The Migration Code of the Russian Federation

20 May 2013

The creation of the Migration Code of the Russian Federation was discussedat a meeting of the "round table", which took place on May 20 at the State Duma. It was dedicated to the "law enforcement practice of migration laws in the Russian Federation". At the moment, there are hundreds of normative acts which regulate issues relating to the sphere ofmigration. The Code would integrate and structure accumulated legal framework and, as a consequence, increase the efficiency of migration legislation.

The necessity of drafting such Code has been clear for a long time already. Current regulations have changed a dozen times in a short period of time, but it, unfortunately, did not make them fundamentally better. Of course, at certain times these changes have been relevant, but in the end, the laws have become more complex and more and more collisions and gaps appear in them.

It is very difficult to say when the Migration Code will appear. In our opinion, in the most optimistic forecast the first version of the document (draft) cannot be drawn up earlier than 2015-2016. More precise terms are unlikely to be defined. In the competence of the migration service is a wide range of issues that require careful consideration. In order to unite the legal framework on refugees and displaced persons, internal and external labor migration, visa issues, issuance of residence permits and granting citizenship of the Russian Federation, control of stay and residence, registration, issuance of passports, etc., it is necessary to complete a lot of work and this work will be very difficult.