A Russian passport photographed at the Goznak printing factory in Moscow, Russia, on July 11, 2019.Reuters/Maxim Shemetov/File photo Obtaining license rights
Dec. 11 (Reuters) – Russians banned from traveling abroad will have to hand over their passports to authorities within five days of being notified, according to a decree that takes effect on Monday.
According to Russian law, authorities can impose travel bans on conscripts, Federal Security Service (FSB) employees, prisoners, and anyone with access to state secrets or “information of particular importance.”
Returned passports will be held by the authorities that issued them, such as Home Office or Foreign Office authorities.
According to a government ordinance, passports may be returned after the travel ban is lifted and the application is completed.
According to the resolution, persons whose travel rights are temporarily restricted based on conscription into military service or alternative military service will be required to provide additional military identification to prove that they have completed military service. That’s what it means.
In March, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Russian security services were confiscating the passports of senior officials and state-run business executives to prevent them from traveling abroad.
Reporting by Lydia Kelly in Melbourne.Editing: Jamie Freed
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
