, in Russia there are territories of advanced development in single-industry towns and closed administrative-territorial entities, as well as in the Far East and in the Arctic zone. In particular, the latter include 16 TOPs in the Far East and two in the Arctic.

According to the developers, the measure should create more favorable conditions for attracting investments and accelerate the socio-economic development of such territories.

The document provides for amendments to the law “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”. As follows from the explanatory note, the bill was developed in pursuance of the minutes of the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev from April 29, 2026.

Earlier, the authorities proposed to expand the list of exceptions to the requirement to confirm knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and the basics of legislation. In May 2025, the government introduced a bill to exempt foreigners working under permits under the special quota of the Cabinet. In July of the same year, the document was adopted in the final third reading.

At the same time, the authorities tightened the testing procedure for the remaining applicants. From July 10, 2025, the Russian language exam increased the number of listening tasks and introduced mandatory passing points for this section. Similar requirements were established for listening and speaking when passing exams for temporary residence permit and residence permit. They also increased the exams bank.

In February 2026, the Ministry of Education and Science reported that in October-December 2025, more than 201.5 thousand people passed the exam for the level necessary to obtain a work permit or a patent. On the first attempt, 35.5% of the applicants did not pass the test. At the same time, 87.9% of the monitoring participants passed the exam.