Starting from September 1, 2025, the authorities of Moscow city and Moscow region will begin monitoring the areas where migrants residing in the capital region live.
From September 1, foreigners must register in a “special mobile application” and independently transmit their location information to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
New Requirements for Geolocation Control
If migrants try to evade geolocation control, they will be entered into the register of controlled persons and may be deported from Russia.
Mandatory Collection of Biometric Data
On May 20, the State Duma adopted a draft law to start an experiment on additional mechanisms for registering foreign citizens in Moscow and the Moscow region. From September 1, migrants will be required to provide fingerprints, biometric photos, report their actual place of residence, and register in the “special mobile application.” Using it, authorities will be able to monitor the geolocation of subscriber devices, i.e., the location of the foreign citizens themselves.
The draft law was submitted to the State Duma by the government on March 10. Initially, it proposed changes allowing migrants to work with one patent in two regions — Moscow and Moscow region or Saint Petersburg and Leningrad region. The bill was adopted in the first reading on May 13. Amendments regarding the implementation of the experiment were made during the second and third readings.
Who is exempt from the law?
The experiment applies to all foreigners entering the capital region who do not require a visa to enter Russia. Exemptions include minors, diplomats and their family members, as well as citizens of Belarus. Other foreigners must contact the authorized body — the multidisciplinary migration center on Sakharov Avenue. There, migrants will have to install the mobile app and give consent to the processing of personal data.