Number of illegal migrants forcibly expelled from Russia doubles
More than 80,000 foreigners were expelled from Russia for breaching migration legislation last year, according to the Federal Service of Court Bailiffs, as quoted by TASS news agency. The figure has nearly doubled compared to 2023.
The Russian authorities have taken steps to tighten the country’s migration policy since investigators identified Tajik citizens as the perpetrators of a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow last year, which resulted in 140 deaths.
The figure dramatically surged compared to 44,200, from some 60 countries, that were forcibly expelled from Russia in 2023. In 2022, the number of those expelled over violations of local migration laws reportedly totaled 26,600 people from 47 states.
More than 23,000 illegal migrants were expelled last year from Moscow and Moscow Region alone, according to the Federal Service. Most of those expelled were citizens from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), having predominantly come from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Three citizens from Latvia, France and Estonia were among those expelled.
In late December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering illegal migrants to either legalize their status or leave Russia by April 30, 2025. The directive came as part of the country’s broader effort to toughen up the migration law.
Last year, several new laws were enacted to monitor illegal migration via a register of “controlled persons.” The procedure of expelling undocumented foreigners won’t require a court ruling from February 5, 2025.
In addition, organizing illegal migration has been made as a particularly serious offense with punitive measures for crime of the kind include the confiscation of financial and property assets obtained through facilitating human trafficking. The measure is expected to strip criminals of economic incentives and disrupt the operations in the shire of illegal migration.
The drastic measures followed the deadly attack that occurred in March 2024 on Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, when four gunmen stormed the facility and shot at the crowd before setting the building on fire. The jihadist group ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) had taken responsibility for the attack that had been performed by citizens of Tajikistan. Meanwhile, many of the people suspected of aiding and abetting the perpetrators were foreign nationals from Central Asia, some with a history of breaking the law.
