The best Russian cities for moving from Kazakhstan to Russia

According to the Statistics Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, from January to early March 2021, over 4.3 thousand people . Over the entire year of 2017, more than 37 thousand people left the country, and in 2018, just under 36 thousand. The main outflow of citizens is from Slavic nationalities. Statistics show that people continue, if not to leave, then at least to think about this issue. Many go in search of a better life, new opportunities, but, most often, higher education among young people after graduating from school.

Let's look at the main pros and cons of this, let's look at the points that push most people to change their blue passport to a red one.

Arguments for"

Higher education . The bulk of people leaving the country are young people who have graduated from primary school and decide to study at Russian universities. Higher education after the collapse of the USSR ceased to develop in the necessary way due to the cessation of support from the state. At the moment, there is an oversaturation of higher educational institutions in the country (according to statistics, there are 150 universities per 16 million population, for comparison, in the UK it is 89 per 60.4 million population). In this regard, the government is taking measures to reduce their number by assessing the qualifications of teaching staff. Many graduates are dissatisfied with the education they received due to the obsolescence of the teaching material, the difficulty in obtaining practical training and subsequent employment. Many Russian universities have begun to open their own preparatory courses at secondary schools in Kazakhstan, which help students prepare and pass entrance exams without traveling abroad for this. They issue grants for training and, in case of successful passing of exams, provide places in dormitories. All this attracts the majority of young people leaving.
Maternal capital . For residents of Russia, this figure for 2019 is up to 470,241 rubles, which is two to three times more than in Kazakhstan. Thanks to such conditions, many couples who do not yet have children decide to move. However, simply withdrawing money will not work; there is a certain number of directions in which you will be allowed to spend it.
Transition to a 3-language teaching model . Three-language training programs are being introduced everywhere. The history of Kazakhstan will be taught in Kazakh, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science in English. Such subjects are difficult for a student to learn in their native language, let alone English, with dubious translations of the textbooks themselves and teachers’ knowledge of the language.
Training . The lack of qualified centers for advanced training or retraining of specialists, the high prices for the courses provided, are not affordable for everyone. All material comes from abroad (USA, Canada, Russia, etc.), which affects the price. It is also possible to take narrowly focused and other complex courses and receive a certificate only in the country where they are conducted. In this regard, we can only rely on the level of personnel training, which not every company can afford.
Territorial location, mentality . Due to its proximity, Russia is the most interesting option for relocation. There are fewer problems with transporting personal belongings and valuables. There is also no language barrier when changing the environment. There is always the possibility that if things don’t work out, you can go back. There is an opportunity to get a job by returning with a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
More opportunities for self-realization . Despite the crisis of recent years, if you are a really good specialist with ambitions, it is easier to realize yourself in Russia than in Kazakhstan. More interesting vacancies with high salaries.

These are the main incentives for moving to Russia for permanent residence; now, as in all controversial situations, let’s go over the negative aspects of such a radical decision.

“When you go to Russia for permanent residence, know what awaits you there...”

Hundreds and thousands of stories related to this seemingly simple process, which has been going on for more than two decades, have apparently reached the authorities of this country. Here they are finally talking about a new migration policy. But when will these yet-to-be-released laws come into effect and will they make the situation easier for our compatriots?

At the start - everything is simple

Here is just one of these many thousands of stories of people who decided to leave the former Soviet republics and move to the Russian Federation. We won’t talk about the reasons, but the main one is still quite clear - the call of the blood, the desire to live in the country of your ancestors and native language.

Having made this decision, the Zaripovs were relieved to learn that since they were born in Russia, they had some advantages. The procedure for completing all procedures and statuses is the same for everyone, but the time between successive receipt of the main statuses - temporary residence permit, residence permit and acquisition of citizenship - is significantly reduced.

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“There was one more plus at the start. After hanging around in queues at the Russian Consulate in Almaty for a month and a half (this was in January 2014), we submitted our documents. And six months later, having moved to St. Petersburg, we received a temporary residence permit, which saved us several months of waiting. This was the first stage of the journey to a Russian passport,” says Svetlana Zaripova.

Bureaucracy in action

Then everything was much more painful. The queues at the regional FMS office were simply fantastic. It was necessary to occupy them late in the evening or early in the morning, sign up with some vague individuals who were on duty at the doors of the regional migration service, weeks or a month in advance, report daily, and then, when the deadline arrived, stand for several hours in the offices to hand over the documents . Those who stood in line for a long time in cramped corridors exchanged experiences, shared information and their emotions about the difficulties of moving.

“During this time, I have never seen that anyone was lucky enough to pass the documents on the first try. Although a list of all the necessary certificates and questionnaires could be found on the website or service stands, it was impossible to fill them out correctly. What nuances were not cleared up when submitting all these papers! – recalls Svetlana. “At the reception, the inspector made a lot of comments and amendments, especially in the application. Having corrected everything, the next time (and because of the long queues it could only come in a month or two) you went to another inspector and he made new comments, demanded additional certificates, which the previous employee did not mention on your first visit. This is just incredible horror!

One of the unexpected requirements, for example, is the translation into Russian of the text of the passport of a citizen of Kazakhstan, birth certificates, diplomas of graduation from a Russian-language school, and stamps in documents. And this despite the fact that the second page of the Kazakh passport is filled out in Russian, as other documents and stamps on them are translated. But the translation had to be done and certified by a notary.

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I was struck by the high ranks of FMS employees who performed fairly simple duties of accepting documents. Majors, lieutenant colonels, colonels... The state, of course, knows best, but what costs does it incur where everything could be made more transparent, simpler, more accessible and cheaper.

A little later, all district services of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region were united into one migration center. There it was especially clearly visible how many people had come for permanent residence to the northern capital of five million and the region of almost two million and were eager to receive a Russian passport.

Only two hundred people were accepted per day, but there were many more who wanted to get a ticket to see the inspector. People stood on the street for several hours to be the first to enter after the opening. The building is of impressive size, there are separate halls and even benches for those waiting for seemingly good changes. But in the offices everything remained the same. In addition to the endless alterations of documents and certificates, the many-day waits for the next visits, the attitude of the officials was depressing, indifferent, rude, to whom they seemed to say the notorious: “Here we come in large numbers!”

“In 2015, we finally submitted our documents and six months later received a residence permit. The wait for citizenship was supposed to take another year, but it lasted much longer due to the same queues and bureaucratic ordeals in offices. One year, I note, is the official period for those born in Russia. Those Russians who were born in other republics of the former Soviet Union need to wait five years!” says Svetlana Zakirova.

Absurdity and shadow business

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The Zakirovs calculated that they spent more than three years on the entire process from the beginning of applying to the Russian Consulate in Almaty to receiving a passport with registration! And all this time they did not even try to look for work - firstly, they had to deal with all the stages of obtaining citizenship, and secondly, without citizenship it is problematic to find a job. The employer needs to obtain special permission to hire you, and this is troublesome. We are not talking about employing a whole team of builders from another republic, for example, but about just one person.

“During this time, we have aged another three years and now, even though we have a passport, we are not very much in demand on the labor market due to our age,” Svetlana saddens.

Now she understands why obtaining citizenship for young people takes many years - they need to work, it’s difficult to endlessly ask for time off to visit the migration service. That’s why some people don’t have a passport even after ten years of living in Russia, while others are forced to turn to the shadow side of acquiring a red-skinned book.

“The clandestine acquisition of citizenship for a lot of money in Russia is quite developed, as evidenced by frequent reports on major TV channels. But we, as law-abiding citizens, did not take this path, and we were sure that our homeland would cordially open its arms to our compatriots,” says Svetlana and finally briefly tells the story of her son.

The son, who studied in St. Petersburg, began the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship later than his parents, since this is not so important for a student. He was registered under the status of “native speaker of Russian”. And what? He, who graduated from a Russian-language school in Almaty, which is confirmed by a certificate in Russian, and was a final year student at St. Petersburg University, was required to take an exam in the Russian language! The special commission that took this exam from him to obtain a certificate of knowledge of the Russian language did not really hide the fact that this was a simple formality. But the long queues to go through this procedure as well, a big waste of time, were quite real!

What will change?

A few months ago, the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree on state migration policy until 2025. It says that over the past five years, more than a million people have received Russian citizenship. It is recognized that in this way the migration flow compensated for the natural population decline and became a source of additional labor resources for the economy.

The demographic situation in the country is not great. Experts have calculated that without migration growth the population will be 137 million people by 2035, and with it - 157 (currently 147 million).

Now Russia plans to receive 5-10 million people in the next 5 years, and this seems almost fantastic. Of course, if, as in some countries, citizenship was granted almost from the moment a person stepped off the plane, then such a fairy tale could be made true. But this is unlikely for various reasons, the main one of which is not to make the country a passageway for crime.

Relaxations and simplifications, however, are planned; after the Decree, new laws should be adopted. It is expected that simpler and clearer rules will be established, free of administrative barriers. Apparently, the realization is finally coming that the world is now competing not for natural raw materials or technologies, but, above all, for people.

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Arguments against"

Housing prices . Apartment prices are generally more expensive compared to Kazakhstan. Rented housing is approximately the same, as always, it all depends on the chosen city. Regarding housing, many who have already moved advise first to sell, if you have one in your homeland, then to buy at the place of relocation, at least a small one, but still your own apartment, in which you can immediately register.
Food, and basic necessities . Prices in most cities are much higher. Many people advise stocking up on some medications and all the necessary items before moving. For a more complete understanding of what is best to take with you to a new city, it is worth visiting forums where people who have already received citizenship and settled down share their experiences, how and what is best to take into account and what problems may arise.
We'll have to start life over again . The biggest disadvantage is that you will have to start life from scratch. In a new and foreign city, where there are no familiar people, relatives and those who could help in case of problems, you will have to rely only on yourself and your own strength. If relatives remain in the homeland, then at first there will be an obsessive feeling of loneliness and a longing to return, where everything will seem simpler and better. It is possible to first meet someone on social media. networks, on thematic forums on hobbies and the like, this will help you not feel lonely at first.
Travel prices . Much higher prices for travel by any type of transport. For example, a single travel card in Moscow will cost 2,170 rubles per month.
Employment . Don’t forget that in Russia there are many people in need of work even without you; if you are not a professional in an in-demand field, it will be more difficult to find a job. You will have to work for some time at a salary lower than what you had before leaving. It is important to start monitoring all job offers in the chosen region in advance, if possible, participate in online interviews, and also try to get a job remotely. Even if you don't succeed the first time, you will have an idea of the average requirements and possible salary.
Ecological situation . Many cities have a poor environmental situation. Water bodies, air and land are polluted. It is necessary to approach the choice of region of residence very carefully.