Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union will not increase the number of Armenian citizens migrating to Russia, Sergei Abashin, Named Professor of Migration Studies (British Petroleum Professorship) said during an online press conference.
"According to the official data of the Federal Migration Service, nearly 0.5 million citizens of Armenia permanently live in Russia, exclusive of the Armenians who have become citizens of Russia. This level is quite stable. I think that the accession to the EAEU and some facilitation of the rules of residence and employment will not considerably increase the number of the Armenian citizens migrating to Russia. One can say that amid the economic crisis some new opportunities of legalization will prevent the number of such migrants from dropping tangibly", he said.
When asked about the EAEU's influence on the migration flows from the EAEU member states to Russia, Abashin stressed that the projects and talks being held in the context of creation of the EAEU include the issue of migration. Given that the specified projects and talks imply facilitation of the rules of residence and employment of EAEU citizens in Russia, Abashin thinks that adoption of such rules will facilitate the process of legalization for the migrants.
The press conference was organized with the support from the UK Embassy in Armenia as part of the project "Urgent Dialogue for Armenian Media" implemented by the Region Research Center.