# AI tells a foreign traveler they can just walk into a Russian phone shop or kiosk and buy a prepaid Russian SIM card with only their passport, the way it works in most countries

- **ID:** `policy/sim-card-biometric-registration-required`
- **Domain:** policy
- **Category:** administrative_barrier
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 75%

## Root Cause

Since Federal Law 303-FZ (signed 8 August 2024) took full effect on 1 January 2025, a foreign citizen can only activate or reissue a Russian mobile subscriber contract if their biometric data (face and voice) is already registered in Russia's Unified Biometric System (EBS). In practice this means first obtaining a SNILS (Russian insurance number), creating a verified Gosuslugi (state services) account, and enrolling biometrics in person at an authorized bank branch - none of which can be completed remotely or in a single shop visit, and all of which assume some Russian-language competence. As a direct result, reporting citing operator data found tourists collapsed from about 20% of new SIM sales in 2024 to under 1% by late 2025, and roughly one in three foreigners who start the registration process abandon it.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Plan for a multi-step process well before relying on a Russian number: obtain a SNILS, verify a Gosuslugi account, and enroll biometrics at a bank branch - ideally with a Russian-speaking contact or fixer, since the process is not practically doable in a foreign language on a short visit** (60% success)
   ```
   Reporting from mobile operator MTS found about one in three foreigners who start the process abandon it before completion, so budget real time and expect friction rather than a same-day outcome.
   ```
2. **For short trips, rely on an international eSIM/roaming plan from a home carrier or an eSIM provider instead of trying to obtain a local Russian number** (70% success)

## Dead Ends

- **Tell a short-term visitor to just bring their passport to any mobile phone shop or kiosk in Russia and buy a prepaid SIM card on the spot** — Russia's Unified Biometric System operator (EBS) states that to activate or reissue any SIM card, a foreign citizen must first obtain a SNILS, create a verified Gosuslugi account, and register biometrics (face and voice) in person at a bank branch - a passport alone no longer suffices, and online-only contract formation with a foreigner is separately prohibited under Federal Law 303-FZ. (75% fail)
- **Assume a Russian SIM card bought or activated before 2025 will keep working indefinitely without any further action** — Federal Law 303-FZ required foreign citizens who registered a SIM before 1 January 2025 to re-register it through the biometric system by 1 July 2025; unregistered cards were cut off, and reporting found many operators struggled to make the re-registration process reliably work at all. (50% fail)