Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the deportation of illegal migrants, TASS reports. Immigrants who are currently in Russia illegally must leave the country or legalize their status by April 30.
According to the law, adopted earlier in August, the deportation regime will come into force on February 5, 2025. It will apply to foreigners who do not have a legal basis for residence in Russia. All citizens in this category will be included in the list of monitored persons until their deportation or legalization.
The deportation requirement will not apply to foreigners who want to stay in the country legally and have fulfilled several prerequisites, such as: providing biometric data, passing drug and infection tests, providing a certificate of proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of the history and legislation of Russia, and paying off their debts. Migrants also must not have any grounds for termination of their labor patent, work permit, or residence permit.
The law will be relaxed for foreigners who have concluded a military service contract in the Russian armed forces or militias. All decisions on deportation, readmission, entry ban or unwanted stay previously taken against them will be terminated.
However, these reliefs will not apply to foreigners who pose a threat to Russia's national security, including calls for a violent change of the constitutional order. This category also includes persons involved in extremist or terrorist activities, who violate public order or public security, participate in unauthorized rallies, protests or gatherings.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was entrusted with the implementation of these measures. The Ministry of Health was tasked with medical examinations of the mentioned migrants. The Russian Foreign Ministry must inform foreign countries about the measures provided for in the above-mentioned decree.
The decree comes into force on January 1.