A SIM card can only be purchased after a passport check at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Mobile phone top-ups will be possible only upon presentation of a passport, and the purchase and use of a SIM card will require verification of passport data against the Ministry of Internal Affairs database. Vedomosti reports on these plans. According to the publication, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media has developed the corresponding amendments to the Law on Communications, and they may be adopted by the State Duma in the near future.
The reasons are not specified. Previously, increased control over subscribers was usually motivated by the need to combat fraudsters and potential terrorists.
For failure to comply with SIM card sales requirements, the seller may be fined up to 10 rubles.
As for topping up mobile phone balances with cash, the publication clarifies that its share is 5-6%, and this is mainly paid by migrant workers.
The government has been gradually tightening its control over SIM card circulation for several years. Since 2014, it has been officially prohibited in Russia to buy them from someone without a contract and a passport. Since then, the requirements have been tightened several times. In 2022, Fines For the sale of gray SIM cards. In 2024, a bill was introduced in the State Duma to restrict the sale of SIM cards to foreigners—they will be able to purchase no more than 10 cards, only upon in-person visit to the point of sale and biometric verification.
In 2023, Roskomnadzor revealed 43 million SIM cards were issued illegally. More than 600 numbers were blocked, and operators were forced to update the data for the remaining numbers.