Upwork for Russian citizens

[6ce85ac5]

Hello, I am a citizen of Russia and live in Krasnoyarsk Krai. Will UpWork continue to work in this area or will UpWork stop working in all of Russia?

[nyonomega0]

Absolutely no one can tell you this, except time. Just wait and hope for the best.

[fc2d396e]

Have a look at Upwork Recent update regarding this matter.

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Global-Updates/bg-p/Global-Updates

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Timofey,

At this time, Upwork is prohibited from working with anyone in either of the regions specified in the Executive Order and with other specified individuals and entities. This is an evolving situation and as additional financial or geographic sanctions are applied, or additional individuals or entities are added to the sanctions list, we will ensure our compliance with the imposed sanctions.  We are committed to keeping the community updated on these changes and I ecourage you to check the page Malik Hamza shared earlier on this thread for recent updates. 

[8d5030f4]

Can you please confirm if Russia falls into the prohibited regions specified in Executive Order? I have gone over the Executive order and only saw DNR & LNR as "Covered Regions". Does the Executive Order affect Russia? 

[kalinart28]

I still can't fully understand - if I work from Russia, can I take and fulfill orders? Restrictions apply only to Ukraine or Russia is also limited?

[nyonomega0]

There are no restraints on you to take and fulfill orders on Upwork, yet. Though I doubt someone would hire you given the current situation.

If waiting is an option then please consider it as it would be much better than taking and then not being able to complete the work.

[prestonhunter]

I think Russian freelancers are great. In the past, I have hired a number of freelancers who live in Russia.

But wouldn't it simply be a waste of time for any client to hire a freelancer who lives in Russia right now?

If Upwork has not already blocked clients from hiring freelancers who live in Russia, it seems likely that this will happen soon.

Updated information is here:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Global-Updates/bg-p/Global-Updates

[nyonomega0]

---

Preston H wrote:

But wouldn't it simply be a waste of time for any client to hire a freelancer who lives in Russia right now?

---

Exactly. That's why I suggested her to wait. Even if a Russian freelancer is able to get some work, they will be able to complete it is not guaranteed. It would only do harm, to both the freelancer and the client.

[ericaandrews]

It seems very RISKY at this point to either hire or work for someone in Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine right now with all the BANK sanctions that just got issued yesterday - it actually hits VTB back banks in several other countries too .  It doesn't really matter if Upwork 'bans' people from these regions or not:  If their financial transactions can't be completed due to international sanctions on their BANKS, somebody somewhere will be losing money because the payment method could simply be 'cut off' at anytime.  I have a client in Russia that I am going to hold off doing anymore work for for now because there are no assurances any future work will be paid. I went ahead and withdrew everything he paid/released so far this morning, but I have to press 'pause' on the work for now until more information is known about future ability to pay. It's a shame too - fun project and great client, but there  is too much uncertainty right now

[7f226280]

Yes, you are right, it is very risky to work with our countries. A Russian freelancer or customer may fall under sanctions, a Ukrainian freelancer or customer may die at any moment. I am a freelancer, and I do not take orders, I don't want to let my customer down, because I may not survive this night. Feel the difference between losing money, an interesting project and losing your life

[8d5030f4]

Hi, 

I am new to Upwork and just got my first contract. I am a Russian citizen, based in Moscow, Russia. Does the current situation & Biden's executive order affect russian freelancers on Upwork? Both in terms of working on Upwork AND receiving payouts etc. 

Are there any limitations for Russian freelancers? If so, what are they? I have gone over the Executive order but it only mentions some parts of Ukraine. I am not quite sure if it covers Russia. 

Hoping that this situation gets resolved peacefully without any significant casualties, we are against the war by all means!

[JoanneP]

Hi Magomed,

Please check out the response that Valeria has posted in this thread which you can find here. 

[volkomirov]

Hi there. I'd really want to know. I'm a Russian citizen and due to this awful situation with Ukraine, there is a chance the Europian union will ban the SWIFT bank system. If there any information about how that may affect work here on the platform and if there are any options to overcome it?

[NikolaS]

Hi Max,

Thank you for reaching out to us. Please refer to Valeria's post on this thread for more information. You can find the post here. 

[mwiggenhorn]

Please take this with grain of salt, as I am in the US and only work with US clients: It seems smart to me to set up alternate payment methods if possible and to get and keep all your available payments off the platform as soon as possible, but certainly before March 23.  Other than that, Upwork has been updating their available information daily - keep up with that.

Prayers for all.

[paul_rover]

Hi, I'm from Russia. Can someone tell are the Russian freelancers still can work through Upwork? Or USA law prohibits to clients or Upwork work with freelancers from Russia? SWIFT blocked only for a few banks, so not a problem with payments for now. As I see here that no ban for now.

[NikolaS]

Hi Pavel,

Thank you for reaching out to us. Please refer to Valeria's post on this thread for more information. You can find the post here. 

[rmkkudin]

I hope upwork will remove all Russian freelancers from upwork. 

[karpovans51288]

We are an agency from Russia. Please specify how the situation in Ukraine has affected us, the work of Russian companies and freelancers who work for UpWork

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Natalya,

Please check out the response that Valeria has posted in this thread which you can find here. Thank you.