MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will issue 1.8 million work permits to foreign nationals in 2008, the Russian government's press service said on Wednesday.
The Federal Migration Service said that in January-August 2007 the number of work permits issued doubled from the same period in 2006 to reach 1.7 million. More than five million foreigners applied for work permits in 2007.
Mass immigration to Russia from ex-Soviet republics began after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. Over 20 million people come to Russia every year to work, many of them illegally.
Illegal immigrants are accused by Russian authorities of evading taxes, with the resulting losses said to be equal to Russia's total budget spending on education and healthcare.
