Foreign students will be able to work without obtaining a permit while studying in Russia under a new law President Vladimir Putin signed Thursday.
Currently, international students are only allowed to work without a permit if the job is at their state-accredited university and they work in their free time or during the holidays.
Foreign students will be allowed to find employment based on a reduced list of required documents, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported. They won’t be subject to work-permit quotas as a result.
The employment contracts are subject to termination at the end of their studies.
The new law easing current work-permit requirements for students comes into effect within 180 days of Putin’s signing, or Aug. 4.
Education professionals expect the simplified rules to reduce dropout rates over an inability to afford tuition fees and living expenses, the Professionals in International Education (PIE) website reported last fall when the legislation was introduced.
Russia is the world’s seventh-most-popular destination for international students, according to PIE.
The Institute for International Education estimated the number of international students in Russia, including those from China and India, at almost 335,000 in 2019.