Russian Federation: amendments to the law on depositing foreign passports

Already in the spring, in March-April, the results of the new decree of the Russian government on the rules for transferring for storage foreign passports of Russians, which also applies to citizens subject to conscription and mobilization, will clearly appear.

Citizens are going to be required to deposit their foreign passports within five days from the date of notification of the travel ban. This is stated in the government decree dated November 22, 2023, published on official portal legal acts. The document will come into force on December 11. The delivery of foreign passports for conscripts and citizens subject to conscription and mobilization may become the norm in the spring of 2024.

On the new decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, on the rules for transferring foreign passports for storage, tells independent Telegram channel Ateobreaking, the document does not talk about all citizens, but only about those who are subject to amendments to Federal Law 114 “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation.” These are carriers of information containing state secrets, employees of the FSB and other law enforcement agencies, persons called up for military service and subject to conscription, those who have been banned by the court from leaving the Russian Federation, lawyers defending state secret carriers, deputies, officials, members of the Federation Council.

This federal law was adopted back in 1996 and has remained virtually unchanged since then. But in the summer of 2023, the State Duma seriously took up amendments and additions. In August, the law was amended: the following were added to the list of persons required to surrender a foreign passport:

• those who are subject to conscription (previously, such an obligation applied only to those who had already been called up for military service and signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense);
• citizens of the Russian Federation who are abroad and have a ban on leaving the Russian Federation or are subject to conscription;
• lawyers whose clients are carriers of state secrets or whose case materials contain state secrets.

One of the most unpleasant amendments for Russians is the right of government authorities (from a consular officer to a customs officer, border guard, police officer or MFC employee) to confiscate a foreign passport if its owner falls into one of the categories required to hand it over.

For example. You left Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine, but continue to go to the Russian consulate – to receive or confirm documents and powers of attorney, etc. After the government decree comes into force, a visit to the consulate may end… with the confiscation of your passport. Without this document, of course, you will not be released from the consulate, the publication notes, but you will be taken back home by Aeroflot plane. This awaits those who left the Russian Federation in circumvention of the travel ban, those who left to escape mobilization or conscription, those against whom a criminal case or enforcement proceedings were opened after leaving.

How explains Russian publication “Pravo”, on December 11, changes to the law “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation” will come into force. The first important change is the ability to pick up the international passport of a Russian citizen who is temporarily prohibited from traveling outside the country. The grounds for such a restriction are specified in Art. 15 of the law. Among them are conscription for military or alternative civil service (ACS) before their completion, as well as access to state secrets. The citizen must be notified of the travel ban within three days, after which he must hand over his passport to the authorities for safekeeping within five working days. The document will remain with them until the period of such restriction expires.

The new law also introduces a list of 15 grounds for invalidating a foreign passport. Among them are the loss of a document, changes in the data of its owner, expiration of validity, termination of Russian citizenship, cancellation of the decision to acquire Russian citizenship. The document will also be considered invalid if it turns out that the owner of the passport does not have citizenship, or the passport was issued on the basis of forged documents, or it contains false information. A document unsuitable for use is also considered invalid.

Some amendments to the law will take effect from December 11, 2023, others from February 2024. Responsibility for failure to hand over foreign passports, which is good news, is not yet spelled out anywhere – no one faces either fines or criminal cases. However, this does not mean that the liability measure will not be introduced in the coming months.

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