[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"In St. Petersburg, migrants will be banned from working as taxis and deliveries. Economists: this will raise prices and affect the economy", 31 May 2025

The authorities of St. Petersburg want to ban migrants from working as couriers and taxi drivers. This is reported by the publication Fontanka with reference to a draft government resolution. The ban may be introduced in July and will last until the end of 2025, with a possible extension. It concerns foreign citizens who work under a work permit. This will not affect citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan - they do not need a permit.

But they may be affected by new rules that are going to be introduced for delivery services in St. Petersburg: couriers must have a tracking device that transmits their geolocation to their employer, a number on their clothes, bag and transport (including on a bicycle or scooter), and companies must also keep records of all deliveries. In addition, in St. Petersburg, couriers will be prohibited from using any transport in some areas of the city.

According to economist Nikolai Kulbaki, the first and most obvious consequence of such measures will be an increase in the cost of taxi and courier services...

“But in reality, unfortunately, this has nothing to do with the economy at all, because it is being done for political reasons,” notes Kulbaka...

Against the backdrop of tightening laws and growing intolerance of Russian authorities towards migrant workers, raids on foreigners continue – in dormitories, markets, and sports clubs. People caught in them say that they are being recruited to fight under the threat of deportation and beatings. If a migrant has managed to obtain Russian citizenship, he can be sent to the army – and forced to participate in the war with Ukraine – by force: in May 2025, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, reported that 20 thousand migrants who had received Russian citizenship had been sent to war.

Economist Nikolai Kulbaka notes that with Russia's aging and shrinking population, its anti-migrant policy is causing it problems that will remain relevant for at least the next decade...