Russian migration service to open offices in China, Mongolia

The Russian Interior Ministry's Federal Migration Service intends to open offices in China and Mongolia, Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin said.

"At present, the Service has five offices abroad and plans to open another two soon. We would like to have offices in every country whose population migrates to Russia," he told journalists after a meeting with diplomats.

The offices will primarily handle labor migration issues, Chekalin said. "This will be a dominating issue. We have to plan our society, domestic labor market, how many people and what professions we are ready to receive," he said.

The constituent members of the Federation determine the number of foreign workers, Chekalin said. Last year, the constituent members applied for 530,000 people. "This figure was not reached, so this year, they applied for about half of it. I believe this is an optimal number," the deputy minister said.