Russian border guards reportedly seizing Russian citizens’ passports over typographical errors under new law

In Russia, a new law expanding the reasons border guards can confiscate Russian citizens’ passports has reportedly already led to several incidents. According to Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, one passport was seized due to a misspelled city name and another for an error in a surname.

Multiple Telegram channels also reported on the incidents. BFM clarified that the passport with the error in the city name was confiscated from a citizen entering Russia’s Kaliningrad region from Poland, and the second case occurred at Domodedovo airport in Moscow.

The independent outlet Agentstvo said it spoke with two Russian citizens who had their passports confiscated on the Russia–Poland border over typographical errors. Reportedly, both said border guards had confiscated passports from two other people that same morning.

In June 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law giving officers additional powers to confiscate passports and expanding the list of reasons for doing so. The law, which came into effect on December 11, contains a clause on “invalidity” and “inaccurate information.”

Additionally, the new amendments require conscripts, former or current Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) employees, and individuals with access to state secrets to surrender their passports for storage.