Individual entrepreneur and foreign workers

The stay of citizens of another state on the territory of Russia must always be legal; accordingly, all manipulations with documents and registration of employment of such citizens must also be carried out strictly within the framework of the law.

Perhaps, as an entrepreneur, you may already have encountered difficulties in officially applying for a job as a foreigner. They could even call this process a headache, but looking for “simpler” ways in this regard, such as hiring illegal immigrants, is not a way out of the situation, since such steps can result in large fines for your company and damage for your business.

>>> Subscribe to our channel on

In this article we will look at issues related to the legal status of foreign workers and the rules for hiring them in 2018.

Hiring a foreigner with a temporary residence permit in accordance with Russian legislation: is it profitable or not?

The refusal of Russian employers to hire foreign citizens in principle or to formalize them at the enterprise is associated with ignorance of the Labor legislation of the Russian Federation and the lack of migration/HR specialists. However, hiring a foreigner with a temporary residence permit does not involve additional costs. Employment of a citizen of a foreign state in accordance with labor legislation is beneficial for all three parties:

1. For the state. The government of any country, including the Russian Federation, by providing foreign citizens with temporary residence permits, residence permits and the right to citizenship, expects to receive law-abiding workers who will work for the benefit of the local economy. In this regard, the requirement of official registration at the workplace is mandatory for all foreigners who wish to work temporarily or permanently in Russia.
2. For the employer. Employers who complied with the law when hiring a foreigner have the opportunity to protect their interests:

• It becomes possible to assign full/partial financial responsibility to an employee in cases where he has access to valuables.
• If an employee fails to cope with the duties assigned to him and damages the reputation or financial well-being of the employer, he can be held liable, since the employer will have all the necessary documents confirming the fact of performing specific work and providing services.
• There will be no complaints from the regulatory authorities. An employee who is officially registered at work will not complain about a violation of his rights to the labor inspectorate, the prosecutor's office or the court.

1. For a foreign worker. An employee with whom an employment contract has been concluded can be sure that:

• he will be paid his due salary, compensated for time spent on sick leave and on vacation, guaranteed insurance payments in the event of injury and mutilation, given severance pay in the event of staff reduction or liquidation of the company, paid for overtime work, and ensured receipt of an insurance pension in the future;
• The country's authorities will not restrict his right to reside in Russia on the basis of a temporary residence permit and allows him to apply for a residence permit and citizenship in the future.

Important! Contrary to popular belief, employers do not pay increased taxes and insurance premiums for officially employed foreign workers. The rates are the same as for Russian employees: personal income tax - 13%, contributions to the Pension Fund - 22%, contributions to the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund - 5.1%, social insurance contributions - 2.9%.

Checking and processing missing employee migration documents

Next, the individual entrepreneur needs to conduct a migration audit and check all the documents of the foreign citizen.
The migrant must have a full set of valid documents. Please pay attention to the validity periods of all permits; they must be valid for the entire period of work of foreign citizens for individual entrepreneurs.

A package of documents for registration of foreign visa-free foreign citizens as individual entrepreneurs

1. Patent + all patent payment receipts
2. Passport
3. Registration
4. Migration card
5. VHI insurance policy
6. SNILS and INN

A package of documents for registration of foreign visa-free foreign citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Kazakhstan as individual entrepreneurs

1. international passport
2. Migration card
3. Registration
4. VHI insurance policy
5. SNILS and INN

Why is it easier to employ a foreigner with a temporary residence permit than a foreigner without a temporary residence permit?

A TRP (temporary residence permit) is a document issued to a foreign citizen for 3 years and allowing him to live and work on the territory of the Russian Federation for a specified period. After 3 years, a person has the right to apply for a residence permit (residence permit) and Russian citizenship.

Important! Foreign citizens temporarily residing in Russia (with a temporary residence permit) are required to confirm the presence of a source of income and the sufficiency of the amount of earnings for a comfortable stay in the Russian Federation. Official employment is a mandatory condition for living in the country on the basis of a registered temporary residence permit, since the state does not benefit from dependency on the part of citizens and visitors.

Foreign citizens who arrived in Russia under a visa (for example, from Turkey) or visa-free regime (for example, from Uzbekistan) are required to obtain a work permit and a patent, respectively. The exceptions are:

• foreigners who are representatives of special categories of persons in respect of whom special regulation of the employment procedure is applied (foreign students, highly qualified specialists, invited doctors and teachers, repairmen and installers from manufacturers of foreign equipment, compatriot migrants, native Russian speakers);
• citizens of the EAEU;
• holders of a residence permit or temporary residence permit.

In other words, having a temporary residence permit relieves a foreign citizen from the need to obtain a patent or work permit , and the employer from familiarizing himself with these documents and tracking their validity period.

At the same time, the law allows both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to hire a foreigner. An employment contract and a civil law contract may be concluded between an employer and a foreign worker.

How can an individual entrepreneur protect himself from fines for migrants and get rid of all the employer’s risks?

Having read about all the risks and fines that can overtake an individual entrepreneur with the slightest accidental mistake when registering and managing a migrant, the question immediately arises: “How to legally register a migrant, but at the same time minimize the risks?”
The answer is very simple: “No way!” By registering migrants with him, the individual entrepreneur also assumes all the employer’s responsibility to government agencies. This means that with any defect or the slightest mistake, a foreign worker becomes an illegal immigrant, and the individual entrepreneur will face a huge fine.

Who does not have the right to hire a foreign worker, quotas for hiring foreigners

The law establishes a number of restrictions regarding the employment of foreign citizens staying in Russia on the basis of a temporary residence permit. Thus, a foreigner is prohibited from working:

• in local government bodies of municipalities;
• from employers engaged in retail trade outside markets, shops and stalls;
• at facilities related to the protection of state secrets, in state security structures;
• from entrepreneurs who earn money from retail trade carried out in non-stationary retail facilities and markets;
• in organizations related to radiation hazardous substances and nuclear weapons;
• at enterprises specializing in the retail sale of medicines in pharmacies;
• on military ships, in civil aviation, on spaceships as a commander.

In addition, Russia establishes the permissible share of foreign workers used by business entities that are employed in certain sectors of the Russian economy. Thus, according to the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 30, 2021 No. 1271, in 2019-2021 the following quotas for the employment of foreign employees are in effect:

Hiring a foreigner with a temporary residence permit in 2021: is it necessary to notify the FMS

By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 5, 2021 No. 156, the Federal Migration Service (FMS) was abolished. The powers of the department have been transferred to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In particular, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation is responsible for accepting written notifications about the employment of foreign citizens from Russian employers.

Important! Notifying the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation about employment is not the responsibility of a foreign citizen. The employer is obliged to notify the department, and within the prescribed time frame. Otherwise, the LLC or individual entrepreneur will be held administratively liable. If the employee himself agrees to keep the fact of his hiring secret, he will also be fined in the amount of about 7 thousand rubles.

“The Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on the forms and procedure for notifying the Ministry of Internal Affairs or its territorial body about foreign citizens carrying out labor activities on the territory of the Russian Federation has entered into force.

The notification is submitted on paper within 3 working days from the date of conclusion or termination of the employment relationship, employment contract or civil contract.

Employers who have entered into labor relations with foreigners may be legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, private notaries, lawyers or other persons whose professional activities are subject to registration and licensing, as well as individuals - citizens of Russia.

Administrative liability is provided for violation of the deadline or procedure for notification - the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens from 2 to 5 thousand rubles, on officials - from 35 to 50 thousand rubles, on legal entities - from 400 to 800 thousand rubles. An administrative suspension of activities may also be carried out for a period of 14 to 90 days. In this case, the administrative responsibility of the employer arises in relation to each foreign citizen involved in work activities separately.”

Olga Kireeva, senior legal consultant of the legal direction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia “Leninsk-Kuznetsky” for “Leninsk-TV”

Important! There is no need to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation about the hiring of a foreign citizen who has a passport of Kazakhstan, Armenia or Belarus, because they do not require permits for employment in accordance with Art. 97 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Union of May 29, 2014.

Analytics Publications

In accordance with Russian legislation, a foreign citizen is an individual who is not a citizen of the Russian Federation and has evidence of citizenship of another state. Article 13 of the Federal Law “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation” stipulates that the employer of a foreign citizen can be either an individual or a legal entity - there are no restrictions.

The algorithm for employing a foreigner depends on his legal status:

• temporarily staying;
• temporary resident;
• a person permanently residing on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The procedure for employing foreign citizens in 2017

In the most general form, the sequence of actions of the employer when hiring non-Russians can be divided into two stages (see also “Probationary period for hiring”).

1. Obtaining permission by the employer to attract foreign workers for work activities

Important: Work permits are needed only for the employment of foreign citizens who arrived in Russia on a visa basis and do not apply to persons permanently or temporarily residing in the territory of the Russian Federation.

The employer has the right to hire foreign workers with a special permit, which is issued for a period of one year. The registration, issuance, suspension (cancellation) of such applications is carried out by the federal executive body in the field of migration. Let us note that the Federal Migration Service of Russia, which was the federal executive body in the field of migration, was abolished by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 5, 2016 No. 156. At the moment, its powers have been transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

The Federal Law “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation” also provides for specifics related to the employment of certain categories of foreign citizens, for example, highly qualified specialists or foreign citizens studying full-time in Russia. Interestingly, the law directly states that highly qualified foreign specialists cannot be recruited to engage in preaching or other religious activities.

Important: An employer cannot involve a foreign citizen in work activities outside the boundaries of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation on the territory of which this person was issued a work permit or patent, as well as in a specialty that is not indicated in the work permit (with some exceptions).

2.
Conclusion of an employment contract
Important: The Code of Administrative Offenses provides for liability for the employment of foreigners with violations (see Chapter 18 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). From the legal position formed in paragraph 20 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated February 17, 2011 No. 11 “On some issues of application of the Special Part of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences”, it follows that it is unlawful to engage a stateless person without the appropriate permissions. In their decisions on imposing administrative liability, courts often indicate that the employer must take all measures within its power to prevent violations of the prohibitions on admission to work established by law.

Article 327.2 of the Labor Code provides for the specifics of concluding an employment contract with a foreign worker. In particular, it must contain information about a work permit, patent, temporary residence permit in the Russian Federation or residence permit (the type of document depends on the status of the foreign citizen). Let us note that workers of the member states of the EAEU (the Eurasian Economic Union, which, in addition to Russia, includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan) do not need to obtain work permits within the Union.

In addition, the contract must indicate the details of the VHI policy, or an agreement on the provision of medical services to such an employee - on a paid basis.

All foreign workers must have a medical insurance policy

If a company works with citizens from Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, they must be required to provide medical insurance. Otherwise you will have to pay a fine. The insurance must be valid for the entire duration of the employment contract. This conclusion was made by the Russian Ministry of Labor in letter No. 16–4/B-465 dated September 26, 2016 (response to a private request). When employed, foreigners, including those from the countries of the Eurasian Union, are required to present a health insurance policy. Or the company itself can conclude an agreement for medical services (Article 327.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). An exception is made only for citizens of Belarus, who have the same rights to medical care as Russians (Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus dated 12/08/99). The Ministry of Labor believes that such applicants may not provide insurance (letter dated December 17, 2015 No. 16–4/B-823).

Typically, insurance companies issue policies for a year, and for highly qualified specialists - for three years. If you hire an employee without a policy or do not conclude an agreement for medical services, the company faces a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles (Part 1 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

The Labor Code also provides for the specifics of removal from work, the specifics of termination of an employment contract, as well as the specifics of paying severance pay to an employee who is a foreign citizen (see also how to pay compensation upon dismissal by agreement of the parties).
Sample employment contract with a foreign citizen 2017

Insurance premiums for foreigners

The company pays contributions to the Pension Fund in the amount of 22 percent and to the Social Insurance Fund in the amount of 1.8 percent for foreigners who work under an employment contract. For highly qualified specialists, it is necessary to accrue only contributions for injuries at the rate applicable in the company. This is confirmed by the Ministry of Labor in letter dated March 12, 2015 No. 17–3/B-114.

The exception is highly qualified specialists. The income of such employees is exempt from contributions to the Pension Fund, Social Insurance Fund and Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (Clause 1, Article 7 of the Federal Law of December 15, 2001 No. 167-FZ, Part 1 of Article 2 of the Federal Law of December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ, Article 10 Federal Law of November 29, 10 No. 326-FZ). But Federal Law No. 125-FZ dated July 24, 1998 does not provide for exceptions for such employees. Therefore, payments to a highly qualified specialist will require contributions for injuries at the rate applicable in the company. The Ministry of Labor agrees with this (see letter dated March 12, 2015 No. 17–3/B-114).

In conclusion, we note that it is important for employers to pay attention to the provisions of the law obliging them to notify the federal executive body in the field of migration about the conclusion and termination (termination) of an employment contract with a foreign citizen within three days from the date of conclusion or termination (termination) of such an agreement. Bringing to administrative responsibility for ignoring this norm is a fairly common occurrence.

Hiring a foreigner with temporary residence permit in 2021: list of documents

Important! Since 2014, the law obliges employers to check the availability of a compulsory health insurance policy (CHI) for all foreign applicants. The compulsory medical insurance policy is a mandatory document for employment.

A foreign citizen with a temporary residence permit who is undergoing an interview for employment with a Russian employer is required to provide the following documents to conclude an employment contract:

1. Statement of desire to find a job at the company.
2. A foreign passport or other identification document accepted in the country of permanent residence (ID, for example).
3. Migration card (citizens of Belarus are not required).
4. Temporary residence permit (TRP in the form of a separate document is issued only to stateless persons; other foreign citizens must demonstrate a stamp in their passport).
5. Health insurance policy (compulsory medical insurance, voluntary medical insurance).
6. Documents on education (if employment is carried out for a position requiring certain qualifications).
7. Russian-style work book.
8. Certificate of passing a medical commission (will be passed at the time of registration of the temporary residence permit).

Important! If a foreign worker applies for a position in an educational institution or other organization engaged in training, raising children, organizing their leisure time, or supervising minors, he will additionally need to provide the potential employer with a medical record and a certificate of no criminal record. This also applies to foreigners wishing to find employment in medical institutions of the Russian Federation.

An employment contract with a foreign citizen who is in Russia on the basis of his temporary residence permit is practically no different from a contract concluded with a Russian. The only thing is that the employment agreement with a foreigner must contain information about the temporary residence permit and the compulsory medical insurance (VHI) policy .

Dismissal of a foreign employee from an individual entrepreneur and notification of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

If an individual entrepreneur needs to fire a foreign employee, it is necessary to create a dismissal order, make an entry in the work book, and issue the employee with all the necessary certificates and documents.
Next, you need to notify the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs about the termination of the employment contract of the individual entrepreneur with a foreign citizen. This must be done within three days from the date of the migrant’s official dismissal.

At first glance, it may seem that following these instructions there is nothing difficult in registering a foreigner as an individual entrepreneur, but it is important to understand that submitting a notification, dealing with the issue of accreditation and registration of an employee is already an additional expense of money and time for an individual entrepreneur.

At the same time, we should not forget about the entire responsibility of the employer for the foreign citizen and all the risks associated with this, because in the event of the slightest violation of the procedure for registering foreigners with individual entrepreneurs, the deadlines for submitting notifications or migration legislation, the migrant becomes an illegal immigrant, which means that the individual entrepreneur faces a fine for the foreign worker .

Hiring a foreigner with a temporary residence permit in 2021: fines for violations

For violation of current legislation related to the employment of a foreign citizen, a fine will be imposed on the employer (see):

Can an individual entrepreneur hire foreigners? Work of foreign citizens for individual entrepreneurs

Hiring foreign citizens for an individual entrepreneur is a completely legal procedure if you do everything according to the rules and comply with the migration legislation of the Russian Federation, since an individual entrepreneur has the right to employ citizens from other countries who arrived in the territory of the Russian Federation in a manner that does not require a visa.
Since individual entrepreneurs in our country mainly specialize in such industries as retail trade, personal services, small production, cleaning services, individual construction and repairs, they usually require low-skilled personnel and laborers, who are mostly migrants from countries CIS, that is, visa-free foreign citizens who can work for individual entrepreneurs.

However, the employer needs to know how to properly hire a foreign citizen for an individual entrepreneur in order to comply with the law and all the rules of migration and tax accounting. Otherwise, expect a fine for the individual entrepreneur for being an illegal foreign worker.

The following article provides step-by-step instructions on how to employ foreign citizens as individual entrepreneurs.

How an individual entrepreneur can hire a foreign citizen: a step-by-step procedure for employing migrants as an individual entrepreneur

Hiring a foreigner in 2021: employment “for staff”

The employer can shift the responsibility for the proper registration of foreign employees to the outstaffing company . The essence of the deal is that foreigners will be employed by an outstaffing company, and will work for a partner of such an organization.

At the same time, the employer himself will not be involved in preparing documents and notifying the authorities. The outstaffing company will be responsible to:

• labor inspectorate,
• migration service,
• tax authorities.

Responsibility of an individual entrepreneur for a foreign employee

An individual entrepreneur bears a huge responsibility for a foreign worker.
In addition to basic personnel management, it is necessary to carefully monitor the migration document flow, for example, check patent payment receipts every month and use them to renew registration. Moreover, if a migrant is late in payment by at least one day, the patent will automatically be revoked, which means the migrant will become an illegal immigrant and will no longer be able to work for the individual entrepreneur.

If the individual entrepreneur did not register the foreign citizen on time and the employee was stopped by a police squad to check documents, then you will have to go with all the documents to the police station and be responsible for your employee even at night.

As for “first-time warnings” from the police and inspection services, this does not apply to migration law. For any misconduct, the individual entrepreneur will have to pay a fine for the foreign worker in order to avoid more global problems.

Common mistakes on the topic “Hiring a foreigner in 2021”

Error: A foreign citizen with a temporary residence permit refuses to conclude an open-ended employment contract with employers and wants to sign a fixed-term agreement for the remaining period of validity of the temporary temporary residence permit.

In fact, the presence of a temporary residence permit assumes that upon expiration of its validity, a citizen of a foreign state will submit documents to obtain a residence permit (residence permit) or Russian citizenship. It doesn’t matter that the employment was registered at the time of having a temporary residence permit - you can continue to work at the enterprise after registration of the temporary residence permit. Moreover, a foreigner will not be able to obtain a residence permit without an official permanent place of employment, so if you want to stay in Russia, you must take care of concluding an indefinite employment agreement with a Russian employer.

Error: A foreign citizen who has issued a temporary residence permit in the Volgograd region is trying to find a job in Moscow.

A foreigner has the right to get a job in an organization located on the territory of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation in which a temporary residence permit was issued to him. This is due to the fact that temporary residence permits are easier to obtain in areas where there is a particular labor shortage. However, this does not mean that you cannot find a job in another region - but in this case, you must apply to the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at your place of residence. Within 2 months, the issue of transferring the temporary residence permit to another region will be considered. It is worth keeping in mind that a positive decision is made only if there are compelling reasons (presence of relatives in another constituent entity of the Russian Federation, purchase of housing, etc.).

Answers to frequently asked questions on the topic “Hiring a foreigner with a temporary residence permit in 2021”

Question: Will a citizen of Uzbekistan who came to Russia as a tourist be able to officially find employment with a Russian employer?

Answer: No. Citizens of Uzbekistan need to obtain a patent in order to get a job in Russia.

Question: Is a foreigner with a temporary residence permit required to confirm his location and register with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation if he is employed at an enterprise under an employment contract? After all, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation received a notification of employment, and it is assumed that the foreign citizen will remain living near the place of employment until the end of the employment contract?

Answer: The fact of employment does not in any way affect the obligation to confirm the temporary residence permit and location - a foreign employee still needs to report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation within the prescribed time frame.