Procedures For Dismissing A Foreign Employee

The Labor Code does not make special provisions for hiring foreign citizens and treats them as equal to Russian citizens who have entered into an employment contract. Thus, dismissing a foreign employee follows general procedures. The employment contract may be dissolved due to its expiration, or terminated at by a mutual agreement of both parties. If the foreign citizen has been released due to the expiration of a fixed-term contract, no further actions are necessary. If the contract has been terminated, and the employee is from a country under visa-free regime with Russia, a notice must be sent to The District Office of the Federal Migration Service and Employment Office within three business days. The notice must be submitted according to the form established by Order #147 of the Federal Migration Service from June 28, 2010. If the employee carries PIT debt, form 2-НДФЛ must be submitted to tax inspection within 30 days, accompanied by free-form letter explaining that this debt may not be required from the employer due to the dismissal of the employee.

Termination of the employment of foreign citizens is conducted in accordance to general principles established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Since, in most cases, foreign employees are employed based on fixed-term contracts, the dismissal must be conducted in accordance to Article 77, paragraph 2, part 1 of the Labor Code due to expiration of the contract. A labor agreement with a foreign citizen may also be terminated in accordance with other articles of the Labor Code with the exception of Article 77, paragraph 5, part 1 and Article 77, paragraph 9, part 1 of the Labor Code. Regulations for procedures of migration registration of foreign citizens and stateless persons in Russia require that after the departure of a foreign citizen, the detachable part of their arrival notice with the marked date of departure be submitted by the receiving party to the regional office of the Federal Migration Service personally or by mail within two days of the departure. Also, the receiving party must file a notice of the termination of the employment agreement or civil law contract with foreign citizens which arrived in Russia without a required visa. The notice must be filed with Department of the Federal Migration Service and Employment Office within three days of the contract's termination and with an office of the Federal Tax Service within ten days of the termination.