In late December 1992, media reports indicated that the Russian parliament was expected to pass a law the following spring abolishing internal passports and the residence permit system (propiska) and replacing it with an identity card (Chicago Tribune 27 Dec. 1992; The New York Times 27 Dec. 1992; AFP 26 Dec. 1992). According to one of these reports, "Russians will ... be able to register to live anywhere, once they arrange a written lease or buy a house" (The New York Times 27 Dec. 1992).

In mid-Decmeber 1993, a representative of the International Organization for Migration in Moscow indicated that the law implementing the new identity card system was to go into effect in October 1993, but that political unrest in the capital had made the law's status uncertain (21 Dec. 1993). As a result, some regional governments, notably in Moscow, St. Peterburg and Krasnodar, have continued to recognize the validity of a propiska and demand that permanent residents have one (IOM 21 Dec. 1993; ibid. 1 Mar. 1994).

The IOM representative has recently indicated that when someone has Russian citizenship but no propiska, he or she can still go to any Russian city and try to rent or buy an apartment. The representative added that someone who rents or owns an apartment would not automatically be granted a propiska in cities that still apply the regulations on residence that obtained prior to the adoption of the law abolishing internal passports (5 Mar. 1994; 1 Mar. 1994).

As per regulations passed by the Moscow city council in October 1993, people temporarily residing in the city must pay a levy for every day they do so. For more detailed information on this issue, please consult Response to Information Request RUS16144.E of 4 January 1994.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 26 December 1992. Francoise Simart. "La Russie prepare une reforme des passeports." (NEXIS)

Chicago Tribune. 27 December 1992. "Russian IDs Won't Show Ethnicity." (NEXIS)

International Organization for Migration (IOM), Moscow. 5 March 1994. Telephone interview with representative.
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. 1 March 1994. Telephone interview with representative.