MOSCOW announced today it is making it easier for foreign information technology (IT) specialists to receive Russian work permits after an exodus of employees from the sector stemming from the Ukraine conflict.

Tens of thousands of Russians have fled the country since the Kremlin deployed troops to Ukraine last February, with a wave of young men leaving after Moscow introduced mobilisation in September 2022.

“For foreign citizens who are specialists in the field of information technology, the process of being employed and obtaining a residence permit in the Russian Federation has been simplified,” an interior ministry spokesman said.

The announcement comes several months after a Russian official acknowledged that as many as 100,000 employees of Russia’s IT sector left the country last year.

The official, Russian Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, said about 80% of those who left are still working remotely for Russian companies.

The conflict in Ukraine spurred a wave of sanctions on the Russian economy, isolating its IT sector at the same time that Russian tech giants were wrested under government control.

According to the simplified procedures unveiled today by interior ministry representative Irina Volk, the applications for foreign workers in the IT sector will be considered within three months.

The length of the permit will be indefinite and will allow accredited IT sector workers to relocate immediate family members to Russia.

Many Russians who left following the sharp escalation in fighting in Ukraine last year have relocated to neighbouring ex-Soviet countries, such as Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan. – AFP, March 15, 2023.