The purpose of this paper is to clarify the current situation and issues regarding securing educational opportunities for the children of foreign nationals in the Russian Federation through the analysis of education laws and regulations enacted in Russia after 1991. Particular attention is given to the new Law on Education in the Russian Federation, which came into force in September 2013 with the start of the new school year. This legislation claimed to guarantee the right to education for foreign nationals’ children.

  The Constitution of the Russian Federation as well as The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides everyone the right to education, however some categories of children, including migrant workers from Central Asian countries (especially Uzbekistan and Tajikisitan), have been often deprived the access to schools. This situation is also affected by strict migrant legislation and rising xenophobia. The children of migrants and stateless persons in Russia are often deprived of legal protection because their parents have no work or residence permits. The previous education law enacted in 1992 did not mention the right to education for foreign nationals.

  Alternative reports submitted by Russia’s NGOs for the 65st Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) claim that the situation of minority and migrant children had not improved as of the reporting period. They especially pointed out to the so called “90 days rule”, according to which migrants’ children are obliged to leave the Russian Federation every 90 days, regardless of the length of their parents’ legal stay in the country. According to these reports, it is crucial to create an incentive for parents to send their children to school by granting legal status to each pupil coming from migrant workers families that are legally residing in Russia, as well as by abolishing the requirement to renew migration cards every three months.

  The main findings of this paper regarding securing the opportunities of education from the point of view of Russia’s education laws and regulations are the following: First, there is a problem in securing more efficient access to schools. Both current and previous education laws are not clear about whether the children of foreign nationals are subject to compulsory education in Russia. However, legislation regarding compulsory education does not mention citizenship, and the representatives of Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science declared in September 2013 that the principle of compulsory education applies to everyone. This may prove to be an important opportunity to improve the situation with migrant children who do not attend school.

  Secondly, there is a significant problem regarding illegal migrants. While the new education law guarantees the right of education to all foreigners irrespective of their legal status, legislation by Russia’s Ministry of Education enacted in 2012 following debate on the new education law obliged foreigners to prove their legal status in order to be registered for school. This paradoxical legislation may contribute to a new period of Russian immigration policy, which restricts illegal migration while increasing opportunities for legal migrants. The debate over working migrants in Russia has intensified recently, leading members of the Russian parliament to introduce legislation that would prevent the children of migrants from attending kindergarten and school if their parents fail to provide evidence that they are paying taxes. Unfortunately, not all members of local and regional education boards are aware that denying access to education for the children of illegal migrants constitutes a violation of human rights. Even the Head of the Child Rights Division at Saint Petersburg Regional Administration (View PDF for the rest of the abstract)