Russian Government Plans Biometric Border Initiative

The Russian government has proposed an experimental program that will require foreigners and stateless persons to submit biometric data before entering Russia. According to the draft resolution from the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, the pilot will begin on December 1, 2024, and run until June 30, 2026.

In the initial phase, biometric data will be collected at major Moscow airports—Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky—and at the Mashtakovo automobile checkpoint on the border with Kazakhstan.

The second phase of the experiment, starting in June 2025, will allow foreigners to submit their biometric data through a dedicated mobile application. The proposal outlines exceptions for certain groups, including citizens of Belarus, children under the age of six, diplomats, employees of international organizations accredited in Russia, and their family members.

If deemed successful, the biometric data collection system could become a permanent requirement for foreign visitors to Russia.

In addition to border crossing, foreigners who submit their biometric data during the pilot will be able to use it for other purposes, such as purchasing SIM cards from Russian mobile operators. Anton Gorelkin, the deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, confirmed this as part of the broader initiative to regulate the use of biometric data for security and identification purposes.

The planned initiative comes alongside a broader legislative framework, as the State Duma recently passed a law that tightens the rules on SIM card purchases for foreigners. This law mandates biometric data submission for SIM card purchases and restricts the number of SIM cards per individual, limiting foreigners to 10 and Russian citizens to 20.

The Russian government sees this move as a way to enhance national security and control over foreign visitors. If successful, it could represent a significant shift in how Russia manages its borders and foreign residents, potentially affecting millions of travelers and long-term visitors.

Russia’s proposal to require biometric data from foreigners entering the country fits into the larger context of its expanding biometric surveillance apparatus. This system has grown significantly in recent years, particularly in urban centers like Moscow, where facial recognition technology is used extensively. Companies such as NtechLab and VisionLabs have powered this infrastructure, which integrates facial recognition into public safety measures and even enables contactless payments in the Moscow Metro. The deployment of these technologies began around events like the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has continued to scale, reflecting broader national security strategies.

While the legal framework for biometric data use in Russia remains ambiguous, it has been broadly applied under counter-terrorism and public safety provisions. However, the lack of clear regulations raises concerns about the potential for abuse and extrajudicial access to data. Various reports highlight that the Russian government employs broad interpretations of the law to justify its data collection practices, often without adequate safeguards for individual privacy or transparency in how this data is stored and accessed. These concerns are mirrored in Russia’s use of biometric data for controlling border entry and telecommunications, as part of broader surveillance activities.

This experimental biometric requirement for foreign visitors, if successful, would add another layer to the country’s biometric ecosystem, tying it directly to both border security and domestic telecommunications infrastructure, as seen with the new SIM card regulations. It represents not just a border control measure but also a part of a wider strategy to integrate biometric identification across several sectors in Russia, including law enforcement, transportation, and consumer services.

The increasing reliance on biometric technologies in Russia is emblematic of a global trend, but the country’s opacity in how this data is managed, alongside its rapid expansion of surveillance technologies, has attracted significant international scrutiny.

Source: Meduza, Russian Life

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September 5, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy and Ali Nassar-Smith