St. Petersburg Bans Migrant Workers From Gym, Hair Salon and Retail Work

St. Petersburg authorities have banned foreign citizens with work patents from employment in retail, healthcare, beauty salons and fitness centers, local media reported Thursday.

Governor Alexander Beglov’s decree expands on existing restrictions, which last year banned migrant patent holders — a temporary low-skilled work visa — from driving taxis and delivering food. 

Employers have been given until Dec. 15 to bring their staffing into compliance.

The decision aims to combat “shadow employment” and reduce economic reliance on low-skilled foreign labor, according to local outlet Fontanka.

According to St. Petersburg authorities, it will also facilitate “a transparent, regulated labor market where jobs are generated for Russian citizens, including young people and students.”

The restrictions do not apply to highly qualified specialists, foreigners with work permits or citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.

Citizens of other visa-free countries eligible to obtain a work patent in Russia include Azerbaijan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 

Dozens of other Russian regions, as well as occupied Ukrainian territories, have introduced similar targeted bans on foreign labor.

The measures were accompanied by a broader federal push to restrict foreign labor following the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, after which Russian lawmakers passed dozens of migration restrictions primarily impacting Central Asian workers.

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