A friend from Georgia wants to work remotely for a Russian company while staying at home in Tbilisi. Does he need a work visa? What documents are required from the company and the employee themselves?
The main thing here is to sort out tax residency and the employment contract. If your friend isn't a tax resident of Russia (meaning they don't live in the country for more than 183 days a year), they won't need a work visa - the company can draw up a remote contract as a regular employment agreement with a foreign employee abroad.
The company will need to verify that the employee is legal in their own country and calculate taxes correctly: usually 30% income tax is withheld and insurance contributions are paid.
I'd suggest your friend consult with the company's accountant or a tax advisor - there are a lot of nuances here that depend on the specific situation, and it's better to handle everything properly from the start.
He doesn't need to rush into getting a visa - remote work from Georgia technically doesn't require one if he's not physically entering Russia.
The issue is that the Russian company will need to properly structure the contract and figure out the taxes: either sign him on as a foreign contractor and pay him in foreign currency to a foreign account, or if he wants to be registered as an employee - then he'll need documents through the consulate.
I know guys who worked that way - they just stayed on as freelancers and invoiced the company, it was simpler for everyone.
But if your friend wants the actual status of an employee with social insurance, then without consulting the company's accountant there's no way around it, because tax rules are different between countries.
Log into answer.
