MOSCOW. Members of the State Duma, led by Yaroslav Nilov, head of the Labor Committee, are preparing a bill to significantly raise the minimum debt amount that can trigger a temporary ban on international travel. The proposed legislation, which has been obtained by RIA Novosti, suggests amendments to the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings.”
Under the new proposal, the standard debt threshold for individuals subject to travel restrictions would increase threefold, from 30,000 to 90,000 rubles. Furthermore, if debtors fail to voluntarily meet their payment obligations within two months, the threshold for a travel ban would also be tripled, rising from 10,000 to 30,000 rubles.
The authors of this initiative believe that tripling the debt sum will enable judicial bailiffs to concentrate their efforts more effectively on genuinely malicious defaulters. It is important to note that these proposed changes are specifically designed not to affect debts related to alimony, compensation for health damage, compensation in connection with the death of a breadwinner, or property and moral damages resulting from a criminal act. For these specific categories, the current travel restriction threshold will remain at 10,000 rubles.
Yaroslav Nilov emphasized that the existing debt amounts (30,000 rubles for an initial restriction and 10,000 rubles for overdue payments) are currently considered too low. He argued that these modest sums could lead to a disproportionately large number of otherwise law-abiding citizens being placed on the no-travel list.
As an example, Nilov cited situations where citizens who do not reside at their registered address might not receive timely notifications for minor administrative offenses, such as traffic fines. This oversight can lead to an accumulation of small debts, ultimately creating a situation where it becomes impossible for them to clear the total outstanding amount and avoid a travel ban, despite their good intentions.
