Those admitted to state secrets may be required to present their passports for inspection

Citizens who have access to state secrets will have to provide their foreign passport for inspection by authorized persons when returning from abroad; a corresponding bill was submitted to the State Duma on Wednesday.

Amendments are proposed to be made to Articles 21.2 (obligations of officials and citizens of the Russian Federation admitted to state secrets) and 24 (restrictions on the rights of an official or citizen admitted or previously admitted to state secrets) of the Law “On State Secrets”.

“The purpose of preparing the draft law is to empower managers who make decisions on access to state secrets, as well as employees of security-secret departments of bodies and organizations, with the right to check information on compliance with the conditions of decisions made on the possibility of traveling abroad, including studying the information of a foreign passport,” - says the explanatory note.

The authors of the amendments believe that it is possible to ensure an effective mechanism for protecting state secrets only if, upon returning from abroad, it is possible to check whether the employee who has access to state secrets has complied with the conditions for traveling abroad.

To travel to most countries, you need a foreign passport, which is marked when crossing the border by border services. Comparison of these marks with information available in the secret security unit regarding permission to leave (notice of departure), according to the authors of the initiative, is the fastest and easiest way to monitor compliance with the conditions for traveling abroad.