Workers’ earnings in Moscow are sometimes comparable to Australian wages, but in Australia workers are protected from sudden income loss, and the standard of living is higher even for students and foreigners without status. The reliability factor outweighs the salary difference.
Where they actually earn more
In Russia, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, construction workers and qualified specialists can earn sums comparable to Australian wages. For example, highly educated migrants from Central Asia earned 300,000–350,000 rubles per month. However, these incomes are not guaranteed.
Comparing student earnings with the earnings of Russia’s elite workers is often incorrect. Even if in isolated cases salaries match, the question of reliability remains critical.
Why foreign workers in Russia lose earnings
When the state needs to provide more opportunities to its population—voters and taxpayers—foreign workers are the first to face layoffs. This is not accidental: all the money migrants earn is sent home, which does not align with the interests of the economy of the country where they work.
High earnings today do not guarantee their preservation tomorrow. Workers who relied on stability bitterly regretted it.
Reliability as Australia’s main advantage
A foreign worker will experience pressure in any country—in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and indeed in Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. The difference is that in developed countries with strong institutions, the risk of sudden job and income loss is significantly lower.
In Australia, you can be confident that policy and economic conditions will not change as drastically as elsewhere. Objective circumstances—independent courts, a stable income tax system, developed social support—allow you to believe in a predictable future.
Dual citizenship as insurance
Obtaining an Australian passport while retaining citizenship of your country of origin is a win-win situation. If conditions in Australia worsen, you can relocate to another country while maintaining a base in Australia. If things improve in Russia, relocation there is possible. Two passports give you the right to make mistakes and the ability to choose.
This is especially valuable for those born in the Soviet Union or other former bloc countries: you can maintain attachment to your historical homeland while protecting yourself and your family with the financial stability of a second passport.
Standard of living regardless of salary
Even students and foreigners without status in Australia can afford a good car. In modern Russia, even in Moscow, people with average and below-average incomes are forced to take loans for Chinese cars—and this is considered an achievement.
Winter survival is another factor. Australia’s climate allows even homeless people to live without threat to life, whereas in Russia, a winter night in the open can be deadly regardless of status.
By all measures—average earnings of ordinary people, standard of living, social protection—Australia is higher than Moscow and other Russian cities.
Why status matters more than maximum income
When choosing between Australia and Russia, do not focus on who pays more today. Today Russia may pay more, tomorrow it pays less. With an Australian passport, a person has the right to make mistakes—they won’t fall below the level of having no citizenship in any prosperous country.
Obtaining an Australian passport, if possible, is a necessity by all objective measures. It’s not a question of maximum earnings, but of stability and protection for decades to come.
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