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Moldova asks Russia to explain new migration rules for Moldovan citizens

Russia will not impose sanctions on Moldovan nationals who have exceeded their term of sojourn in Russia but want to travel home, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service said

CHISINAU, November 6 /TASS/. Moldova has asked Russia to explain the recent changes in its migration rules for Moldovan citizens that were introduced on Wednesday, November 5. An official request has been sent via diplomatic channels, the press service of the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration said on Thursday.

Konstantin Romodanovsky, the head of the Russian Federal Migration Service, recently said that Russia will not impose sanctions on Moldovan nationals who have exceeded their term of sojourn in Russia but want to travel home. They will be able to return to Russia, Romodanovsky said.

The move followed a request by Moldovan deputy Igor Dodon, the head of the Moldovan Socialist Party, who said that those Moldovan citizens could take part in Moldova’s parliamentary elections on November 30.

“Given that the new provision concerns all Moldovans staying in Russia, the Moldovan embassy in Moscow used its diplomatic channels to send an official inquiry to explain the provisions of the Russian legislation that would serve as ground for the application of the new mechanisms,” the Moldovan embassy said in its statement. The embassy noted that Russia had not officially notified Moldova of its new rules and their effective period at the time when the decision was announced.

But Russia needs labor migrants from Moldova, according to Romodanovsky. “We are going to help them obtain patents and work permits if there are quotas. In short, we will allow them to start a new migration history in Russia,” the head of the Russian Federal Migration Service said.