Expatriates in Russia are upset over a new law that mandates all foreign nationals in the country to undergo medical tests every three months.
The law will come into effect from December 29.
The Moscow Times reported “All expats and their family members, including children aged 6 and over, will have to undergo medical examinations and submit their fingerprints and other biometric data.”
The publication noted the foreign nationals would be tested for conditions such as HIV/AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis, psychotropic drugs and COVID. Bloomberg reported, “The new regulations apply both to highly qualified specialists and Russia’s large population of migrant laborers, many from former Soviet republics in Central Asia, who make up the bulk of the country’s 11.6 million foreigners.”
“If someone tests positive for any of the specified diseases, they will not be granted a visa, and any existing visa will be revoked. They will be designated 'undesirable' and ordered to leave the country,” Deutsche Welle reported on Sunday.
Last week, representatives of various foreign trade associations in the country denounced the new law and asked the government to drop it.
“It has been a long time since a single piece of legislation has caused such a huge wave of incomprehension, disappointment, and indignation among thousands of foreign managers. There is a danger that Russia will lose its attractiveness as a place to work for many foreign managers,” Matthias Schepp, chairman of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
The law was passed by Russia's parliament in June. At the time, the government justified the law as necessary for national security purposes and improving health safety.
Deutsche Welle reported “a letter accompanying the draft law states that the 2.5 million citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Uzbekistan in Russia constitute the majority of foreigners in the country and that they are only randomly subjected to medical tests. This, the letter pointed out, means there is a risk of the 'infiltration and spread of dangerous infectious diseases in Russia'.”
However, the new law explicitly exempts nationals of Belarus from testing. Given close ties between Russia and Belarus, nationals of the latter do not need visas to enter Russia and are subject to more liberal employment rules.
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Amid the criticism and concerns from the West, the Russian government appears to be standing firm on the law. “The president [Vladimir Putin], you know, is in favor of creating the most comfortable conditions for foreign businesses here—for investors and foreign specialists. However, there are certain rules. But if problems arise, we will react,” Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by The Moscow Times.
In recent years, Russia has been facing a chronic shortage of skilled workers. The Putin regime had introduced a streamlined visa programme for qualified specialists, amnesties for undocumented residents and faster processing for citizenship with the aim of attracting migrants.