The State Duma adopted a package of amendments to the law on the legal status of foreign citizens on 8 July, introducing enforceable income thresholds for labour migrants and terminating the automatic right of their children to remain in Russia upon reaching adulthood. Under the new rules, a migrant worker who fails to demonstrate earnings at or above the regional subsistence minimum—multiplied by a coefficient for each dependent—will see their patent or work permit revoked and must leave the country within 15 days, together with any minor children. The legislation also stipulates that children of patent-holding foreigners may stay only for the duration of the parent’s permit; once they turn 18, they are required to obtain their own work patent within 30 days or face deportation.

According to the text of the bills, tax authorities will automatically transmit income data on foreign workers to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at quarterly intervals. Migrants are obliged to pay a fixed advance on personal income tax for themselves and for each dependent, with the sum deducted from their total liability. Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin described the measures as a response to public concern, stating that the chamber has enacted 30 federal laws on migration since 2024, 21 of them initiated by deputies. He forecast that the new requirements would act as a deterrent to family-based migration and generate billions of roubles in additional revenue for regional budgets.

Viewed from within the Russian policy establishment, the tightening forms part of a broader regulatory offensive that accelerated after the mass shooting at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in March 2024. In late June, President Vladimir Putin signed a separate law raising state duties for migrants: the fee for citizenship applications rose from 4,200 to 50,000 roubles, for residence permits from 6,000 to 30,000 roubles, and for temporary residence permits from 1,920 to 15,000 roubles. The Interior Ministry reported that the total number of foreign nationals in Russia fell from 6.3 million to 5.7 million in early 2025, with the number of minors dropping by almost 25 per cent.

The bills now move to the Federation Council for approval before being sent to President Putin for signature. Once enacted, the income-monitoring mechanism and the new obligations for adult children will take effect, further narrowing the legal pathways for long-term family settlement by labour migrants. The legislation does not alter the existing patent system for high-skilled workers, but it significantly raises the administrative and financial barriers for low-skilled migrants and their dependants, a shift that, according to officials in Moscow, is intended to bring order to migration flows and prioritise the interests of Russian citizens.