Russia's Federation Council approves bill tightening liability for organizing illegal migration
MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) - The Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, on Wednesday approved a bill classifying as an especially grave crime the organization of illegal migration committed by an organized group or with the aim of perpetrating grave or especially grave crimes.
Under the bill, these crimes will be punishable with a prison term of eight to 15 years, a fine from 3 million to 5 million rubles, and a ban on holding certain positions for up to 10 years. Currently, the maximum penalty for such offenses is seven years' imprisonment, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin told reporters earlier.
In 2023, out of 879 individuals convicted of these charges, only 166 were sentenced to real jail terms, with every fourth being sentenced to no more than one year in prison, Volodin said.
The bill also introduces mandatory minimum liability under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 322.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (organization of illegal migration) in order to ensure proportionality and inevitability of punishment. The absence of minimum limits to jail terms in the current version of the article results in a situation where criminal penalty may be disproportionate, an explanatory note to the bill said.
The bill also proposes enacting tougher penalties for offenders counterfeiting or forging documents or handling forged documents, as well as for anyone facilitating sham registration of foreign nationals. Any offender committing such crimes will face two to six years in jail under the bill.
As many as 8,307 individuals were convicted of sham registration of foreign citizens in Russia in 2023, including 8,224 Russian citizens who broke the law, attempting to assist illegal migrants, Volodin said on Telegram.
In the first seven months of this year, registered criminal offenses associated with fictitious registration of foreigners increased by 14% to 23,483 cases. About 4,600 cases of document forgery by migrants were recorded in 2024, a 16.5% increase from last year, he said.
The bill has been drafted in a package with other initiatives aimed at countering illegal migration. The adoption of this legislation will contribute to measures to counter organization of illegal migration and toughen penalties for such criminal offenses, helping ensure public safety, Volodin, who has led a large group of lawmakers in drafting the bill, said.