Exceptions regarding the territorial scope of patents held by foreign citizens

From September 1, 2025, Federal Law No. 121-FZ of May 23, 2025, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation and on Conducting an Experiment on the Introduction of Additional Mechanisms for Registering Foreign Citizens” (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 121) amends Federal Law No. 115-FZ dated July 25, 2002, “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 115 [1]), introducing exceptions to the territory of validity of patents.

As a general rule, foreign citizens temporarily residing in the Russian Federation are not entitled to engage in labor activities outside the territory of the Russian Federation subject in which they were issued a temporary residence permit or patent, and employers/customers are not entitled to hire foreigners who do not have such documents in the relevant region [2].

From September 1, 2025, an exception to this rule will be introduced: special provisions will apply to the employment of foreign citizens who have arrived in the Russian Federation without a visa, on the basis of a patent in certain constituent entities of the Russian Federation [3].

Senior officials of Moscow and the Moscow Region, as well as St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, have the right to conclude an agreement between the relevant constituent entities of the Russian Federation on the employment of foreign citizens who have arrived in the Russian Federation in a manner that does not require a visa on the basis of a patent issued in the territory of one of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation specified in the relevant agreement, and on the involvement of such foreign citizens by employers and customers of works (services) in labor activities within the territories of the relevant constituent entities of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the agreement).

The law stipulates that if the relevant agreement is concluded, then:

1) Employers and customers of works (services) have the right to engage foreigners in labor activities under a patent issued (including prior to the conclusion of an agreement by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation) in one constituent entity of the Russian Federation—a party to the agreement—on the territory of another constituent entity of the Russian Federation—a party to the agreement—in accordance with the procedure and on the terms provided for in the agreement.

2) Foreign citizens who are employed under a work permit issued (including prior to the conclusion of the agreement between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation) in one constituent entity of the Russian Federation that is a party to the agreement have the right to be employed by an employer/customer operating in another constituent entity of the Russian Federation that is a party to the agreement, in accordance with the procedure and on the terms provided for in the agreement [4].

This means that if, for example, such an agreement is concluded between St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, it is sufficient to have a valid patent for one of these regions, and it will not be necessary to obtain an additional patent for the second region from the date of conclusion of such an agreement, but taking into account its content.

The agreement may include certain restrictions, in particular:

• information on professions (specialties, positions, types of work activities) for which employers/customers have the right to hire foreign nationals under a patent;
• restrictions on the duration of time during which an employer/customer may engage foreigners under a patent for work outside the territory of the Russian Federation subject in which the patent was issued;
• other conditions for interaction between the relevant entities of the Russian Federation [5].

Therefore, it is important not to ignore the text of the relevant agreement, but to strictly adhere to its terms in order to avoid liability for migration violations.

• IMPORTANT! Currently, there are no such agreements, so a separate patent must be obtained in each constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

The above exception is also limited by the possible existence of a ban on economic entities hiring foreigners working under patents for certain types of economic activity in the territory of the relevant constituent entity of the Russian Federation [6]. This rule is general and applies to everyone.

Mandatory conditions are also established under which the above agreement may be concluded by entities of the Russian Federation:

1) compliance with the established coefficients reflecting regional characteristics of labor markets in the given constituent entities of the Russian Federation in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 227.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation (advance payments for patents);

2) the presence (absence) of decisions by senior officials of these constituent entities of the Russian Federation regarding the indication in the patent issued in the territory of the relevant constituent entity of the Russian Federation of the profession (specialty, position, type of work activity) of a foreign citizen [7].

The specified conditions must be complied with throughout the term of the agreement [8].

Information about the conclusion of the agreement and its content shall be posted on the official websites of the highest official of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the highest executive body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation on the Internet no later than 15 calendar days before the date specified in the agreement as the date of its entry into force [9].

In the event of termination, including early termination, of the agreement, a foreign citizen’s patent issued during the term of the agreement shall remain valid in the territory of the Russian Federation entity in which it was issued for the term of such patent, but not more than 1 year from the date of its issuance [10].

• Notifications of the conclusion/termination of labor/civil law contracts with foreign citizens who fall under the above-described exception [11], shall be submitted by the employer/customer hiring such citizens to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in each constituent entity of the Russian Federation in whose territory the foreign citizen performs labor activities.

If a notification of the conclusion/termination of an employment/civil law contract in relation to this foreigner has already been submitted, but such a foreigner begins to work in the territory of another constituent entity of the Russian Federation, the employer/customer is obliged to submit a new notification to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation in whose territory the employment activity begins. The deadline for submitting such a notification is three working days from the date of commencement of employment in the new constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

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[1] The provisions of Federal Law No. 115 are set out in the new version of Federal Law No. 121.

[2] Clause 4.2, Article 13, Clause 16, Article 13.3 of Federal Law No. 115

[3] Article 2 of Federal Law No. 121; Article 13.3–1 of Federal Law No. 115

[4] Part 5 of Article 1 of Federal Law No. 121; Clause 2 of Article 13.3–1 of Federal Law No. 115

[5] Part 5 of Article 1 of Federal Law No. 121; Paragraph 1 of Clause 7 of Article 13.3–1 of Federal Law No. 115

[6] Part 5 of Article 1 of Federal Law No. 121; Clause 6 of Article 18.1, Clause 3 of Article 13.3–1 of Federal Law No. 115

[7] Paragraph 4, Clause 29 of Federal Law No. 115

[8] Part 5 of Article 1 of Federal Law No. 121; Clauses 4 and 5 of Article 13.3-1 of Federal Law No. 115

[9] Paragraph 3, clause 7, Article 13.3–1 of Federal Law No. 115

[10] Clause 11, Article 13.3.-1 of Federal Law No. 115

[11] Article 13.3–1 of Federal Law No. 115