Minimum Salary for Highly Qualified Specialists Raised
Amendments to Federal Law No. 115-FZ dated July 25, 2022 On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation[1] (the “Law”) will take effect on March 1, 2024.
According to these amendments, the minimum salary of a highly qualified specialist will be at least RUB 750,000 a quarter effective March 1, 2024. It is RUB 167,000 a month today.
In practice, with the minimum salary raised to RUB 750,000 a quarter, the minimum monthly salary will be RUB 250,000.
What to take into consideration in light of these amendments?
Employers that employ highly qualified specialists are required to quarterly file a notice regarding the payment of salaries to them. Such notice shall be filed with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs not later than the last workday of the month following the end of a quarter. Thus, notice for the first quarter of 2024 shall be filed in April 2024.
At the same time, the new version of the Law, raising the salary of a highly qualified specialist to at least RUB 750,000 a quarter, will be effective already from March 01, 2024. This creates an uncertainty about the minimum salary of a highly qualified specialist payable in the first quarter of 2024.
Opinion of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
For now, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs is of the opinion that the salary of a highly qualified specialist must be at least RUB 750,000 a quarter already in the first quarter of 2024.
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs also believes that notice of discharge of the obligations to pay salary that the employer will file in April 2024 must state that the amount of the salary paid for the first quarter of 2024 is at least RUB 750,000.
In view of this opinion, we recommend paying a highly qualified specialist a salary of at least RUB 750,000 a quarter already in the first quarter of 2024.
We will be pleased to answer any questions that you may have.
If you have any questions or you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to email Alexandra Yudina or Mika Kokkonen.
Truly yours,
[1] Federal Law No. 316-FZ dated July 10, 2023 On Amendments to the Federal Law ‘On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation’.