Vladimir Putin has given illegal immigrants four months to gain legal prestige by issuing a decree that could force many of them to leave the country by 2025.

The Russian president signed a decree on December 30 which gives a deadline of April 30 for those who entered the country illegally to get their papers in order through health checks, paying off their debts and passing a Russian language, history and legal exam.

They can also gain legal standing by signing a military contract that could allow them to fight Putin’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian said in 2021 that there were more than 1 million illegal immigrants from former Soviet Union countries living in Russia.

According to OECD figures from 2019 when Russia’s population was over 146 million, around seven percent of the population are illegal migrants, potentially putting many more at risk of deportation under Putin’s order.

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin by email for comment.

The war in Ukraine has exacerbated an estimated labor shortage in Russia of 1.5 million people, due to high casualties, an exodus of skilled workers avoiding the draft and a more restrictive environment.

Illegal migrants, a large proportion from ex-Soviet countries in Central Asia, form a key part of Russia’s economy, often working low-skilled industries. If they are forced to leave the country, or join the military, then Putin’s decree could add to the turbulence that Russia’s sanctions-hit economy faces.

Putin’s decree, signed on Monday, comes into force on New Year’s Day and stipulates that immigrants who are in the country illegally will have to leave the country or liquidate their legal status until April 30.

Those who wish to stay will have to collect their biometric knowledge and go through a medical examination adding tests for drug use and the presence of diseases such as HIV.

Exemptions are granted to those who sign up for the military although concessions do not apply to migrants “who pose a threat to the national security” of Russia, state news agency Tass reported. Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs will implement the decree while the health ministry will organize the medical examinations.

Russian authorities have clamped down on migration following a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in the Moscow region, which killed 145 people, and injured around 500. An investigation concluded that the perpetrators were from Tajikistan.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Putin said his government had to look into migration policy, especially given the need for migrants to solve labor shortages hampering economic growth.

But in its assessment of Putin’s new decree, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Monday that as the new year approaches, the Kremlin appears to be “prioritizing Russia’s desires in strength generation and internal political stability over efforts to ease economic tension. “and political stability.

Putin’s decree states that il migrants “must leave the Russian Federation independently between January 1 and April 20 or settle their status. “

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said: “Putin’s decree will likely further exacerbate Russia’s ongoing labor shortages if a significant number of migrants who work in food service, transportation, and other low-skilled industries either leave Russia or forcibly join the Russian military.”

The ISW said it was unclear whether the decree would be implemented and that much depended on whether the demanding situations of the hard labor market were more vital to the Kremlin than the political tension to expel the migrants.

The Washington, D. C. -based Tank He said implementation of the executive order would show that the Kremlin is prioritizing appeasement of pro-war ultranationalists and security considerations similar to reports of immigrants committing crimes and terrorist acts over addressing economic problems.

Failure to enforce the decree would imply that Moscow is “more involved in migrant hard work to triumph over Russia’s economic unrest and shortage of hard work than in sending a message to the Kremlin’s ultra-nationalist supporters,” the ISW added.

Brendan Cole is a senior journalist at Newsweek based in London, United Kingdom. It focuses on Russia and Ukraine, that is, on the war through Moscow. It also covers other areas of geopolitics, including China. Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and, in addition to English, knows Russian and French. You can contact Brendan by emailing b. cole@newsweek. com or following him on his X account @brendanmarkcole.