The government commission approved a bill according to which bailiffs will be able to seize passports from citizens who have been restricted from traveling abroad.

The chairman of the board of the Bar Association Vladimir Gruzdev told the media about this, specifying that the passports, according to the initiative, are subject to confiscation from people recognized as restricted to travel abroad due to their failure to comply with court decisions.

He clarified that in all cases of seizure, documents must be sent to the issuing state authority.

“In other words, the debtor, after fulfilling his obligations, will be able to get his passport back at the migration service.

The initiative empowers the interrogators of the compulsory enforcement service to seize passports, ”he explained.

In addition, the initiative obliges all bodies that have decided to ban travel abroad in relation to a person to bring this information to him.

“During the day, an electronic notification should be sent or information provided in person against signature.

If the debtor is recognized as restricted to travel abroad, a copy of the relevant resolution should be sent to him, ”explained Gruzdev.

In addition, according to the initiative, foreign passports will be invalidated and withdrawn if the owner changes the last name, first name, gender, as well as data on the date of birth.

Lawyer, specialist in civil and international law Maria Yarmush, in an interview with RT, positively assessed the approval of the initiative.

“I, as a practicing court lawyer, support all bills that toughen the liability of debtors on court decisions that have entered into legal force.

And the more our bailiffs will have the authority to enforce court decisions and restrict debtors' rights until the execution of court decisions, I believe that this is correct.

Because in our country all court decisions that have entered into legal force must be executed by all authorities, commercial organizations, individuals, legal entities, ”she stressed.

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The expert added that there are neighboring countries where you can enter with a Russian passport, and then, with your passport, fly to any foreign country, despite the ban on leaving.

Therefore, according to the lawyer, the possibility of seizing a passport is a necessary measure in order to "push the debtors to comply with the court decision." 

In turn, the head of the legal department of the Confederation of Labor of Russia, lawyer Oleg Babich, in a conversation with RT, called the initiative to seize foreign passports of debtors ambiguous, noting that it actually limits a person's rights.

“The withdrawal of a passport is not the most straightforward initiative at all.

How effective this measure will be ... It is difficult to say how it will work, ”he said.

As TASS reported, as of May 1, the number of Russians restricted to travel abroad due to unpaid debts was more than 5 million.

We will remind, on June 29, President Vladimir Putin signed a law on the inviolability of the minimum income necessary for the existence of the debtor and his dependents.

According to the document, the salary and other incomes of a citizen with arrears, equal to the subsistence minimum of the working-age population in Russia as a whole, are included in the list of property that cannot be collected according to executive documents.

The law, in particular, gives citizens the right to contact the Federal Bailiff Service and indicate an account from which such an amount cannot be debited.

In early July, Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Tatarstan, founder of the National Parents' Committee Irina Volynets proposed to develop and implement a regulation to toughen banks' liability for the forced write-off of debts from debtors' accounts, if these funds were received as state social support.

A copy of the appeal addressed to the head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina was received by RT.

Volynets noted that, despite the President's signing of the relevant law, she receives applications from parents of underage children regarding the writing off of the named funds by banks to pay off existing debts on the initiated enforcement proceedings.

“In this regard, I ask you, dear Elvira Sakhipzadovna, to provide support and take another necessary step to resolve the most important aspect: to develop and implement a regulation on toughening banks 'liability for a serious violation of the current law, namely, for the forced write-off of debts from debtors' accounts, if these the funds were received as state social support ", - said in the text of the appeal.