Russia is racing to assign every visitor a ‘trust level,’ collecting everything from your biometrics to your medical history

The Russian government is racing to adopt regulations creating “digital profiles” for foreigners visiting the country. On three separate occasions over the past month, the Interior Ministry has posted identical documents on Russia’s online portal for public discussion of future regulations. The reason for these multiple uploads remains unclear. The documents are a draft decree approving the types of data the state will record about visiting foreigners. In one of these uploads, the accompanying paperwork states that a presidential order requires lawmakers to submit a draft resolution to the Cabinet by June 30, 2026.

According to the documents posted online, the “digital profile” system will be a vast repository of information about individual foreign nationals and stateless persons entering, exiting, and residing in Russia. Various federal agencies will be required to feed their existing data on foreigners into a single, centralized database operated by the Interior Ministry.

Officials will compile a unique dossier for every foreigner, assigning a “trust level” based on the availability of the individual’s biometric data (photos and fingerprints).

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How they get your info

The authorities are already collecting biometric personal data from visiting foreigners. Since the start of 2025, foreigners’ access to Russian phone numbers has been restricted to those who create an account on the State Services online portal and visit a bank to submit photographs and voice recordings in person. Since December 1, 2024, foreigners landing at Moscow airports have also been required to provide biometric data (including fingerprints) upon entry. 

Officials record a wide range of information, from the basics such as name, birthdate, gender, citizenship, phone number, and email address, to details as specific as the medical condition for which a visitor was denied entry into the country. (Russia prohibits entry to foreigners carrying any of 16 diseases considered dangerous to the public, ranging from HIV to coronavirus infections.) Foreigners’ digital profiles will also document all family ties, with separate dossiers for immediate family members, including children.

A national priority

Vladimir Putin’s July 2025 executive order lists 25 categories of data to be collected by at least 14 different agencies. In the draft government decree developed by the Interior Ministry, each category expands into a list of another two dozen items. These lists and sublists sometimes overlap. Some agencies, such as the Federal Service for the Supervision of Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor), have designated many dozens of data points they will collect on foreigners.

Although Russia cannot constitutionally bar its own citizens from entering, it still tracks them through a federal population registry established several years ago under the Federal Tax Service. Meanwhile, the new digital profile is designed to log all foreigners present in Russia, as well as those planning to enter who have submitted their documents.

The authorities have offered varying justifications for collecting such extensive information. The government’s draft emphasizes goals that differ slightly from those in Putin’s executive order. Whereas the president’s objectives were to ensure state security, protect public order, and improve federal migration policy, the Interior Ministry’s text focuses entirely on Russia’s migration “situation and processes.”