Moscow re-opens foreign work permits

Moscow -- The Russian government has resumed accepting applications from foreign workers for work permits in Moscow, an employment service spokesman said.

Foreign workers applying for permits were surprised in September when local offices of the Federal Labor and Employment Service stopped accepting new applications without warning, The Moscow Times reported Tuesday. The employment service, the first stop in the application process, has said no new applications could be submitted until Oct. 1.

Officials said they imposed a freeze because of the number of foreigners applying for work permits in 2007 nearly reached the quota determined by the Federal Migration Service.

"Things have now returned to their previous state," said migration service spokesman Konstantin Poltoranin.

While visa agencies again were accepting applications and renewals of work permits, companies that haven't begun the process of getting work permits for their foreign employees could encounter problems, officials said. Companies wanting to employ foreigners must first apply for a quota for the number of foreigners they want to hire, which must be approved by the migration service.

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