Not all Russians have the opportunity to visit other countries. Travel abroad of civil servants, military personnel and employees of various law enforcement agencies is limited by the legislation of our country. Some of these prohibitions are fixed at the legislative level, although some of them are advisory in nature.

The regulations for the travel abroad of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other structures are displayed in According to it, the right to travel outside the country is limited to the following entities:

• persons who, on duty, use open access to materials of extreme importance or absolutely confidential information constituting a national secret;
• persons mobilized for military or alternative service;
• persons serving in the institutions of the Federal Security Service;
• persons subject to anti-Russian sanctions of foreign countries.

It is worth explaining that there is a ban on the travel of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs abroad, as well as a similar ban on employees of the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Penitentiary Service, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. In addition, it is also applicable to the staff of officials registered for civil government service, i.e., for example, the travel of civilian personnel of the RF Ministry of Defense abroad is also limited.

List of states

The emergence of the mentioned list is primarily due to the need of the state to protect information related to sovereign secrets, and in addition to the complication of relations in the modern political arena. Thus, directly the countries that have concluded extradition treaties with the United States of America, and the powers that are members of the North Atlantic Alliance, are subject to the most severe restrictions. But those who are friendly towards Russia are open for entry.

Where prohibited

There are more than 150 countries of the world in the list of states to which a categorical ban applies. In the light of the constantly changing political situation, it is recommended to check the information on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Where allowed

Which countries military personnel can travel to is determined by the priority of their friendly attitude towards Russian Federation. Unfortunately, the list of allowed countries for military personnel, officials and government employees is not very extensive. An alternative to a holiday abroad for these categories of people is the vast expanses of our country.

Civil servants were offered to forget about abroad: Video

Rules for military personnel

The ban on military personnel traveling abroad in 2019 is governed by the same, which means that it applies to:

• persons mobilized for military or alternative service;
• persons serving under the contract;
• military personnel admitted to special (stamped) information.

The travel ban is documented, certified by the signature of a serviceman and is valid for 5-10 years from the date of the last study of confidential information. It is worth noting that the ban on travel abroad of a person liable for military service does not extend to his relatives.

If travel abroad is still necessary (for example, illness / death of one of the relatives living in another country), the soldier must obtain the official approval of the commander in accordance with the regulations. To do this, you will need, firstly, to provide a report addressed to the responsible person with a request to authorize a trip abroad and issue him a passport.

With the consent of the leadership, the serviceman is issued a certificate authorizing the receipt of a document for crossing the border.

Secondly, submit an application and fill out a questionnaire for a passport, attach a certificate issued by the command to the documents. The term of the prohibition to travel abroad at the end of the service varies depending on the following circumstances:

• if a serviceman during the period of service was admitted to classified materials, then at the end of the service, the restriction period is extended to another 5-10 years;
• if a citizen served under a contract, then the term of the ban on traveling abroad is regulated by the contract.

Military personnel whose period of service has ended, provided they do not have access to stamped materials, are allowed to freely travel to other countries.

For law enforcement officers

There is currently no strict ban on entry into other countries for employees of law enforcement agencies. However, the organization of a secrecy regime when traveling abroad imposes similar restrictions on security officials who have access to classified information.

However, back in 2015, at the initiative of the deputies of the State Duma, the Ministry of Internal Affairs advised its employees not to leave the country without an exceptional need. If, nevertheless, there is an urgent need to travel abroad, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs should also follow the above scheme. First of all, they are obliged to submit a report for traveling abroad to the responsible officer, and only after receiving official permission to prepare documents for a trip abroad.

MIA

Can prosecutors travel abroad? We repeat that there is no law prohibiting employees of law enforcement agencies from traveling abroad (except for a ban for persons admitted to information of high secrecy). However, in the spring of 2019, the State Duma submitted for consideration the issue of imposing a temporary ban on travel abroad for police officers and persons holding senior positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If the new bill is approved, the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be forced to include the relevant article in the contract.

In such conditions, the question of where police officers can go to rest remains open for many. For the most part, it is customary to adhere to the recommendations given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to limit the number of countries to which travel is allowed.

National Guard

Are National Guard employees allowed to travel abroad? Restrictions on visiting foreign countries in relation to employees of the structure are identical to the requirements for military personnel in this matter:

• travel to other countries is prohibited during the entire period of service;
• at the end of the service, the employee remains restricted to travel abroad for 5-10 years, if during the period of service he was allowed to access confidential information;
• for contractors, the period of validity of the travel ban is regulated by the period stipulated by the terms of the contract.

If an employee during his military service did not work with classified information, then travel restrictions end simultaneously with his term of service.

Can FSB officers travel abroad? Employees of this department are also subject to a number of travel restrictions until the termination of the contract period. Employees of the office of the service are entitled to receive the approval of the head to visit another country only on the basis of one of the following reasons:

• the need for specialized treatment;
• illness/death of one of the relatives living in another country;
• settlement of inheritance issues;
• settlement of proceedings for the confiscation of property registered abroad;
• visiting relatives living in another country.

A request to leave is submitted 3 months before the planned event, if there are no urgent factors. The application is accompanied by acts justifying the need to cross the border, certificates, etc. Based on the results of consideration of the documents, the management must make a decision.

For customs officers

As well as other government departments, the Federal Customs Service received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in a recommendatory form proposing to refrain from leaving department employees to other countries. But in places structural divisions, recommendations of this kind are accepted rather as an order for execution.

For employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations

Order of the Ministry of Emergency Situations on traveling abroad in 2018 No. 244 “On additional measures to improve social security, ensure comfortable conditions Labor and Service of Personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia” dated 06/07/2018 consolidates the prescribed recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on restricting the rights of employees of this state administration body to travel abroad. The list of countries allowed for travel by employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is limited to exclusively friendly towards Russia.

The procedure for obtaining permission to leave the Russian Federation

To authorize travel abroad for all military personnel, persons with access to classified information, as well as employees of the other departments discussed above, a certain procedure has been established.

1. An employee planning to travel abroad must submit a report (application) addressed to the head of the Federal Security Service of Russia, where it is mandatory to indicate: the country planned for visiting; purpose of the trip; departure date; source of funds for the trip; what kind of transport is planned for the trip; details of the travel agency; information about the person who sent the invitation.
2. The head who accepted the application certifies it and marks the time and level of the applicant's awareness of information constituting a state secret. Sends documents to the HR department.
3. Employees of the personnel department and operational management on the application put a mark on the presence / absence of reasons for restricting the right to leave.
4. Permission to leave is issued or denied.

One of the reasons for refusal to travel abroad is the presence of debts to the tax and public utilities, as well as unpaid fines and other debt obligations. ? This can be done in several ways.

1. You can check the existence of debts on taxes and fees on the website of the Federal Tax Service.
2. You can check whether there is a debt put up for execution by a court decision on the website of the bailiffs (FSSP).
3. The public services portal checks debts for unpaid fines.
4. It is easy to check the presence of debt to the bank by contacting the credit bureau.

After the payment of the existing debt, the information in the databases of government departments will be reflected only within 1-3 weeks, so do not put it off until the last moment. You should prepare in advance for the trip, for this it is important to know.

1. Valid passport.
2. Visa, because visa-free entry for citizens of the Russian Federation is not allowed in all countries.
3. Insurance policy.
4. Round trip tickets.
5. Travel voucher if the person is traveling on a pre-purchased tour.

Despite the fact that the list of documents for leaving the country is not so long, it should be borne in mind that in relation to visiting certain countries, Additional requirements. Therefore, the list of required papers can be expanded.

Travel abroad for police officers in Russia is limited by law. There are a number of regulations that directly indicate the employees of which particular power structures cannot leave the borders of the Russian Federation. There is also a list of countries, visiting which for one reason or another is not recommended at all. The reason for taking such measures is that the employees of a number of government agencies have access to confidential information, the possession of which imposes a certain responsibility on them.

In April 2014, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation sent information to the law enforcement agencies of the country allegedly prohibiting all police officers from leaving Russia. The ambiguous interpretation of information that is advisory in nature has given rise to some unrest among civil servants. Official clarifications have been submitted. Thus, travel abroad is prohibited for a certain category of employees in the FMS, the Bailiffs Service and employees of the Ministry of Defense. As for the other categories of police officers, they have the right to leave the country, but with the permission of the leadership.

Citizens ask questions on the topic to lawyers of the Pravoved.RU service daily, study useful answers on the pages of the portal.

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Are traffic police officers allowed to travel abroad?

Good afternoon, my husband is a police officer (traffic police), we really want to relax abroad, please tell me if he is allowed to fly abroad? Thanks for the answer

Is a police officer allowed to travel abroad if there is no secrecy?

Good afternoon! I am a police officer of the teaching staff, I don’t have any secrecy. They didn’t explain to me how to go abroad.

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Can my fiancée (policeman) fly abroad on their honeymoon after the wedding?

Hello. Please tell me, my fiancee is a police officer. In October we have a wedding, I really want to fly abroad on my honeymoon. Please wait if they release it. And which countries are allowed to enter. If there are restrictions.

Can there be problems with traveling abroad if an administrative protocol has been drawn up?

hello. 06/18/2016 they drew up an administrative protocol for drinking beer, they said the fine was 0.5 base. and on 06/30/2016 you have to go to lithuania.

Is it allowed to travel abroad for a contract serviceman (national guard troops)?

My husband and I want to go abroad for a vacation in the summer. Who says that traveling abroad is allowed, who says no. How to be?

Departure of a police officer

Hello. I am a freelance police officer. On vacation I'm going abroad (to Thailand). I will not indicate this fact in the application, they will not let me go anyway. In cases where, nevertheless, the authorities find out and fire me: do I have a chance to recover.

Travel restrictions for civil servants

Good afternoon. My husband, junior lieutenant of police, works in the traffic police. Does he have the right to travel abroad of the Russian Federation for recreation?

Amnesty travel abroad

Good day, I was serving a sentence under Article 264 h 2, a term of 1 year in a colony of a settlement, as a result served 8m 20 days and was released under an amnesty. I came to the police to check in and found out that my criminal record is not removed, although I don’t need to check in every month.

The ban on travel abroad for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

Hello. I am a police officer, a traffic police inspector. Am I allowed to travel abroad? What to do if the boss does not sign the report?

Departure abroad of the Russian Federation

Hello! Please tell me, is certified employees of the UVO on tourist vouchers allowed to travel outside the Russian Federation? Thanks in advance

Traveling abroad for police officers

Kind! I'm on maternity leave. I work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The second form of admission. How to travel abroad with a child while in maternity leave?! And if I am not allowed to leave, is this a violation of constitutional rights, and on the basis of what can I apply.

Travel abroad

I am a police officer, I have group 3 security clearance and went on vacation abroad without permission, what consequences could there be if this turns out?

Order on "ban on travel abroad for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs"

I am an employee, a criminal investigation officer, I fall under this order, please explain whether this order applies to the next vacation?

Travel abroad

I am an investigator of the police department, now on maternity leave, is it possible to somehow go on vacation abroad if security forces are prohibited from leaving?

Departure through customs

Hello! I am an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There is a need to go abroad to Europe, but the authorities only sign a report to go to Belarus. I want to fly to Belarus, and from there to fly to Europe. Please tell me if it will be Russian.

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The directive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation of April 2014 recommends that military personnel and civilians, during their service, not travel abroad. Who falls under this ban, which countries cannot be visited, how the security forces react to this.

Information that there was a restriction on the departure of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation began to arrive in the second quarter of 2014. From the words of the police officers, it became known that telegrams, letters from higher departments are coming to the units, in which they say that travel of all employees abroad must be limited. The restriction was introduced due to the events that took place in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against Russia. There were no official papers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at that time.

Why was travel banned?

Explanations of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia on the ban.

The ban on entry to other countries was explained by several official reasons:

1. For the safety of employees of law enforcement agencies. The Foreign Office has warned that it is best to avoid visiting countries that have an extradition treaty with the US. Visitors to these states from the Russian Federation do not feel safe, as these territories are not protected by Russian law. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies considered the warning as an order and demanded that the workers surrender their foreign passports.
2. To protect against provocations.
3. To protect state secrets. A letter from the Department of Internal Affairs explains the ban on traveling abroad by protecting official secrets. Because of this, all employees who have access to classified data fall into the category of persons who do not have the right to leave the country.

Since the letter is advisory in nature, depending on the form of access of the employee to important documents, the head has the right to decide the issue of permission to travel abroad. It is not allowed to leave employees who have 1 or 2 form of access to classified information.

Degrees of data privacy

All data that cannot be disclosed is conditionally divided into 3 forms:

1. Information of particular importance. Only heads of departments, heads of departments have access to them.
2. The data is classified as "Top Secret". They are available to operational staff.
3. Secret information. This data is for official use, employees are allowed to work with it. law enforcement.

Which countries can not be visited

More than 150 countries are not recommended to be visited by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. The list is long, including the EU countries, the USA, Japan, Australia. The ban on visiting these countries is justified by concern for the security forces, the exclusion of the possibility of compromising an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Which countries can you visit

The number of countries that have fallen under the restriction is huge. Police officers can visit China, Morocco, UAE, Cambodia, Indonesia. You can also go to the Maldives, Vietnam or Tunisia. Visiting the CIS countries is allowed.

In September 2015, a list of countries that police officers can visit was announced, it consists of 30 foreign countries.

Entry into Turkey and Egypt was banned for Russians after incidents with the fall of a Russian plane in the Sinai and the downing of a Su-24 bomber near the Turkish border.

To obtain the right to travel to one of the permitted countries, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation writes a report and waits for the decision of the head. If the management does not object, he can visit one of the permitted countries.

Documents for traveling abroad

To obtain permission to travel outside the state, you must:

Police officers who work with classified information or information of particular importance, hand over their passport to the personnel department after arrival no later than 5 days later. Authorization to obtain a travel document for such employees is considered more carefully.

Situation in 2015

On February 17, 2015, there was an official statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation that the restriction was communicated to employees.

The order applies to all: management team, precinct, operatives are limited to travel abroad. It is allowed to visit the CIS countries, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The representative of the Moscow police union M. Pashkin, in an interview, said that the notification is not a ban, but a recommendation. The management follows this advice, since, in the event of an emergency, the head will suffer directly.

At the same time, M. Pashkin noted that in 2015 the number of payments to employees is decreasing, this primarily concerns bonuses. In his opinion, holidays abroad are not justified, so most employees will not feel the ban.

Departure ban law

After June 2015, the ban is no longer considered as a prescription, as a draft law is being discussed that will consolidate the Directive at the legislative level. The initiator of this is Dmitry Nosov, who is a representative of the Liberal Democratic Party.

The proposal applies not only to employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but to the security forces of the Russian Federation. They will be banned from traveling abroad. Such actions are justified by concern for the protection of the country from the intelligence services of other states.


Law enforcement officers are recommended to rest in the Crimea, Gelendzhik, Sochi and other resort areas in Russia.

The opinion of police officers on the ban on traveling abroad

The number of those who work in the police is 1.325 million. Their reaction to the current situation is ambiguous, since holidays abroad often cost less than within the Russian Federation. Competition and a wide range of holiday destinations made it possible to have a cheap vacation in Turkey, Egypt and other countries.

Most of all, this restriction affected those who live in the Far Eastern District or the Kaliningrad Region, since it is much closer and faster for them to get to resort places in other countries.

There are those employees who take this news calmly: some are accustomed to relaxing in Russia or the CIS countries, others believe that incomes do not allow vacations abroad.

There are those who are indignant, perplexed: what secret information does the district police officer know. Many consider the ban to be unconstitutional and restrictive.

Vladimir Putin explained why the ban even affected police officers:

Investigation of how employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs bypass the ban:

While the law has not yet been passed, there is no exact information about whether police officers will be able to visit foreign countries.