Meeting of interdepartmental commission on implementing state programme to assist resettlement of compatriots

Deputies and assistants to the presidential plenipotentiary envoys to the federal districts, heads of federal executive bodies, First Deputy Governor of the Lipetsk Region Alexander Ryabchenko, and Deputy Chairman of the Tula Region Government Dmitry Markov attended the meeting.

The Commission Chairman emphasised that the state programme for the resettlement of compatriots was one of the key elements of Russia's migration policy. Since its launch, more than 1.23 million people moved to Russia under the programme and became an integral part of the country's sociocultural landscape. This figure is comparable to the population of such Russian regions as the Penza or Vladimir regions. Most arrivals came from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. As a rule, they are working-age individuals raising children and holding degrees of either higher or secondary professional education. They have successfully integrated into their host communities and are contributing to the country's development.

The majority of compatriots settled in the Central, Siberian, Ural, and Volga federal districts.

The Interior Minister stressed that, amid a challenging geopolitical environment and the Russophobic campaign being waged in the West, efforts are continuously being made to improve the state programme, with new procedures being introduced to facilitate compatriots' return home.

One such important innovation includes the institution of repatriation, which has proven its value over the past two years. While in the first year of its implementation, 2024, repatriates accounted for just over 20 percent of all applicants, in 2025, the figure reached 44 percent, and during the first four months of this year it exceeded 50 percent. In all, approximately 11,000 people have used this mechanism, more than 23.5 percent of whom were compatriots from unfriendly countries, including Germany, the Baltic states, Canada, the United States, and Israel, to name a few.

Russia's constituent entities now have the opportunity to provide this category of individuals with financial and social support measures under their regional resettlement programmes.

Work on modernising this mechanism is ongoing. In accordance with Presidential Executive Order No. 634 of September 8, 2025, compatriots who were born in or previously resided in the reunited territories have been made part of those eligible for repatriation.

The Minister highlighted new areas of work identified in the State Migration Policy Concept of the Russian Federation for 2026-2030.

Since September 2024, Presidential Executive Order No. 702 of August 19, 2024, aimed at supporting foreign nationals who share Russia's traditional spiritual and moral values, has been implemented. The Executive Order established a simplified procedure for entering Russia and for obtaining temporary residence permit. By early May, approximately 3,500 applications for such permits had been submitted, 90 percent of which had been approved. One percent of applicants were refused, while the remaining applications are still under consideration. The largest groups of applicants are citizens of Germany (18 percent), Latvia (11 percent), the United States (9 percent), France (7 percent), and Italy (7 percent).

Since mid-April, the Interior Ministry, in conjunction with relevant agencies and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, has begun the practical implementation of Presidential Executive Order No. 883 of December 2, 2025, which is intended to facilitate the relocation to Russia of foreign nationals and stateless persons deemed to be of interest to the country. As part of preferential measures available to them, such individuals are entitled not only to simplified entry procedures and temporary residence permits, but also to permanent residence permits. The designated operator is the Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation "Agency for Attracting Foreign Talent to Russia," to which applicants are required to submit their petitions.

During the meeting, the Interdepartmental Commission reviewed issues relating to the implementation of regional resettlement programmes in the Lipetsk and Tula regions, as well as measures aimed at improving employment support for participants in the state programme and their family members and facilitating their retention and integration in Russia's regions.