The number of requests from Russian IT specialists for residence permits in Europe increased by 233%
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The demand of Russian IT specialists for programs for obtaining residence permits in European countries is growing faster and faster: in the first quarter alone, the increase in the number of requests, according to analysts, amounted to 233%. The most popular country was France. Experts talk about the demand for domestic IT personnel abroad, “despite the political situation.” According to HR specialists, highly qualified employees are leaving, among other things, to “not lose competencies in an isolated market.”
From the data of the consulting agency Garant In, which Kommersant reviewed, it follows that at the beginning of 2024, the demand of Russian IT specialists for programs for obtaining a residence permit (RP) in Europe sharply increased: in the first quarter, the number of requests increased by 233% a year by year (absolute figures are not disclosed).
In 2023, demand increased by 44%, Garant In clarified. About 80% of all requests were for obtaining a residence permit in France, another 10% in Italy.
“Currently, we receive about half of all requests for residence permits from IT specialists. France does not require residence in the country; accordingly, a person does not have to become a tax resident. In addition, France does not have an investment requirement to obtain a residence permit, only confirmation of income,” explains the popularity of the trend, Andrey Boyko, chief executive officer of Garant In. He notes that other countries have begun to curtail programs available to Russians, but “the demand for relocation remains.”
The Ministry of Digital Development did not answer Kommersant. Last year, the head of the ministry, Maksut Shadayev, with reference to large IT companies, stated that the reverse relocation program for IT workers is not needed, because specialists are actively returning to Russia on their own initiative. However, the ministry did not provide data on the number of returning personnel. In the nine months of 2023, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, at least 68 thousand Russians received citizenship or residence permits abroad, which is twice as many as a year earlier.
“Russian IT specialists are still desirable personnel for Western companies, despite the geopolitical situation,” says Fedor Chemashkin, technical director of Yakov and Partners Digital. He adds that many specialists worked for foreign companies or their subsidiaries in Russia, which gradually relocated employees.
At the same time, Mr. Chemashkin clarifies, now individuals, rather than companies, are more often asking for help with relocation. According to him, when moving, citizens need “ease of legalization and low taxes.”
Citizens are looking for relocation opportunities, despite the fact that state support for the IT sector makes working in Russia “more attractive and profitable”, and the situation with access to advanced technologies is “gradually changing,” notes Fedor Chemashkin.
Director of Strategic Projects at the Internet Research Institute Irina Levova admits that the level of state support for IT specialists in Russia is high, but “specialists are nervous about the lifting of the moratorium on inspections, turnover fines for companies and criminal liability of up to ten years for leaks of personal data with an unspecified composition offenses.”
Due to the fact that the Russian IT market is becoming isolated from the global one, many advanced specialists “want to leave in order to have the opportunity to work in the global and Western community, without losing their value and competencies,” believes the senior partner of the executive search company First (specializes in in HR consulting and is part of the Ward Howell group of companies) Alexander Ponomarev.
Russian IT companies, Mr. Ponomarev is sure, “have no desire or readiness to tear apart the team” by sending employees abroad: “On the contrary, there is a tendency to bring people back. The conversation about the possibility of working remotely from another country occurs only with the most valuable personnel.” However, the expert emphasizes, “it is very difficult to develop IT and be outside the global ecosystem while making a worthy product.”
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