The President signed a Federal Law (федеральный закон) containing amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (КоАП РФ), Russia’s administrative offences code. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД), Russia’s federal law enforcement authority, the range of administrative offences for which a foreign national may be subject to administrative expulsion from Russia is expanding, and certain fines for foreign nationals are increasing. At the same time, the source does not specify the law’s details, the amended articles, the amounts of the penalties, or the effective date of the amendments. For an employer, this means the need for careful legal verification rather than the immediate introduction of new procedures that are not stated in the announcement.
What exactly has changed according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs announcement
The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that a Federal Law was signed that amends the Code of Administrative Offences. The main stated change is an expansion of the range of administrative offences for which administrative expulsion from Russia may be imposed on a foreign national.
The announcement separately mentions certain extremist offences, as well as acts against public safety and public order. It also states that, for the specified offences, expulsion cannot be replaced by another punishment. However, the source does not provide the specific articles of the Code of Administrative Offences or a list of the offences.
Why the news matters for recruitment and HR processes
The changes concern foreign nationals who are held administratively liable under the affected articles of the Code of Administrative Offences. For a company, this is primarily a signal to review how the HR department and responsible managers receive and assess information affecting the ability of a foreign employee to continue working.
At the same time, it cannot be concluded that the law creates a new obligation for an employer to check administrative offences, request additional documents, or change personnel administration procedures. The Ministry of Internal Affairs announcement provided contains no such obligations. It also does not state the consequences of an employer’s inaction.
How to conduct the review without unconfirmed decisions
The primary source for the review should be the officially published text of the Federal Law. Only this text can determine the law’s number and date, its publication date, the effective date, the amended provisions of the Code of Administrative Offences, and the exact content of the penalties. The effective date of the amendments is not stated in the Ministry of Internal Affairs announcement.
Until this verification is completed, specific grounds for expulsion, fine amounts, or deadlines should not be included in internal instructions. These details are absent from the source material. A cautious approach is particularly important if internal guidance materials are used by HR staff and line managers when making decisions concerning foreign employees.
What to focus internal controls on
The employer’s practical task is to distinguish confirmed information from assumptions. It is confirmed that the grounds for administrative expulsion have been expanded and that fines for foreign nationals have increased for certain offences. The specific offences, fine amounts, effective date of the amendments, and special employer actions are not confirmed.
After reviewing the official text, reference materials for HR, legal teams, and managers can be updated to specify the exact provisions and the current version of the law. This work does not mean that the employer assumes unestablished monitoring of an employee’s administrative liability; its purpose is to prevent incorrect interpretation of the published amendments.
Which risks cannot be assessed from the announcement
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announcement does not disclose which specific administrative offences are affected, beyond a general reference to extremist conduct and offences against public safety and public order. Therefore, it cannot be used to determine whether the change concerns a specific employee situation, vacancy, or employer’s industry.
The source also does not explain for which offences replacement of expulsion with another punishment is excluded or which specific fines have been increased. Until the law is verified, the company should not provide employees with unconfirmed amounts, dates, or legal consequences. The reliable reference point here is the official text of the law, not a brief informational announcement.
What to check
- Find the Federal Law on the official legal information portal.
- Check the law number, its publication date, and the effective date of the amendments.
- Establish which specific articles of the Code of Administrative Offences were amended.
- Verify the grounds for administrative expulsion against the text of the law.
- Check the fine amounts that were increased for foreign nationals.
- Update the HR department’s internal reference materials only after verification against the official text.