"Amina" for Migrants: What Uzbek Citizens in Moscow Need to Know

"Amina" for Migrants: What Citizens of Uzbekistan Need to Know in Moscow

Starting September 1, 2025, the "Amina" application became mandatory for citizens of Uzbekistan and other visa-free countries who come to work in Moscow and the Moscow Region.

Starting September 1, 2026, the rules were expanded. Now, "Amina" is required not only for those arriving in these regions for work. The requirement also applies to several categories of foreigners who intend to stay there for more than 90 days, even if their stay is not related to employment.

This list includes foreign students, as well as foreigners who have come to visit relatives who are Russian citizens.

For example, if a citizen of Uzbekistan comes to Moscow to visit their grandmother—a Russian citizen—and intends to stay in the country for more than 90 days, they will have to use "Amina." If a citizen of Uzbekistan holds a residence permit (VNZh) in Russia, and their adult son—a citizen of another country—comes to visit them, the son will also need the application.

In addition, the list includes foreigners who have submitted applications but have not yet received a temporary residence permit (RVP) or a residence permit (VNZh), as well as refugees and individuals granted temporary asylum, participants in the compatriot resettlement program, and certain other categories.

The new rules apply to labor migrants from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Ukraine.

Foreigners subject to the new rules must install the "Amina" application on their smartphones themselves. Through it, they register for migration control and specify their actual residential address. If the place of residence changes, the new address must also be entered into the application.

There is no need to additionally contact a multifunctional center (MFC) or register for migration control through Gosuslugi. The owner of the apartment where the foreign citizen lives is also not required to submit a notification to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) or confirm their residence.

If the migration registration was completed before September 1 and has not yet expired, there is no need to immediately re-register it through the application. Registration through "Amina" must be completed within 30 working days after the expiration of the current migration registration.

For foreigners to whom the new rules do not apply, the standard migration registration procedure in accordance with Russian legislation remains in effect.

If a person arrives in a region where the "Amina" experiment is not being conducted, they must register for migration control at their actual place of stay using the standard procedure—by submitting a notification of arrival to the MVD or MFC. Depending on the situation, the notification is submitted either by the host party or by the foreign citizen themselves.

Upon returning to Moscow or the Moscow Region, they must register through "Amina" again.

One of the features of the system is that the application must receive the phone's geolocation data. If the phone is broken, lost, or stolen, or if other problems with the application arise, its operation must be restored as quickly as possible.

It is important to monitor the application's performance and the transmission of location data. If device geolocation data is not received for more than three working days, this may serve as grounds for placing the foreign citizen on the Register of Controlled Persons.