Russian lawmakers approve bill effectively stripping exiled Russians of key citizenship rights

Russia's State Duma unanimously approved, in both its second and third readings, a package of bills introducing what lawmakers describe as "temporary restrictive measures" against Russian citizens living abroad who fail to comply with court-imposed penalties.

All 413 deputies present voted in favour of the legislation, with no votes against or abstentions. The bills were rushed through parliament immediately before the Duma's summer recess.

"Those who have gone abroad and are harming the country are not the opposition—they are traitors. They are criminals, and we must say this openly... A person born here, with parents and roots here, must understand that if they turn against their country, they have betrayed not only it but also their parents and ancestors... Their children have turned out to be degenerates. Today we are adopting a law targeting such degenerates," Volodin told lawmakers.

The legislation applies to Russians prosecuted under both criminal and administrative offences, including charges of "discrediting" the Russian military, calling for sanctions against Russia, violating Russia's territorial integrity, participating in the activities of so-called "undesirable organisations", and failing to comply with legislation governing "foreign agents."

Those affected will be entered into a special register maintained by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

Individuals placed on the register will be barred from:

• obtaining or renewing international passports and accessing most consular services;

• registering marriages or notarising documents at Russian consulates;

• receiving Russian consular protection if detained abroad;

• using Russian banking applications or making money transfers;

• taking out loans or accessing funds held in Russian bank accounts;

• conducting property or vehicle transactions, including through powers of attorney;

• using electronic signatures or the Gosuslugi government services portal;

• registering as self-employed or as individual entrepreneurs;

• obtaining driving licences or legally driving vehicles.

Income belonging to individuals subject to the restrictions will instead be paid into special accounts. The authorities will be able to deduct court costs and compensation awarded under judicial rulings from the frozen funds.

A special inter-agency commission under the Russian president will be established to authorise payments to dependent family members if the individual subject to the restrictions had been their sole breadwinner.

According to Vasily Piskarev, the legislation was prompted by what he described as democratic countries' refusal to extradite Russians wanted by the authorities.

"The West is ignoring our extradition requests for criminals, including people accused of terrorism, murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, fraud, corruption, violent crimes and other offences. In the past year alone, Russia has received more than 100 such refusals. Among those not extradited were 29 people accused of corruption and 23 accused of terrorism," Piskarev wrote on his Telegram channel.

Human rights organisation Pervy Otdel has described the legislation as a "law on the deprivation of citizenship." According to the group, the state is retaining the right to prosecute individuals and enforce criminal or administrative penalties while simultaneously depriving them of many of the rights normally associated with Russian citizenship.

The legislation has been under consideration since December 2025. Once it is approved by the Federation Council of Russia and signed by President Vladimir Putin, it will enter into force on the date of its official publication.