Labor migrants from Kyrgyzstan have complained over the years that they were made to jump through bureaucratic hoops to get work papers in Russia. Now, authorities in Kyrgyzstan are bracing to subject foreign laborers to their own onerous red tape.

The National Migration Service said in a statement on June 23 that under a new rule being considered, would-be foreign laborers may have to prove basic knowledge of the Kyrgyz language. The elementary proficiency standard would require learners to prove working knowledge of around 900 Kyrgyz words.

Although this fact is not specifically spelled out, the proposal is clearly aimed at Chinese laborers, whose presence in Kyrgyzstan is object of much popular grumbling.

The language test would not be applicable to ethnic Kyrgyz people and relatives of Kyrgyz citizens. The waiver would also apply to “famous artists, scientists and the other people that want to contribute to the economic, social and spiritual development of Kyrgyzstan, as well as highly qualified specialists required by the Kyrgyz economy.”

This fits within broader attempts to protect the domestic labor market. Earlier this year, authorities aired proposal to limit the number of foreign workers in any local company to 20 percent of the total workforce.

RFE/RL’S Kyrgyz service has reported that the government sets aside 13,000 work permits for foreign citizens and that 85 percent of that number is claimed by Chinese citizens.

According to migration authorities, around 28,000 Chinese citizens were registered as living in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, although they speculated that the real number may in fact be as high as 40,000. Officials are candid in labelling the inflow of outsiders as set against the outflow of Kyrgyz to Russia as a national security risk.