Expatriates Are Being Refused Work Permits-The Moscow Times

[CHIMO]

Hundreds of expatriates might be refused work permits after the Federal Migration Service unexpectedly stopped issuing the documents to employees of scores of foreign companies, Western business leaders and lawyers said Monday.

Affected are expatriate staff at the representative offices and branches of foreign businesses, and employees and their companies face fines of more than $1,000 for each employee who does not have a work permit.

"The problems are accumulating very fast," American Chamber of Commerce president Andrew Somers said Monday. "Essentially the government is saying that as a foreigner you must be employed by a Russian company, which excludes representative and branch offices."

There are about 2,000 foreign companies with representative offices and branches in Russia, according to the web site of Business Monitor International, an emerging-markets information agency.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/22/002.html