Peskov: The Kremlin is sympathetic to the tightening of migration rules in Kazakhstan

Moscow is sympathetic to Astana’s decision to tighten the rules for the entry and stay of foreigners, while it is important that the rights of Russians are not violated, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing.

The Kremlin spokesman stressed that in Russia’s partner countries in the EAEU, there is a mechanism for obtaining a residence permit, so the opportunity for Russians to move freely and choose a country for living and working remains.

“It is clear that countries want to keep records of these citizens, they want to understand exactly how many citizens they have. To do this, you just need to apply for a residence permit. But of course, our respective authorities are in contact. It is very important that all the legal rights of our citizens are respected, and in our contacts with our partners, we will, of course, talk about this,” he said.

Today, January 27, in Kazakhstan entered new rules for the stay of immigrants in the country, which cancel the so-called. “Visaran”. Now foreigners who arrived in Kazakhstan in a manner that does not require a visa will be able to stay in the country for 30 days. The total duration of their stay must not exceed 90 days within a period of 180 calendar days. For citizens of the EAEU countries, the period of stay is 90 days, also during each period of 180 calendar days.

The new rules do not apply to immigrants who have received a temporary residence permit or entered the country on a visa.

Prior to the changes, there was no restriction of 180 days from the date of crossing the state border of the country for those who came to Kazakhstan without a visa. Thanks to this, migrants whose term of stay in the country was coming to an end could leave it and return back, “resetting the counter”.

Last fall, Kazakh Minister of Labor and Social Protection Tamara Duysenova reported that more than 400,000 Russians had entered the republic after Russia announced a partial mobilization. The last time Kazakhstan reported on the number of Russians who entered the country after September 21 was on October 4. Then the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, Marat Akhmetzhanov, named a figure of 200,000 people, and at that time, 147,000 Russians had already left.