Bringing a director or specialists from Latin America into your Russian company: HQS status, visas and notifications

What is happening

An Argentine company has appointed a manager from its head office as general director of its Russian LLC. He is already in Moscow under the visa-free regime and wants to start work at once, but he does not yet have any employment status.

A Mexican manufacturer is sending an engineer to its Moscow branch for two years. There is no visa waiver agreement for ordinary Mexican passports, so a work visa is needed on the employer's application.

A Brazilian specialist is in his second year with a Russian company. The accountant has changed, and nobody can say whether the quarterly salary notifications were filed or when the work permit expires.

What the law says

• Highly qualified specialists are engaged under Article 13.2 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of 25 July 2002 on the Legal Status of Foreign Nationals in the Russian Federation. Quotas do not apply to them, and the employer's application is considered within fourteen working days at most.
• For most foreign nationals, the condition for HQS status is a salary of at least RUB 750,000 per quarter (paragraph 1 of Article 13.2 of Law No. 115-FZ as in force in November 2026). Lower thresholds apply to researchers, teachers, certain IT companies and residents of technology-innovation special economic zones.
• From 1 March 2027, paragraph 1 of Article 13.2 applies in the new wording introduced by Federal Law No. 241-FZ of 26 July 2026. Employment contracts that run beyond that date need to be checked again.
• The work permit is issued for the term of the employment contract, up to three years, and can be extended repeatedly. The specialist and family members may obtain a residence permit for the term of the employment contract (paragraph 27 of Article 13.2 of Law No. 115-FZ).
• Every quarter, no later than the last working day of the following month, the employer notifies the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of salary paid to the specialist (paragraph 13 of Article 13.2 of Law No. 115-FZ); conclusion and termination of an employment contract with a foreign national must be notified within three working days (Article 13 of the same Law).
• Russia has visa waiver agreements with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and most other countries of the region, usually for stays of up to 90 days within 180 days (Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). There is no such agreement with Mexico for ordinary passports. Visa-free entry does not give the right to work.

What we do

• We check whether the candidate meets the HQS conditions now and after 1 March 2027; if not, we propose another route or a change to the contract terms.
• We prepare the employment contract in Russian with a Spanish or English translation, the salary undertaking and the application to engage the specialist.
• For nationals of countries without a visa waiver, we arrange the work visa invitation and agree the entry timeline with the candidate.
• We support the work permit process and help the specialist and family members obtain residence permits.
• We put every MVD notification into the company calendar: conclusion and termination of the contract, quarterly salary reports, the permit renewal date.
• We audit the files of specialists already employed: whether notifications were filed, whether the actual salary matches the declared one, whether the permit is about to expire.
• We explain the rules of stay and work to the candidate in a language they understand: we provide for work in Spanish, with an interpreter where needed, and documents in Portuguese are translated with the help of a translator.

What we will need from you

• The candidate's passport and details of education and work experience.
• The position, planned salary and length of work in Russia.
• Documents of the Russian company or accredited branch that will be the employer.
• Details of family members if they are moving with the specialist.
• For staff already employed: employment contracts, work permits and copies of the notifications filed.