MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed into law amendments aimed at legalizing the status of millions of foreigners working in Russia, Russian media said citing the Federal Migration Service (FMS).

Earlier this month the upper house of Russia's parliament amended the law on foreign workers in Russia in an effort to improve control over labor migration.

Under the amendments, foreign migrants who come from former Soviet republics to Russia on a visa-free basis to work for private individuals, as nannies, housekeepers or in other domestic jobs, must have their fingerprints registered to receive a special work permit.

The new documents will not cover migrant workers employed by companies.

The FMS said that up to 4 million foreigners work for private individuals in Russia, many of them without proper documentation, and it is hoped the permits will legalize the status of several million migrant workers in the country.

The deputy head of the FMS public relations department, Konstantin Poltoranin, said Russia would begin to issue the special work permits in 2011, with at least 1 million foreign guest workers expected to apply for them.

The work permit will be valid for between one and three months and may be extended for up to one year, and after the term expires, a migrant may request another permit.

The document would allow a migrant to work exclusively in the Russian region where the permit was issued and would not be transferrable to other regions should the individual decide to relocate.

The migrants also have to pay 1,000 rubles ($33) each month as an income tax payment guarantee.

Russia is attractive to migrants from impoverished post-Soviet states who can easily enter the country and send money home to support their families.