Documents abroad: passport, powers of attorney, the 284-FZ register

• Since 4 August 2026 the Ministry of Justice keeps a register of people abroad convicted in absentia under any Criminal Code article or fined 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?').

current as of 25 September 2026. More: OVD-Info: new law for Russians abroad (extremist); ConsultantPlus: 284-FZ; Meduza: Putin signs the law (undesirable)

• Before leaving, renew your passport and, if possible, get a second one; apostille diplomas and certificates; give a power of attorney to someone close.
• Since 4 August 2026 consulates do not issue passports and provide almost no services to people on the 284-FZ register (convicted in absentia or penalised under 'political' articles of the Administrative Code). Visiting a consulate is also risky if you are wanted or in the summons register: an invalid passport can be seized. People have been detained outside the Gyumri consulate and after contacting the consulate in Turkey.
• A power of attorney can be made with a local notary, with an apostille and translation, without the consulate. Russian notaries will not act for people on the 284-FZ register.
• An expired passport does not end your Russian citizenship. If you cannot renew it, ask the local authorities about an alien's passport (the 'grey passport') or, if you have refugee status, a refugee travel document (the 'blue passport'). Poland, for example, issues such a document to Belarusians. Conditions depend on the country and your status.
• Where to turn: The Ark (foreign agent; lawyers and knowledge base), Reforum Help (designated 'undesirable' in Russia; contact it from a phone that is unlikely to be seized).
• Instead of a passport, a consulate may issue a certificate of return. It is valid only for entering Russia; you cannot travel back on it. If you face a case, are wanted or are on the register, you may be detained at the border. Discuss this with a lawyer before applying.
• A person is stateless only if no country considers them its citizen. Some European countries give stateless people a special status and a travel document under the 1954 UN Convention. The Statelessness Index shows where such a procedure exists; the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) sets out the general rules.

Designations of organisations in this guide: Reforum Help (undesirable). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: Meduza: Russians losing consular services (undesirable); Meduza: how 'unfit' passports are seized (undesirable); T-Zh: power of attorney abroad; The Ark: knowledge base (foreign agent); OVD-Info: the law restricting Russians abroad (in Russian) (extremist); First Department: travel documents that can replace a passport (in Russian) (foreign agent); Russian consulate in Geneva: certificate of return (in Russian); Statelessness Index: statelessness determination and status