Russia is preparing to launch a sweeping new system to monitor migrant workers, combining biometric registration, location tracking, and intensified police oversight.
Set to begin in September, the program marks the latest phase in the Kremlin's tightening grip on migration -- under the banner of national security and social order.
The initiative, passed by the State Duma last month, introduces what officials call an "experiment" in Moscow and the surrounding region, where the largest concentration of migrant workers resides.
Over the next four years, foreign nationals entering without a visa will be required to register in a government-run mobile application that tracks their geolocation in real time. Failure to transmit location data for more than three days could result in the migrant being placed on a special watchlist -- effectively a fast track to deportation.
Exempt from the program are minors, diplomats and their families, and citizens of Belarus. But for everyone else compliance will mean fingerprinting, biometric photos, proof of residence, and constant digital surveillance.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the pilot could later be expanded nationwide, arguing it would reduce violations and crime related to migration. But critics don't believe it.
"To be honest, we're not surprised," Dilshod Abdurakhmon, an expert on migration, told RFE/RL's Russian Service. He said the move is part of a broader strategy to pressure foreign workers into signing military contracts.
"Since the war in Ukraine began, Russia has passed numerous anti-migrant laws. I believe this one is specifically designed to coerce migrants into joining the war effort. It's a deliberate policy meant to leave them with no other options."
Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia's Investigative Committee, recently announced joint raids with the Interior Ministry and National Guard targeting areas where migrants gather. The goal is to identify those who have received Russian citizenship but failed to register for military service.
Bastrykin boasted that 80,000 such individuals had already been "caught" and claimed 20,000 young Russian citizens -- "who, for some reason, don't like living in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, or Kyrgyzstan" -- are now on the front line.
According to Abdurakhmon, Russian authorities are taking advantage of the dire economic conditions in migrants' home countries. He pointed to a lack of job opportunities in Central Asia.
"The dictators in these countries don't care about reducing the outflow of workers or creating jobs at home. Migrants often live in unbearable conditions, so they're forced to leave," he explained. "Russia knows this and takes advantage of their desperation with inhumane laws."
Abdurakhmon doesn't expect leaders in the region to push back.
"I don't expect any protest from the dictators back home -- especially not from Tajikistan's Emomali Rahmon, who's been in power for over 30 years. His top priority is maintaining good relations with Moscow to stay in power. Everything else comes second."
The United States has been using a similar tracking system through mobile apps for several years.
The surveillance program allows the United States to release unauthorized immigrants into the country with work permits rather than keeping them in the detention centers while their legal cases proceed.
The immigrants must regularly confirm their whereabouts through the app or risk possible detention. The Trump administration is now using the app to locate unauthorized immigrants for deportation.
In Russia, the war in Ukraine and recent terrorist attacks like one in March 2024 on the Crocus City Hall entertainment complex in a Moscow suburb have led to unprecedented pressure on migrant workers.
The crackdown includes police raids, criminal cases against officials accused of mishandling migration records, and new legislation barring migrant children who don't speak Russian from attending Russian schools.
