The key facts

  • The Amina app experiment has been running in Moscow and the region from September 1, 2025 to September 1, 2029
  • Crimes involving document forgery fell threefold over nine months — according to the Interior Ministry
  • Migrants who refuse to share geolocation may be removed from registration, have bank cards and SIM cards blocked, and be deported

Statement by the Interior Minister

An experiment monitoring migrants via a mobile app has, according to the Interior Ministry, significantly decriminalized the shadow market for migration services. Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced this at a session of the Federation Council, as reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti. According to him, abandoning paper forms led to a threefold reduction over nine months in crimes involving the forgery, production, and use of falsified documents in the capital region.

How the experiment works

Since September 1, 2025 labor migrants arriving in the Moscow region from visa-free countries are required to install the Amina app, indicate their place of stay in it, and allow geolocation tracking. If a migrant fails to share their geolocation within three days, they may be removed from migration registration and added to the registry of controlled persons; the violator may also have bank cards and SIM cards blocked and be deported. The experiment does not apply to citizens of Belarus, children, diplomats and their family members, or employees of international organizations, and it runs until September 1, 2029.

Context

It was previously reported that crime among migrants in Russia fell by almost half. Kolokoltsev's statement concerns only the Moscow experiment: the publication does not say anything about extending such monitoring to other regions.