Overview
- Governor Alexander Beglov signed a decree extending the prohibition on employing foreign citizens as taxi drivers or couriers until the end of 2026, according to the city press service.
- The restriction targets employers hiring foreigners who work under Russia’s patent system in the specified sectors and follows a transition period introduced earlier this year.
- Officials report no service disruption or steep price increases after the initial curbs, saying market demand for workers in these roles rose by roughly 5–10%.
- Authorities say students and other Russian workers have filled delivery jobs, and they estimate no more than 2% of patent holders had been working as taxi drivers before the rules.
- Beglov reports registered migrants in the city fell from over 360,000 to about 190,000 year over year, with active work patents down from 256,000 to 145,000, as President Vladimir Putin noted Beglov had even floated a broader delivery ban due to higher pay in that sector.