In the past, the outrage of Germans and other foreigners living and working in Russia has rarely been so strong as last week, when changes to the law became known that oblige foreigners and their families to undergo numerous medical examinations every three months, DW press said. Secretary of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Russland) Thorsten Gutmann.
“For several months in a row, we have privately tried to prevent the introduction of these measures, with only a small partial success,” says an AHK spokesman. According to him, initially it was planned to carry out medical tests at each entry of a foreigner into the Russian Federation, now they will need to be done every three months.
On December 29, new rules will come into force for foreigners coming to Russia for work or for other purposes for a period of more than three months. Within a month after entering the country, foreigners and their family members over 7 years old are required to provide the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a certificate of drug testing and the absence of infectious diseases, including HIV, syphilis, leprosy, tuberculosis and coronavirus. In addition, they must submit fingerprints and a biometric photo.
German businessman on the new rules: “Pure mockery”
If these rules come into force, in the medium and long term, this could lead to a massive outflow from Russia of highly qualified foreign specialists and top managers and, at the same time, foreign direct investment in the Russian economy, according to the AHK.
The fact that such a development of events is indeed possible is evidenced by a letter received by DW from a German businessman who turned to AHK after trying to go through the prescribed procedure at the migration center in Sakharovo near Moscow. The German manager called the procedure itself “pure mockery”, for which he will have to spend at least four full days.
It took him one day to receive coupons for each of the four zones of the center, in which one needs to undergo a medical examination, to stand in lines to get into these zones, and also an hour to wait in line to register for a medical examination. At the same time, according to him, everything took place in “a relatively small room with a huge congestion” of labor migrants, of whom “almost none of them wore a protective mask properly and did not keep their distance.” A businessman will have to spend one more day playing the role of a courier of the migration service to pick up medical certificates from one window in Sakharovo and hand them over to another, since everything needs to be done personally.
One more day in January is scheduled for him to go through the personal data registration procedure – to hand over his fingerprints and take a biometric photo.
The businessman considers the prospect to undergo such a medical examination every three months as “absolutely unacceptable”, as well as the requirement to do fluorography on a quarterly basis. If these rules come into force, then he “will look for another job in Germany.”
Appeal to the authorities of the Russian Federation to reconsider the regulation on the medical examination of foreigners
At the initiative of AHK, the largest foreign economic association in Russia, which includes 1,050 German companies, ten foreign business associations representing the interests of American, British, French, Italian and Japanese companies sent a joint letter to the leadership of the Russian Federation.
Given “the important role that highly qualified foreign specialists play in the Russian economy and in attracting foreign investment to the country,” they called on the Russian authorities to reconsider their decision and amend the new rules. In particular, they proposed excluding covid from the list of reasons why a foreigner may be denied a work visa or an existing one canceled. In addition, business associations called for the return to the legislation of the still valid provision, according to which highly qualified specialists and their family members are not required to undergo a medical examination.
Another proposal is to keep the requirement to undergo a medical examination for foreigners coming to work in Russia. However, to do this only once and in licensed medical institutions, including private clinics. At the same time, foreigners could use the services of an interpreter without observing additional formalities, they should not undergo a double examination (when applying for a work visa in the Russian Federation, a foreigner must already present an HIV test), and also provide foreigners with the opportunity to submit all documents not personally, but their representatives on a guarantee.
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