For employers
We break down how direct employment differs from outstaffing, what a worker really costs once documents and travel are counted, and what an undocumented crew exposes you to. Then we fill your requirement end to end.
The fork in the road
| Arrangement | Who is the employer | Consumes your share | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct employment contract | You | Yes | Share not used up, people needed long term |
| Outstaffing (provision of workers) | Provider | No | Share used up, seasonal work, project in another region |
| Outsourcing a function | Contractor | No | A measurable scope of work can be separated out |
| An informal crew with no documents | — | — | up to 1m roubles per person |
About that last row. Article 18.15 of the Administrative Code charges the fine not per violation but per foreign worker engaged without a work permit or patent: for companies 250,000 to 800,000 roubles, or suspension of operations for 14–90 days, and in Moscow, St Petersburg, Moscow Oblast and Leningrad Oblast 400,000 to 1,000,000. A crew of ten without documents on a site near Moscow is up to 10 million roubles at once.
The real maths
The net wage is less than half the true cost. Below are the lines clients most often leave out of the budget.
| Cost line | Visa-free countries | Visa countries |
|---|---|---|
| Permit to engage foreign labour | not required | state fee plus document preparation |
| Invitation letter | not required | state fee, 20 working days |
| Work patent or work permit | patent, monthly advance tax payment | work permit |
| Medical clearance | required | required |
| Flights | often worker-paid or split | usually employer, including return |
| Accommodation and meals | by agreement | usually employer |
| Migration registration and notifications | mandatory, fines for delay | mandatory, fines for delay |
| Time to arrival on site | 3–5 weeks | 5–8 weeks |
A real example from our own project: a sewing machinist from India, net pay 70,000 roubles a month, two-year contract, 12-hour shifts, 26 days a month. The employer provided the work permit and invitation letter, return flights, reimbursement of visa costs, airport pickup, three meals a day and accommodation. Overtime and insurance followed the Russian Labour Code.
Outstaffing of migrant workers
Outstaffing of migrant workers means the same people on the same site, but employed by the provider. The client signs no employment contracts, calculates no payroll taxes, files no notifications with the migration authorities and consumes none of the permitted share.
The arrangement is in demand for exactly two reasons:
Legally the service is executed as a provision-of-workers contract under Chapter 53.1 of the Labour Code, and only a private employment agency accredited by Rostrud may enter into one.
Send the trades, headcount and region — we will come back with a budget and timeline.
FAQ
For visa-free countries the main costs are the patent with its monthly advance tax instalment, medical clearance and the recruitment fee; flights are often paid by the worker. For visa countries add the permit to engage foreign labour, the invitation letter, consular fees, the work permit, return flights and usually accommodation and meals. A quote for specific roles takes one business day.
For citizens of visa-free countries, no. For citizens of visa countries (India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bhutan), yes: a quota and a permit to engage foreign labour are both required. We check this on the first call, before sourcing starts.
Under Article 18.15 of the Administrative Code the fine is charged per worker: for companies 250,000 to 800,000 roubles or suspension of operations for 14–90 days, and in Moscow, St Petersburg, Moscow Oblast and Leningrad Oblast 400,000 to 1,000,000. Failure to notify the migration authorities of a hire or a termination is penalised separately.
Onto your own payroll, no. The lawful route is outstaffing: the workers are employed by an accredited agency and do not enter your average headcount. Details on the outstaffing page.
The procedure depends on one thing: whether the person comes from a visa or a visa-free country. These are different processes, different timelines and different money, and confusing them is expensive.
Here the employer needs neither a quota nor a permit to engage foreign labour. A citizen of Kyrgyzstan, as an EAEU state, works without a patent at all — an employment contract is enough. Citizens of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan need a work patent, which they obtain themselves within 30 days of entry and maintain by paying a monthly advance income-tax instalment. The employer’s duties: check the patent is valid and that the trade and region on it match the job, sign the contract, and notify the territorial migration authority within three working days. Average time from request to arrival on site: 3–5 weeks.
The procedure is longer and starts well before the hire. The employer needs a quota for foreign workers, a permit to engage foreign labour, an invitation letter for each candidate and a work permit. Quota applications are filed in advance for the following year, which is why companies planning visa hiring for 2027 are collecting documents now. Average time from request to arrival: 5–8 weeks if the quota exists; if it does not, the timeline is set by obtaining it.
Why go to visa countries at all if visa-free is faster? Qualifications. A welder with a genuine skill grade, a CNC operator, a machinist with factory experience — that pool has thinned out in the CIS, while in India and Vietnam it exists and can be verified on work video before anyone buys a ticket.
We do not obtain patents for people you hired yourself, we do not provide migration registration as a standalone service, and we do not advise on legalisation separately from recruitment. Our service is to find, verify, bring in and support a worker. If the request sounds like "register twenty people who already work for us", it is not for us — and it is better to know that now than after a contract is signed.
Send us your positions and timeline — we will come back with pricing, start dates and the legal setup. First shortlist within 48–72 hours.
We'll send pricing, lead times and the paperwork involved for your positions. No commitment.