The register of people abroad: Law 284-FZ

• Since 4 August 2026 the Ministry of Justice keeps a register of people abroad who evade a punishment imposed by a final sentence under any Criminal Code article (including one passed in absentia) or under 'political' administrative articles: foreign agents, 'undesirables', 'discrediting the army'.
• People on the register cannot get a passport or register a marriage at a consulate, and notaries will not act for them. Gosuslugi, powers of attorney, self-employment, loans and property or car deals are closed.
• Income in Russia goes to a monitored account. Dependent relatives can receive a monthly payment from these funds.
• Lawyers usually advise acting in advance: a second passport, powers of attorney, property deals, moving savings, apostilles on diplomas and civil-status documents.
• You leave the register if the sentence is overturned, served, or you return. The register is still in test mode (see 'Am I on a list?').
• The text of Law 284-FZ does not require the person to be told they have been added: the restrictions apply from the day after publication on the Justice Ministry website. The only way to find out is the list itself, which according to Meduza will show full name, date and place of birth, tax number (INN) and pension number (SNILS).
• If the grounds have gone (the sentence was overturned, the punishment is being served or you are in Russia) but you are still listed, the law lets you send the Justice Ministry a written, reasoned application (art. 8). The Ministry has 20 working days to decide; it is best done through a lawyer.
• The Justice Ministry decides whether to add someone to the list within 10 working days of a proposal from the Interior Ministry, the FSB, the bailiffs, the tax service or the Prosecutor General's Office. The procedure is set by Justice Ministry Order No. 215 and has applied since 28 August 2026.
• The restrictions have no end date: they apply from the day after publication on the Justice Ministry website until you are removed from the list. Neither the law nor the ministry's order provides for telling you that you have been added.
• Any payment from Russia, whether from the state, an employer, a tenant or relatives, can only be received into a single special rouble account at an authorised bank. The bank opens it without you, at the payer's request, and the Justice Ministry publishes its details in the list.
• While you are on the list, money can be taken from the special account to pay amounts owed to the state and in other cases set by law. Once you are removed, the bank closes the account within 15 working days of your application and pays out the balance or transfers it to another account of yours.
• An employer, tenant or anyone else whose agreement with you goes unfulfilled can sue you. Any award is paid from your frozen money and property or from the special account (art. 10 of the law).

What not to do

• Do not forward or post other people's entries from the list: they contain tax and pension insurance numbers and place of birth.

What traces remain

• The public Justice Ministry list shows your full name, date and place of birth, tax number (INN), pension insurance number (SNILS), the grounds for listing and the special account details. You can only get off the list through the Justice Ministry on the grounds set by law, so do not pay anyone who promises to 'get you removed'.

current as of 7 October 2026. More: OVD-Info: new law for Russians abroad (extremist); ConsultantPlus: 284-FZ; Meduza: Putin signs the law (undesirable); Meduza: test version of the register on the Justice Ministry site (25 Aug 2026, in Russian) (foreign agent, undesirable); Novaya Gazeta Europe: the Justice Ministry launches a register of emigrants (25 Aug 2026, in Russian) (undesirable); Garant: text of Law 284-FZ of 4 Aug 2026 (in Russian); Justice Ministry Order No. 215 of 18 August 2026 on temporary restrictive measures (Garant)