The main industries in the Altai Territory requiring foreign workers

Despite the bans in place in the Altai Krai on employing migrants in a number of socially significant sectors, the region is experiencing a labor shortage and is forced to recruit foreign workers. According to the regional Department of Labor and Employment, businesses annually need between 21,000 and 28,000 new employees, and it is not always possible to fill all vacancies with local residents.

Meanwhile, Governor Viktor Tomenko extended the ban on migrant workers in taxis, the hotel industry, education, healthcare, alcohol and tobacco retail, and logging until 2026. This means foreign workers cannot fill the labor shortage in these industries. However, there is a list of sectors where their labor is in demand and legal.

First and foremost, this is agriculture. The region's farmers are experiencing a severe labor shortage. Local residents are reluctant to work on farms due to harsh conditions and demanding work schedules. Farm managers note that young people prefer the comforts of the city, while skilled machine operators and livestock breeders are retiring. Farmers are willing to consider foreigners as laborers, herders, and even tractor drivers, providing housing and wages. Although attempts to attract migrants from the CIS have sometimes failed in the past due to the heavy workload, they are still considering using their labor in the agricultural sector, calling it a "half-measure" given the aging workforce.

The second key sector is manufacturing, particularly light industry. A prime example is the region's garment factories, which have been successfully hiring workers from India for several years. Since there is a critical shortage of skilled seamstresses locally, companies import workers from abroad under quotas. Indian seamstresses, mostly men, work at the BTK Group garment factory in Barnaul, demonstrating high productivity. This process is expensive (tickets, registration, and accommodation), but it helps solve the problem of the factory's survival.

There is also a demand for qualified personnel in the service and food service industries. Under the 2025 quotas, citizens of China, Vietnam, and Thailand are coming to the region to work as chefs specializing in national cuisine and massage therapists.

Thus, the demand for foreign workers in the Altai Krai is polarized. On the one hand, there are low-skilled but demanding jobs in the agricultural sector (where Russians are not attracted). On the other, there are highly specialized specialists in industry and the ethnic service sector. Meanwhile, the total number of migrants in the region does not exceed 1% of the workforce, and the authorities strictly regulate their influx, prioritizing local residents.