Russian media reports say the interior ministry proposes to take fingerprints from foreigners at the entrance to the country.
The Interior Ministry of Russia says fingerprinting should be carried out at checkpoints and not in the territorial divisions of the Migration Service how it is done now.
“We believe that this is a very important procedure. Of course, in the future it is necessary that all this be at checkpoints… We are working on this together with the agencies,” Ms. Valentina Kazakova, Head of the Interior Ministry Main Directorate for Migration Issues, said yesterday at a briefing of Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) press center, according to RIA Novosti.
Over the current year, almost 3 million people have undergone this procedure, Kazakova added.
The Russian Interior Ministry has also developed a draft law on reforming migration policy, which, in particular, provides for the use of information systems to search for illegal migrants.
The bill implies the widespread use of the capabilities of modern information systems and special tools to search for illegal migrants.
On September 30, the bill “On the conditions for entry (exit) and stay (residence) in the Russian Federation of foreign citizens and stateless persons” was submitted to the government for consideration.
According to it, migration mechanisms will be changed.
Thus, a register of unscrupulous employers, as well as persons inviting and receiving foreigners, will be kept.
If adopted, a special law enforcement regime of controlled stay will be introduced for foreigners whose presence is undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation, but they cannot leave the country.
Recall, the Russian Federation on December 29 last year imposed mandatory fingerprint registration and photography in addition for medical examinations for foreign citizens arriving in Russia for employment purposes and those arriving in Russia for purposes other than work for the period exceeding 90 calendar days.
These additional requirements to get the work permit in Russia as well as to work in Russia apply to citizens of countries who are allowed to work without work permits. Failure to comply with them could result in not being issued a work permit.
Fingerprinting and photography of foreign nationals who have arrived for the purpose of work shall be performed: for EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) citizens, within 30 calendar days from the date of arrival in Russia; for CIS citizens, when applying for a patent; and for highly qualified specialists (HQS), upon obtaining a work permit.
The medical examination of such foreign nationals must be performed prior to the completion of fingerprinting, but not later than 30 days from the date of arrival.
These requirements do not apply to certain categories of foreign nationals, for example, citizens of Belarus and children under 6 years old.
These requirements also do not apply to senior representatives of international (inter-state, intergovernmental) organizations entering the Russian Federation in connection with the performance of official duties, as well as members of their families.
The fingerprint registration and photography are also not imposed for foreign nationals being chiefs of diplomatic missions, representative offices, consulates, officials, members of the diplomatic staff, consular officers, and members of administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions and consulates.
Under rules that came into force on October 31, 2021, foreign nationals entering Russia on a work visa must undergo a mandatory medical examination (for infectious diseases, HIV infection and drug addiction).
On June 23, 2021, the Federation Council approved the creation of a federal information system to collect information about the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population.
