The main norm regulating the labor activity of foreign citizens is the Federal Law of July 25, 2002 № 115 “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”

Art. 13 Labor activity of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation

“The employer and the customer of works (services) have the right to attract and use foreign workers if they have a permit to attract and use foreign workers, and a foreign citizen has the right to work if he has reached the age of eighteen years, if he has a work permit or a patent »

This procedure does not apply to foreign citizens:

- permanently or temporarily residing in the Russian Federation (having a temporary residence permit or a residence permit in the Russian Federation);

- studying in the Russian Federation in professional educational organizations and educational organizations of higher education and working in their free time in these educational organizations, in business companies or in business partnerships created by budgetary or autonomous educational organizations of higher education in which they study;

- students in the Russian Federation full-time in professional educational institutions and educational institutions of higher education under the educational program of secondary vocational education, undergraduate program, specialist's program, master's program, residency program, assistant-internship program with state accreditation, or under the program for preparing scientific and scientific and pedagogical staff in graduate school (adjuncture) and working in their free time from study

Thus, foreign students at SFedU undergraduate, specialist, master's and postgraduate programs who do not have a temporary residence permit or a residence permit in the Russian Federation have the right to work ONLY in their free time from study. Even if your lesson is held on the basis of Microsoft Teams, you must not work and listen to a lecture in headphones!

Please note that this rule of law does not cover preparatory departments for the study of the Russian language (Subfaculty), except for work in the educational organization itself in their free time.

It means that the implementation of labor activity instead of mastering an educational program, or without an existing work permit, is a violation of migration legislation and entails appropriate types of liability.

❗️Example 1: a student, instead of attending a class (including in a remote format), works as a taxi driver. Stopped for a traffic violation by a police officer. When checking the documents, it turns out that he is a student of one of the faculties of the SFU. Further proceedings establish the fact of work during training sessions.

❗️Example 2: a student, instead of being in class (including in a remote format), works at a construction site (in a warehouse, in a delivery service, as a waiter, etc.) When checking the employer by employees of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, for example, following a client’s complaint , it turns out that he is a student of one of the faculties of the University of SFU. Further proceedings establish the fact of work during training sessions.

Violation of the requirements of migration legislation is the basis for termination of the contract for the provision of educational services and expulsion from the university, as well as bringing to administrative responsibility.

The given norms of legislation give foreign students ample opportunities for the implementation of labor activity, at the same time, they require care in terms of compliance with the established rules for its implementation.