TOMSK, Jan 21 –
RIA Tomsk. Foreigners studying in Tomsk
from 2020 to obtain Russian citizenship under program of voluntary resettlement
of compatriots; for this students must successfully study in specialties in
demand on labor market, have no debts to pay for education, the head of the
regional department of labor and population employment Svetlana Gruznykh told
on Tuesday.
Earlier it was
reported that since March 2016, a state program has been operating in the
Russian Federation that promotes the voluntary resettlement of compatriots
living abroad to Russia. The Tomsk region is among the regions implementing it.
Participants of the program could be compatriots working in professions that
are in demand in the region, engaged in entrepreneurship and investment
activity, as well as migrants who are recognized as refugees or have received
temporary asylum in the Russian Federation.
Who can apply
“Since January
1, 2020, due to the interest of foreign students in Tomsk universities, they
will have the opportunity to obtain citizenship when they are in their last
years. We are talking here if this is a bachelor’s degree, then it’s the 4th
year, master's degree - the 2nd year, the specialist's program - then the 5th
year and if we consider a medical university, then this is the 6th year",
- Gruznykh said at a press conference in the RIA Tomsk media center.
She clarified
that in order to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation, foreign students
should not have academic debts and debts to pay for tuition. They should also
study at universities in the specialties and areas of training that are in
demand on the labor market.
“This is an
innovation that allows young people to stay and gain a foothold in the
territory of the Tomsk region. This decision was made because in recent years we
have seen increased demand from foreign students for citizenship obtaining”, -
she added.
Who is in demand
and where are they coming from
According to the
press service of the department, engineers in various fields of activity,
teachers of mathematics, the Russian language and literature, a foreign
language, teachers in colleges, universities, medical specialists, and
paramedical personnel are in demand in the labor market of the Tomsk region.
Also in demand are specialists in working professions - mechanical technicians,
electricians, electric welders, installers.
Gruznykh also
reported that since 2016, 1204 compatriots and 1248 family members have arrived
in the Tomsk region under the "Compatriots" program. "If we look
at from which countries people come and receive citizenship in the Tomsk
region, then it’s mainly compatriots from Kazakhstan and Ukraine", - she
said.
***
Earlier it was
also reported that the region’s authorities are interested in increasing the
number of foreign students in local universities, since the export of education
- is one of the important elements of the "Education" national
project and one of the directions of the future world-class scientific and
educational center that is planned to be created in Tomsk.
Governor Sergey
Zhvachkin called one of the obstacles to increasing the number of foreign
students “unfriendly” migration rules. During a visit to Tomsk, the president
of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeev also spoke out for
simplifying the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for foreign
students of Russian universities.