Russians banned from traveling are now required to hand over their passports to the Russian government. Officials said that they need to do this within five days of being notified.
This is not the first time that the Kremlin decided to confiscate the passports of its citizens. In March, anonymous sources claimed that the Russian security services even collected passports of Russian government officials. They claim that the Kremlin did this to prevent them, as well as state company executives, from traveling overseas. Now, the Russian government is targeting civilians as well. Here are other details.
Russians Banned From Traveling Now Forced to Give Their Passport
Passengers are seen at Moscow's Domodedovo airport - the base of Russian carrier S7 - on March 5, 2022, the day S7 Airlines cancelled all its international flights due to sanctions imposed on Russia over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
According to Reuters' latest report, the Russian government issued a decree, that took effect on Monday, Dec. 11. Under this new government decree, Russians who are banned from traveling need to hand over their passports to authorities within five days.
This means that they have until Dec. 15 or Dec. to do this. For those who are unaware of it, Russia's laws state that officials can impose a travel ban on FSB (Federal Security Service) employees, conscripts, convicts, as well as people who have access to the country's "information of special importance."
The new government decree was announced after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law "On the Procedure for Leaving the Russian Federation and Entering the Russian Federation."
Civilians, government officials, and servicemen who are affected by the new decree are forced to return their passports to the Interior Ministry or the Foreign Ministry, as reported by The Straits Times.
Now, the question is, will the Russian government return their passports?
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Why Russian Government Return Confiscated Passports?
A traveller whose flight to Moscow was cancelled checks his mobile phone under a departures board that shows cancelled flights during a strike by ground personnel at Tegel Airport on March 13, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The strike is paralyzing both Tegel and Schoenefeld airports and has lead to the cancellation of approximately 650 flights today.
The Russian government clarified that once the travel ban imposed on a Russian resident/official has been lifted, their passports will be returned.
But, they need to complete the needed application if they want their confiscated passports back.
Meanwhile, those who were banned from traveling they serve in the military or the government need to provide additional ID with proof that they completed the passport return application.
As of writing, the Russian government didn't specify why it started recollecting Russian passports. But, there's a high chance officials are doing this to ensure that sensitive information will not be acquired by Ukraine.
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