In Russia, there are plans to restrict the work of migrants in the taxi sector starting in 2027

Russian authorities plan to ban labor migrants from working in the taxi and courier services starting in 2027.

This was reported by “Vedomosti,” citing a draft government resolution of the Russian Federation.

According to the document, restrictions in the taxi sector are provided for in Mordovia, Chuvashia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Sverdlovsk, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk, and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Kaluga Oblast is introducing a ban on migrants working as couriers.

This bill was prepared by the Ministry of Labor of Russia. It was supported by the Russian Tripartite Commission for the Regulation of Social and Labor Relations.

The next step is the signing of the document by the Prime Minister of Russia, Mikhail Mishustin. Currently, these announced restrictions are under consideration and discussion.

These restrictions mainly affect residents of countries whose citizens must obtain a patent to engage in labor activities in Russia, including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, although there is a visa-free regime between the countries.

However, these restrictions do not apply to citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union, including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Belarus. They also do not apply to citizens who already have a temporary residence permit (TRP) or a residence permit (RP) in Russia, as well as highly qualified specialists.

In Mordovia, the need for these restrictions is related to the situation with road traffic accidents. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Mordovia, in 2024 and 2025, 24 traffic accidents involving foreign citizens were recorded. In six cases, they resulted in fatalities.

The documents also point to the illegal activities of some taxi drivers and evasion of administrative fines.

This initiative comes against the backdrop of many regions in Russia already having implemented bans on labor migrants operating under patents in certain sectors. According to the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as of June 2026, restrictions on attracting labor migrants operating under patents in certain sectors of the economy have come into force in 52 regions of Russia.

For example, in St. Petersburg, it is prohibited to attract labor migrants in the taxi and postal services. In October of this year, the list of prohibited sectors in this city was expanded. It also became prohibited to attract migrants operating under patents in retail trade, sports activities, and the beauty and hairdressing services sector.

In the Krasnodar Krai, broad restrictions on the employment of foreign citizens working on the basis of a patent will be introduced starting in 2025. In the Pskov region, similar restrictions will take effect from July 1, 2026, in the fields of taxi services, passenger transportation, goods and product delivery, restaurants and cafes, as well as the sale of alcoholic and tobacco products.

Starting in January 2026, foreign citizens with work patents in the Kursk region will no longer be able to work in areas such as passenger transportation, including taxis, food and beverage service in public catering establishments, cargo transportation by road, and courier delivery.

It is important to note that the introduced restrictions have led to a decrease in labor migration from Central Asian countries to Russia. According to “Vedomosti,” in the first half of 2026, the number of people entering Russia from Uzbekistan for work decreased by 13.2%, totaling 1.1 million people. The entry of citizens from Tajikistan into Russia for work also fell by nearly 17.9% during the same period, with about 494.5 thousand citizens of Tajikistan entering Russia for employment.