Three new federal bills are exepcted to be submitted for consideration to the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament)
The State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin says these three new bills aim to enhance migration control in Russia. These proposals reportedly aim to address various issues related to illegal migration and the legal status of foreigners in the country.
The first bill proposes increasing criminal penalties for those involved in organizing illegal migration. An aggravating circumstance would be the presence of the person in Russian territory in violation of established procedures.
Another initiative reportedly introduces extrajudicial blocking of websites offering illegal services to migrants or selling fake documents for obtaining migration status.
The third bill proposes a complete ban on intermediaries participating in administering exams to migrants.
In total, there are currently 25 bills before the State Duma related to migration control, the legal status of foreigners, and issues concerning Russian citizenship.
Meanwhile, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia has sent proposals to the State Duma to combat crime in the migration sphere and improve migration policy.
These proposals include: biometric and genome registration; introducing biometric procedures, fingerprinting, genomic registration, and digital tracking of work and residence for all incoming migrants; banning mass registration in "rubber apartments" (a term that refers either to apartments in which up to thousands of people are registered but do not live, or to dilapidated buildings that house large numbers of migrant workers in often unhygienic and overcrowded environments).
Adding the preparation, attempt, or commission of any intentional serious or especially serious crime as grounds for revoking Russian citizenship.
Establishing the commission of a crime by an individual illegally in Russia as an aggravating circumstance.
Synchronizing the process of obtaining a Russian passport with mandatory military registration for new citizens.
The second reading of a bill grants police the authority to decide on administrative expulsion of foreign citizens and stateless persons within 48 hours, reducing the current period from up to 90 days. This change amends the article in the Administrative Offenses Code concerning the placement of foreigners and stateless persons in special facilities.
On July 19, the State Duma passed a bill in the first reading introducing an expulsion regime for foreign citizens without legal grounds to stay in Russia. The bill amends the law on the legal status of foreign citizens in Russia. Under this bill, a foreign citizen without the right to stay in Russia will be considered under expulsion from the day their information is entered into a controlled person’s registry. The regime ends upon their removal from the registry. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will set the application procedures for this regime.
The bill gives police the right to access residential and other premises where foreigners live or stay, upon presentation of official identification, during state migration control operations.
These legislative efforts are part of a broader strategy to tighten migration policies, ensure compliance with legal norms, and enhance the overall security and order within the country.
