Illegal migrants cost Russia $1.3 billion a year
MOSCOW—The chief of Russia's Migration Service says Russia loses 40 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) every year in unpaid taxes from illegal labor migrants.
Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Konstanin Romodanovsky underscored Wednesday that Russia's main loss from illegal immigration is an economic one.
About 1.3 million of the 9 million foreigners living in Russia have official work permits. Migration authorities believe at least 4 million of the 9 million, which includes minors and the elderly, do not work in Russia. Romodanovsky said the remaining nearly 4 million people are in the gray area.
Fueled by the economic boom of the past decade, Russia has been employing millions of labor migrants -- most of them coming from the impoverished former Soviet republics of Central Asia.
Waiting for Twitter to feed in the latest...