Russia Relocation Index

How Russia scores

Some functional capacity in public services and infrastructure | Healthcare access is generally present but uneven

• Peace and conflict safety0
• Immigrant safety42
• Visa accessibility12
• Residence permit realism12
• Labor market access23
• Healthcare58
• Civil rights18
• Discrimination safety28
• Status security11
• Infrastructure reliability43
• Cost of living sustainability56

Recent news impact

In the last ~45 days there are no clearly enacted, migration-access-changing reforms that would materially improve short-term relocation conditions. However, there is a recent sanctions-list update (UK) that can increase financial/compliance risk and incidental barriers for some migrants and service providers. Additionally, recently effective/approaching administrative changes to Russia’s migration/medical procedures may create short-term administrative friction and uncertainty for foreign nationals, which can be relocation-negative even if not a strict border closure.

• Sanctions

  UK updated Russia-related sanctions designations (2 September 2026), increasing compliance and financial exposure risk for individuals and intermediaries involved with travel, payments, housing, and services.

• Residence Policy Change

  Russian МВД order amending migration decision-making rules (effective timing referenced around 1 March 2026) can increase near-term processing friction/uncertainty for foreign nationals whose cases straddle rule changes.

• Labor Access Change

  Changes to the medical examination system for foreign nationals effective 01.09.2026 may cause temporary administrative bottlenecks during onboarding/renewal cycles, though it is procedural rather than explicitly restrictive.

Sources

• Russia: list of designations and sanctions notices — Sanctions Notice (2 September 2026)UK Government (GOV.UK)
• Приказ МВД России от 11.11.2025 N 913 «О внесении изменений в нормативные правовые акты МВД России по вопросам принятия решений в сфере миграции…»GARANT (legal database)
• Изменяется система медицинского освидетельствования иностранных граждан (01.09.2026) — МИГРАЦИЯ (КонсультантПлюс)КонсультантПлюс (Consultant)
• Active Conflicts & News Megathread August 31, 2026Reddit (community post)