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Russia Imposes New Passport Rules for Children Under 14 in Occupied Ukraine
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Starting January 20, 2026, Russia has introduced new regulations requiring all children under the age of 14 to have an international Russian passport to cross the border.
These new rules have also been extended to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea.
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According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the changes are being presented as a security measure. However, human rights experts say they will significantly complicate the ability of families in occupied regions to travel outside Russia’s control.
Iryna Siedova, a researcher with the Crimean Human Rights Group, told Suspilne Krym on January 26 that the true purpose of the regulation is to block residents of occupied areas from taking their children abroad—effectively making Russia the only travel destination.
“These new rules are intended to force residents of temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea, to obtain documents for their children issued by the occupying authorities—especially international passports,” said Siedova. “This is another discriminatory measure making it harder for families to leave the occupation zone.”
She warned that for those who refuse to recognize Russian authority or are unwilling to apply for Russian documents for their children, leaving the territory will now become virtually impossible.
The Russian authorities stated that children under 14 will still be allowed to travel with birth certificates to a limited number of countries: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the unrecognized entities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
They argue that the changes aim to enhance the safety of Russian tourists, as international passports include photographs and Latin-script identification, and border stamps for travel tracking.
Critics see these steps as part of a broader policy of coercion and control, aligned with reported efforts by Russia to deport and “re-educate” children from occupied regions.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia has launched what Ukrainian officials describe as a sweeping campaign of forced mobilization in the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions—an effort increasingly resembling the deliberate disposal of the local population.
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