Kyrgyzstan tightens stay rules for Russian citizens after Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz authorities will introduce an automated system for tracking foreigners’ periods of stay and use it to monitor compliance with migration rules, following a similar move by Kazakhstan.

Those who overstay will be barred from entering the country again, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Moscow Times.

The initiative will be implemented through the Unified System for Recording External Migration.

Those who violate the permitted period of stay in the republic will be denied re-entry for the same period during which they were allowed to remain in the country without a visa. For Russian citizens, this is 90 days within every 180 days.

Kazakhstan previously tightened its entry rules for foreign nationals. Since August 25, the country has been testing a system of paid electronic permits for citizens of visa-exempt countries, including Russia. Starting November 1, the requirement will become mandatory for those arriving by air; from November 30, permits will have to be presented at road border crossings; and from December 15, at railway and maritime checkpoints.

Migration restrictions in Central Asian countries are being introduced amid reports of preparations for a new mobilisation in Russia.

According to Western intelligence agencies, the Kremlin could announce one after the September State Duma elections, while the military is already developing the necessary infrastructure and assessing the Defence Ministry’s capacity to accommodate and equip recruits.

Western estimates suggest that the Russian military is in urgent need of additional personnel, as it reportedly recruits around 6,000 fewer people each month than it loses at the front.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed reports of a new mobilisation as “nonsense” and an “information attack.” At the same time, pro-war Russian channels reported in July that a compulsory draft to the front could affect 1.2 million people and would likely be accompanied by informal arrangements with neighbouring countries: although the borders could formally remain open, men could be prevented from leaving for neighbouring states.

Following Russia’s mobilisation in 2022 amid the war in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan became one of the popular destinations for Russians relocating abroad. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), more than 167,000 Russian citizens entered the republic in the third quarter of 2022. In mid-2024, The Bell estimated that nearly 12,600 remained in the country.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov