03.06.08

The Moscow branch of the Federal Migration Service abruptly stopped accepting new applications for foreign work permits last week, creating a new headache for companies planning to hire foreign employees.

"As a consequence of the suspension, it will be impossible to obtain permissions to hire foreign nationals and individual work permits in Moscow in the near future," Baker & McKenzie said in an e-mailed statement. The migration service said applications submitted before May 26 "will be processed in a due manner." There was no information about when the migration service might start accepting applications again, Baker & McKenzie said.

The migration service ordered the suspension because of an internal restructuring and because it has nearly filled its annual quota of work permits for foreigners in Moscow, said a source at a visa agency, citing information he had received from contacts within the migration service.

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Source: "The Moscow Times"