Importance Currently, the process of patent system formation is underway in the country. It is necessary for attracting foreign citizens to the Russian labor market. The article offers an analysis of materials derived from the sociological research conducted in March and April of 2014 among the foreigners who arrived in Pervouralsk in the search for patent-based employment in the Sverdlovsk region territory. The subject of the research is the status of immigrants working on the basis of patents. Objectives The research aims to assess the conformity of views of migrants working on the basis of patents with the requirements of the migration legislation, to study various aspects of the patent system functioning. The basic idea is to consider migrants applying for a patent in the Russian Federation as a particular social community with similar features and characteristics, regardless of space localization. Methods The empiric base of the analysis is built on sociological poll data conducted by a team of experts of the Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. We have used a comparative criterion as the main method of the research. Results We conclude that in most cases migrants misuse patents. They find employment with legal entities, therefore, the existing mechanism of patent payment is ineffective. In addition, the lack of requirement for compulsory medical examination of foreigners working on the basis of patents, poses threats to the host territory’s population. Conclusions and Relevance The research findings can be used to further improve the tools for labor migration regulation in the field of patent application in accordance with the amendments to the Federal Law of July 25, 2002 № 115-FZ “On Legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”, which came into force on July 1, 2010.