Duma to encourage immigrants to learn Russian.

[Rezia]

(from "The Moscow News", June 2008)
For immigrants seeking status in Russia, their language skills will soon give them an upper hand. Senators at the Federation Council have developed a bill that, if passed, will test foreigners on their Russian and offer simplified registration based on the results.
     "I am certain that migrants are interested in learning the Russian language so they can more easily adapt to the country," Sergei Mironov, the speaker of the upper chamber of Russia's parliament, said Tuesday at a session dedicated to language acquisition. Launched by the Council Committee on National Policy, the initiative sought to better the lot of migrant workers who come to the country without sufficient knowledge of language, cultural traditions, history, and law that would help them adapt.
     The bill developed by the committee would encourage migrants to learn Russian in several ways. A series of amendments to the law regulating a foreigner's status in Russia aim to make it easier for those who speak the language to get long-term visas and work permits.
     For instance, migrant workers who come here to make money would be offered a work permit that would last for two years instead of one. Senators are also encouraging employers to pay for Russian lessons for workers that they value, in exchange for simplified status renewal procedures for their employees.   
     The Federal Migration Service told The Moscow News that it knew about the proposed bill, but a spokesman declined to comment on how her agency would be involved.
    A system has already been developed that would test foreigners on their knowledge of Russian, much like TOEFL exam. It would determine language proficiency at six levels, from the most basic – when a person knows about 700 Russian words – to full proficiency. More than 160 educational facilities are currently equipped to test language skills among migrants.
     The bill is still in its initial stages, a spokesman for the Federation Council underlines, saying that a number of changes had yet to be made before it was sent for the usual three rounds of hearings in the lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma. One of the issues lawmakers said they had yet to clarify was the financing of the project.
     "At this stage the testing is experimental and optional," the spokeswoman for the Federation Council told The Moscow News. "Mostly it is aimed at people who plan to live here for a long time, to work, to start a family. One of today's problems is that they come here to work, but they don't know the language or the cultural traditions and don't want to know."
     She added that the amendments would also try to rule out corruption, which is currently a problem, as migrants find themselves obtaining fake documents from questionable firms.
     According to immigration experts cited at the session, some 8 million foreigners were registered by FMS last year, while the number of illegal immigrants is estimated at anywhere between 5 million and 15 million. "In connection to this, it is becoming all the more necessary to start implementing a targeted state adaptation policy to integrate migrants into Russian society," a statement quoted on the Federation Council's site read.
     "The Russian language is a miracle for those who want to live and work legally in Russia," Mironov said Tuesday.