INRTU International Students Learn About Benefits of Compatriot Resettlement Program in Irkutsk Region
INRTU hosted a meeting between international students and representatives of the Migration Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Irkutsk Region and the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Irkutsk Region. The meeting focused on the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation of Compatriots Living Abroad. Students were able to ask questions, while the speakers explained in detail how to obtain a temporary residence permit and subsequently apply for Russian citizenship, as well as the employment opportunities available in the region after graduation.
The State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation of Compatriots Living Abroad is designed to facilitate the relocation to Russia of foreign nationals with Russian roots and those who share the country’s culture, language and traditions.
The meeting was attended by students from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Anna Motkova, Deputy Head of the Citizenship Department at the Migration Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Irkutsk Region and Head of the Unit for Compatriots, Refugees and Forced Migrants, addressed the students. She outlined the key benefits of the program, including a simplified citizenship procedure and additional social support, such as federal funding to cover the cost of transporting personal belongings and luggage. Relatives living abroad may also be included in the participant certificate, allowing them to relocate to Russia together with the program participant.
Leonid Bykov, Head of the Employment Programs and Labor Resources Directorate, focused on support available to participants renting accommodation. The program reimburses 80% of rental costs, up to 250 rubles per day. For example, someone paying 13,000 rubles a month in rent can receive a reimbursement of 10,000 rubles. Relatives living abroad may also join the program and qualify for compensation covering medical care, housing and recognition of their educational credentials. Those applying from abroad may also receive a federal relocation allowance. Additional customs benefits are available when moving personal belongings to Russia.
The speakers emphasized that this is a government program and that participant status is granted for five years. It also simplifies employment: participants may work without obtaining a work patent, sign an employment contract and pay taxes under the standard rules. The status does not require participants to apply for citizenship immediately, and they have five years to make that decision. Only a basic set of documents is required to apply: a passport with a notarized translation, a birth certificate, which does not need to be translated if it is already in Russian, and education credentials.
Anna Motkova said that more than 15,000 people have already moved to the Irkutsk Region under the State Program. She cited examples of participants arriving from Chisinau, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia and the United Kingdom. She added that despite changes in administrative legislation, the resettlement program remains one of the most stable routes to obtaining Russian citizenship.
At the end of the meeting, students received sample application forms for the program. Among those interested was Varvara Oknyanskaya, a first-year student from Kazakhstan who enrolled in the Metallurgy program at the School of High Technologies. She said she had not known about the program before the meeting:
“I’m going to talk to my parents about moving here as well. It means a lot to me that my family could live close by. Another important advantage is that program participant status makes it possible to obtain a residence permit and Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure”.
