Find out why: ask for the refusal in writing or note down what you were told.
Check the Justice Ministry's 284-FZ list and discuss the refusal with a lawyer.
While you are not on the list, get done whatever needs a power of attorney.
If you are the parent of someone abroad: nothing can be done under a power of attorney from a person on the list, but dependent relatives with no income of their own can ask for a monthly allowance (Law 284-FZ, art. 10).
Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
The consulate refuses a passport or documents
First find out why you were refused. Ask for the answer in writing; if they won't give it, note the date, the consulate and what was said. There are usually three reasons: you are on the Justice Ministry list under Law 284-FZ, there is a criminal case against you, or you are wanted. First Department warns that a refused passport or other consular service may mean you are wanted.
Law 284-FZ has been in force since 4 August 2026. A person is put on the list only if three conditions are met together: a final sentence under any Criminal Code article (including one passed in absentia) or a ruling under 'political' articles of the Administrative Code (art. 19.5(42), 19.34, 20.3.2, 20.3.3, 20.3.4, 20.33: foreign agents, 'discrediting the army', calls for sanctions, 'undesirables'); confirmed evasion of the punishment; and confirmed presence abroad. A criminal case with no sentence is not enough for the list.
How to check. The Justice Ministry keeps the list on its website (reestrs.minjust.gov.ru). The restrictions apply from the day after publication; the law does not require the person to be notified. On 26 August 2026 the list was in test mode with one fictitious person. Indirect signs: you lose access to your Russian banking app, Gosuslugi refuses you.
What is closed to people on the list: a passport and almost all consular services (notarial acts, registering a marriage or change of name, obtaining documents from Russia, help if arrested), notaries in Russia, deals under a power of attorney, Gosuslugi, e-signature, loans, property and car deals, driving. According to OVD-Info, the only notarial act the consulate can still perform is certifying that the person is alive. A temporary document to return home if a passport is lost, and registering a birth, divorce or death, are not on the list of bans.
Give a power of attorney to your parents or others close to you while you are not on the list: with a local notary, apostille and translation, without the consulate (see 'Documents abroad'). Once you are listed, deals under any power of attorney are banned, even a foreign one with an apostille. So lawyers advise getting done in advance everything the power of attorney is for: a sale, withdrawing money, papers for children.
If your passport is about to expire, OVD-Info advises getting a second 10-year passport while you are not on the list. An expired passport does not end your citizenship. If you cannot renew it, ask the authorities where you live about an alien's passport or, if you have refugee status, a refugee travel document. Decide on your status together with a lawyer.
Don't go to Russia for a new passport without weighing the risks. The artist Alexander Kondratov, who came in spring 2026 to replace his passport, was detained at Vnukovo, held under back-to-back administrative arrests for at least 70 days and charged with treason in August (The Insider, citing a Memorial review).
How to get off the list (arts. 5 and 8 of the law): the sentence or ruling is overturned, the punishment is deferred or waived, serving it begins, or your presence in Russia is confirmed. The Justice Ministry considers an application within 20 working days; a refusal can be challenged in court. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, paying an administrative fine in full should lead to removal, but it is unclear how to pay with frozen accounts.
Dependent relatives with no income of their own can receive a monthly allowance from your frozen money by decision of an interagency commission (art. 10). Where to turn: The Ark (Kovcheg; foreign agent), First Department (foreign agent), Reforum Help ('undesirable' in Russia).
The law does not close everything. Its list of bans does not include a temporary document to return to Russia if your passport is lost, or registering a birth, divorce or death; of the notarial acts, a consul may only certify that you are alive and the signature of a blind person.
The application for removal is written in free form, bound together and handed in to the Justice Ministry in person or sent by post with a list of contents. The answer comes by letter; if the grounds come from state bodies, the ministry must remove you itself within 10 working days.
Belarus shows what to expect: since 7 September 2023 (Decree No. 278) its embassies have not issued or renewed passports or certified powers of attorney, and issue only a certificate of return. The difference is that the Belarusian ban covers everyone abroad, while the Russian one covers only people on the list.
Belarusians got help from their host countries: since 1 July 2023 Poland has issued a free one-year foreigner's travel document to anyone with a residence permit, while in Lithuania it costs money, you must explain why you have no passport and it lasts only as long as the residence permit. These rules were made for Belarusians; whether Russians on the list will get the same is not yet known.
Belarusians found that the travel document is valid only together with a residence permit, some banks will not open an account without a passport, and children born abroad can get their first passport only back home. So it is worth sorting out your residence permit and your children's documents while your passport is still valid.
Designations of organisations in this guide: OVD-Info (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre (extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Memorial Political Prisoners Support (extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Reforum Help (undesirable). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.
Legal advice for people who have left (documents, residence permits, visas, asylum, extradition risk), temporary housing, free psychologists, mutual-aid chats by city.
Lawyers via the Telegram bots @kovcheglive_bot and @EmigrantHelpBot; psychologists and housing via forms on the website. Psychologists: 4-week online groups; waiting time from a few days to weeks. The Ark itself is a 'foreign agent'. The project was set up with support from the Anti-War Committee, designated 'terrorist' in Russia since March 2026. The Kovcheg website footer links to the Anti-War Committee: do not follow that link or subscribe to its channels from a device that could be checked.
Free psychologists and lawyers for forced emigrants: migration and visas, taxes, civil law, humanitarian residence; groups and seminars. Psychologists work in Russian and Belarusian.
A Reforum project of the Free Russia Foundation, designated 'undesirable' in Russia. If you travel to Russia, contacting an 'undesirable' organisation or joining its events can lead to prosecution, so check with a lawyer. Separately, Reforum Space Paris has also been 'undesirable' since July 2026, and the Reforum Space Vilnius community has been a 'foreign agent' since May 2026. In-person meetings in Paris and Vilnius carry extra risk.
online; Berlin, Vilnius, Warsaw, Paris, Tbilisiundesirable
Advice for people who are detained or face administrative or criminal cases over protests and anti-war statements. They can tell you how to behave during questioning.
Since June 2026 it no longer works with lawyers in Russia; it gives advice and refers people onward. For criminal cases and pressure on families, also contact First Department and Prison Lawyer. The 8 800 hotline is switched off; only the bot works. Since 4 June 2026 it is on the Rosfinmonitoring list as 'extremist': do not repost its materials.
The only official bot is @ovdinfobot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.
abroadextremist+ foreign agent, on Rosfinmonitoring list
Get in touch ↓
This organisation is designated 'extremist' in Russia. It says that a consultation is not participation in its work, but messages on a phone that may be seized and reposts of its materials are dangerous. Write from a device you would not hand over if detained.