Proposed legislation to encourage influx of foreign IT specialists to Russia

The Russian telecom regulator is drafting amendments to Russia?s existing law in a bid to attract ?a few hundred thousand? IT-savvy migrants by 2020

In a bid to decisively address the current lack of skilled IT professionals in the country, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications is drafting amendments to Russia?s existing law on the legal status of foreign workers. Based on these amendments, Russia intends to attract ?a few hundred thousand? IT-savvy migrants by 2020. The Ministry hopes that legislators will give the green light to an eased mechanism for hiring foreign specialists that earn a yearly salary of 1 million rubles (about $30,000) or more, reported East-West Digital News, the first international resource on Russian digital industries. Under the existing legislation, enacted in 2010, foreign ?highly qualified specialists? enjoy a simplified procedure for obtaining a three-year work permit and visa if their yearly salary exceeds 2 million rubles...