Immigration to Russia involves foreign citizens (or people without any citizenship) seeking permanent residence in the territory of the Russian Federation. Historically, Russian empire was one of the World's leading destination for immigrants starting with the reign of Peter I in ca. 1700, and especially after the ascension of Catherine II to the Russian throne in 1762, until the October Revolution in 1917. Some regions, such as Novorossiya, Slavo-Serbia, Volga Germans' territory and Bessarabia were specifically designated for resettlement of immigrants.
Immigration to Russia was relatively low during the Soviet period (1922–1991) and during early post-Soviet years (1992- 2005). In fact, Russia experienced a considerable population decline during the latter period due to a decreased birthrate, lowered life expectancy and growing emigration. To combat these demographic problems, the Russian government adopted in 2006 "Program for the return of compatriots to Russia", which was made into a permament law in 2012.[1] According to the law, "compatriots" are individuals, who are direct descendants (in either mother's or father's line) of people, who lived in the past 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 in Russian was waived.[3]
Due to these policy changes Russia has experienced an overall population increase starting in 2012.[4] [5] According to Rosstat[6] and United Nations,[7] the number of legal immigrants in Russia during the 2000-2015 period fluctuated between 11 and 12 mln., or ca. 8% of Russia's population. In 2020 Russia held the 4th place among countries with the largest absolute numbers of immigrants in their population after the USA, Germany and Saudi Arabia.[8] At the same time, Russia also scored high (3rd place wordwide) among countries with a high number of emigrants, after India and Mexico.[9]
The majority of recent immigrants to Russia come from the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.[10] Although the Russian government actively encourages emigration of ethnic Russians, most immigrants from the former Soviet republics in recent years were not ethnic Russians.[11]
Another notable statistics is an increased number of immigrants from Ukraine since 2014:[12] by 2018 this number exceeded 1 mln. people.[13] In April 2023, i.e. one year after Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia hosted 5.5 mln. refugees from Ukraine, which is more than all European countries together.[14]
Both legal (according to the laws of the country) and illegal (in violation of Russian laws) immigration are widespread currently. Legal immigrants in Russia receive both grant money and repayable low-interest loans, that are issued by Rossotrudnichestvo.
The standard legal immigration status obtaining procedure consists of the following time-divided steps: obtaining a temporary residence permit; obtaining a permanent residence permit and obtaining Russian citizenship.[15] Under current law, one can receive citizenship of Russia after five years of residence and after passing an exam in Russian language, civics and history. Immigration to Russia is regulated by the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian Federation.[16]
Anyone who works in Russia for five years and develops fluency in the Russian 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 [17] This reflects a policy change, in response to declining birth rates, on the part of the government of Vladimir Putin from the more restrictive policy enacted after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.[18] The large non-Slavic immigrant populations arriving in response to Putin's liberal policy have sometimes encountered xenophobia. To counter this, pursuant to Russian hate-speech laws, the Russian state has shut down various anti-immigrant groups, such as the Movement 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.[19]
Native speakers of Russian-language, spouses of Russian citizens, highly qualified specialists (e.g. with PhD or MD 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.[20]
| Gross immigration ! | Net immigration | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Tajikistan | 171,234 | 81,684 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kyrgyzstan | 54,162 | 4,956 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ukraine | 50,929 | -29,618 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Armenia | 48,855 | 11,188 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kazakhstan | 48,465 | 11,435 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uzbekistan | 44,536 | 3,639 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Azerbaijan | 24,340 | 3,516 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moldova | 22,502 | 8,750 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkmenistan | 13,345 | 4,750 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belarus | 12,496 | -261 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| China | 11,483 | 3,971 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| India | 10,868 | 3,051 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia *Abkhazia (disp. status) *South Ossetia (disp. status) | – – | – – | 814 33 | 2,267 342 | 2,261 216 | 2,357 270 | 1,975 260 | 1,429 110 | 1,217 131 | 1,190 148 | 1,262 137 | 1,074 171 | - - | - - | 732 23 | 1,272 -282 | 1,240 83 | 1,975 180 | 1,975 96 | 147 -4 | 30 14 | 245 87 | 1,134 39 | 343 103 | |
| Vietnam | 8,785 | 3,452 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 213,610 | 107,432 | 158,078 | 245,384 | 261,948 | 211,878 | 124,854 | 285,103 | 106,510 | 429,902 | 61,917 | 109,952 | |
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 of CIS 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. Other CIS countries have steadily demonstrated a decrease in the number of migrants.[21]
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.[22] 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 the CIS in Russia:[21]
| Country of origin | Population (2022) | 2021–2022 change |
|---|---|---|
| 1,626,308 | +435,674 | |
| 1,262,695 | +453,529 | |
| 681,165 | +58,122 | |
 Ukraine | 597,051 | -57,869 |
| 428,239 | -134,722 | |
| 280,520 | -67,160 | |
| 228,142 | -35,349 | |
| 215,481 | -83,600 | |
| 76,645 | -56,230 | |
Foreign residents in Russia:[23] 2019
| Country of origin | Number of foreign citizens with residence permits | |
|---|---|---|
 | 97 | |
 | 132 | |
 | 96,501 | |
 | 35 | |
 | 334 | |
 | 13 | |
 | 104 | |
 | 90,659 | |
 | 6 | |
 | 4300 | |
 | 154 | |
 | 2 | |
 | 34,748 | |
 | 142 | |
 | 29 | |
 | 2 | |
 | 1439 | |
| 36 | ||
 | 529 | |
 | 174 | |
 | 2 | |
 | 10 | |
 | 490 | |
 | 151 | |
| 56 | ||
| 13,133 | ||
 | 2 | |
 | 5 | |
 | 2 | |
 | 3 | |
 | 57 | |
 | 7 | |
 | 46 | |
 | 12 | |
 | 2632 | |
 | 1 | |
 | 1336 | |
 | 21,142 | |
 | 70 | |
 | 2 | |
 | 35 | |
 | 1262 | |
 | 14 | |
 | 3 | |
 | 1807 | |
 | 1074 | |
 | 49 | |
 | 434 | |
 | 581 | |
| 359 | ||
 | 53 | |
 | 11 | |
 | 346 | |
 | 1117 | |
 | 328 | |
 | 521 | |
 | 86,358 | |
 | 2 | |
 | 136 | |
 | 155 | |
 | 17 | |
 | 51 | |
 | 24,625 | |
 | 8576 | |
 | 80 | |
 | 2 | |
| 69 | ||
| 33 | ||
| 143 | ||
| 597 | ||
 | 6 | |
| 54 | ||
 | 327 | |
 | 9 | |
| 18 | ||
 | 3347 | |
 | 3 | |
 | 1 | |
 | 227 | |
 | 65 | |
 | 4025 | |
| 1 | ||
 | 12 | |
 | 17 | |
| 170 | ||
 | 1 | |
 | 8 | |
 | 9 | |
 | 1 | |
 | 10 | |
 | 281 | |
 | 66 | |
 | 9 | |
| 54,826 | ||
 | 478 | |
 | 6 | |
 | 1 | |
 | 79 | |
 | 11 | |
 | 287 | |
 | 209 | |
 | 13 | |
 | 22 | |
 | 60 | |
 | 7 | |
 | 5 | |
 | 324 | |
| 261 | ||
 | 13 | |
 | 6 | |
 | 80 | |
 | 950 | |
 | 45 | |
 | 5 | |
 | 121 | |
 | 12 | |
 | 3 | |
 | 17 | |
 | 1 | |
 | 2326 | |
 | 4 | |
| 3629 | ||
 | 181 | |
 | 413 | |
 | 1153 | |
 | 4 | |
 | 104 | |
 | 144,222 | |
 | 133 | |
| 20 | ||
| 12 | ||
 | 3 | |
 | 364 | |
 | 7150 | |
 | 4607 | |
 | 12 | |
 | 135,447 | |
| 270,400 | |
 | 5 | |
 | 93 | |
 | 205 | |
 | 689 | |
 | 152 | |
 | 1 | |
 | 9 | |
 | 240 | |
 | 176 | |
 | 32 | |
 | 101 | |
 | 152 | |
 | 69 | |
 | 56 | |
 | 1410 | |
 | 10 | |
 | 57 | |
 | 4 | |
 | 206 | |
| Stateless persons | 8157 | |
| Total | 1,046,056 |
2021
| Country of origin | Number of naturalised persons[24] | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | |
| 9 | |
| 1 | |
| 30,791 | |
| 13 | |
| 90 | |
| 9 | |
| 17 | |
| 46,931 | |
| 1,411 | |
| 51 | |
| 24,539 | |
| 17 | |
| 12 | |
| 309 | |
| 9 | ||
| 144 | |
| 45 | |
| 2 | |
| 99 | |
| 27 | |
| 19 | ||
| 1,947 | ||
| 2 | |
| 4 | |
| 4 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
 | 1 | |
| 19 | |
| 3 | |
| 9 | |
| 4 | |
| 4 | |
| 481 | |
| 9 | |
| 3 | |
| 183 | |
| 5,076 | |
| 16 | |
| 10 | |
| 414 | |
| 10 | |
| 5 | |
| 466 | |
| 159 | |
| 2 | |
| 127 | |
| 159 | |
| 137 | ||
| 48 | |
| 226 | |
| 111 | |
| 184 | ||
| 49,862 | |
| 55 | |
| 1 | |
| 69 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 19,241 | |
| 83 | |
| 31 | |
| 31 | ||
| 15 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 11 | |
| 11 | ||
| 26 | ||
| 98 | |
| 1 | ||
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 375 | |
| 107 | |
| 10 | |
| 380 | |
| 34 | ||
| 2 | |
| 9 | |
| 90 | |
| 8 | |
| 14 | |
| 6 | |
| 23,697 | ||
| 30 | |
| 6 | |
| 128 | |
| 2 | |
| 24 | |
| 6 | |
| 3 | |
| 7 | |
| 3 | |
| 324 | ||
| 68 | |
| 89 | ||
| 2 | |
| 25 | |
| 163 | |
| 2 | |
| 2 | |
| 1 | |
| 35 | |
| 2 | |
| 4 | |
| 8 | |
| 3 | |
| 566 | |
| 1 | |
| 1,270 | ||
| 10 | |
| 19 | |
| 388 | |
| 35 | |
| 103,681 | |
| 33 | |
| 1 | ||
| 1 | |
| 122 | |
| 3,628 | |
| 1,388 | |
| 3 | |
| 31,867 | |
| 375,989 | |
| 19 | |
| 24 | |
| 167 | |
| 54 | |
| 5 | |
| 56 | |
| 39 | |
| 10 | |
| 21 | |
| 32 | |
| 11 | |
| 19 | |
| 153 | |
| 5 | |
| 12 | |
| 3 | |
| Stateless persons | 6,118 | |
| Total | 735,385 |