>Russian migration policy has become significantly stricter over the past several years, with both the number of migrants in the country steadily declining, and deportations rapidly rising.>The total number of migrants in Russia is 5.7M, that is 3.8% of Russia's population of 150M (this number includes the formerly-Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhie, and Kherson).>This is a 10% decrease from the previous year, at the start of which the foreign population was 6.3M. The primary cause of this decline, as stated by Alexander Peregozhin, head of the analytical department of the Interior Ministry's migration service, is the fact that the number of underage foreign citizens in the country fell nearly by a quarter.>Foreign nationals who fail to ensure the legal residence status of their children in Russia may face a ruling declaring their stay in the country as undesirable, and may be eligible for deportation.>Deportations have been consistently rising over the past several years. Up 2.5x in 2022 vs 2021, 145,000 in 2023, over 190,000 in 2024, 72,000 in 2025, and 6,000 in 2026 in March & April alone. While falling in 2025, it is patently clear that Russia's migration policy is being tightened with each passing year. One way the Interior Ministry is planning to do this, is by the digitalisation of the system, requiring individuals to be registered in government databases before even entering the country, effectively terminating illegal immigrationWebm is from the Netherlands, Koningsdag (King's Day) celebrations in Amsterdam shown to highlight the differences between the "Western Civilisation" and Russia.
