Big Brother beta Russian lawmakers consider requiring DNA samples from foreigners as Moscow gets ready to roll out migrant-tracking app
Russia is days away from launching an experimental program to track migrants. Initially limited to the Moscow region, the initiative will require foreign workers to download a mobile app that shares their location with the authorities. But there’s a catch: the app barely works. Meduza explains how the new program is supposed to function and how the government plans to step up surveillance in the future.
On September 1, the Moscow region will launch a four-year pilot program implementing a new system for monitoring foreign workers. Under the initiative, migrants will be required to register through a mobile app and share their location data with authorities.
Russia’s State Duma approved the program in late May 2025. Here’s how it works: Citizens from neighboring and nearby countries who come to work in Moscow will have to download a mobile app called Amina. Through the app, they’ll register with the city’s Multifunctional Migration Center (MMC) and report their residential address to the police. The app will then transmit their geolocation data to the Interior Ministry.
If location data is not received for more than three business days, the individual will be removed from the MMC registry. According to the center, this could result in them being added to the so-called “controlled persons registry,” whose members are barred from getting married, opening bank accounts, or enrolling their children in schools in Russia.
A beta version of the Amina app is already available on Russia’s state-sponsored app store, RuStore. However, dozens of users have reported serious functionality issues, according to the independent media outlet iStories. The most common complaint is that the app demands an update but does not provide a download link. Users who have managed to install it say they’re unable to verify their phone numbers, upload photos, update their addresses, or transmit location data. Additionally, the app doesn’t currently work on iPhones; the MMC has said an iOS version is still under development.
Alongside mandatory geolocation tracking, the Moscow authorities are also considering requiring foreign workers to submit DNA samples.
According to a 1.3-billion-ruble ($16.1 million) contract signed by the Moscow Department of Information Technology, the city is planning several upgrades to the MMC’s information system, iStories reports. One of these upgrades would allow foreigners to submit a request for voluntary genomic registration through the system, which would then be forwarded to the Interior Ministry. The contract doesn’t specify whether the data will be stored in the system, journalists note.
For now, DNA collection remains voluntary, as outlined in the contract. However, legislation to make DNA sampling mandatory for foreign workers has already been introduced in the State Duma.
In an explanatory note attached to the bill, lawmakers argue that some foreigners expelled from Russia have reentered the country using false documents, and DNA registration would allow authorities to identify such individuals with certainty. In June, however, the bill was returned to its authors after the Duma’s budget committee noted that any legislation requiring additional state funding must be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
