More than 494,500 citizens of Tajikistan entered Russia for work in the first six months of 2026, making Tajikistan the second-largest country of origin for foreign workers entering Russia. TASS reports this, citing data from Russian government agencies.
Uzbekistan ranked first, with 1.178 million citizens entering Russia for work during the same period.
Kyrgyzstan ranked third, with 289,000 people, followed by Kazakhstan with 122,600 and China with 89,600.
The top 10 also included Armenia, with 88,600 people; Azerbaijan, with 62,400; India, with 27,400; Turkmenistan, with 13,400; and Turkey, with 8,300.
Citizens of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan must obtain a work permit, known as a patent, to work legally in Russia. Citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia are exempt from this requirement because their countries are members of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Where foreign workers with patents are concentrated
According to Russia’s Interior Ministry, more than 1.504 million foreign nationals worked in Russia under patents between January and September 2026 — 404,000 fewer than during the same period in 2025.
Moscow had the largest number of foreign workers holding patents, at 437,600, down from 504,700 in the first nine months of 2025.
Moscow Oblast ranked second, with 268,100 workers, followed by St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, with 162,400.
Sverdlovsk Oblast ranked fourth, with 38,600 foreign workers, while Tatarstan had 36,200.