Russia proposes cutting off phones brought from abroad unless registered within two weeks

Russia's Digital Development Ministry has proposed that, starting in April 2027, mobile carriers stop serving smartphones brought into the country from abroad if their owners do not register them within two weeks. Registration would be done by IMEI, a unique 15-digit number assigned to each mobile device during manufacturing. The business outlet RBC reported on the initiative.

How the rules would work

The proposal, currently under discussion at the ministry, would cover smartphones imported for personal use. After bringing a phone into Russia, the owner would have two weeks to register it. If that does not happen, carriers would disconnect the device from the network.

According to the ministry, registration can be completed on Gosuslugi, the government services portal, within that two-week window. Devices that are not registered in time will not be served on the networks.

Stated purpose

The ministry said the measure is meant to counter people who bring smartphones into Russia one at a time in order to resell them.

The rules would not affect phones that were already working on Russian networks before April 2027.

Earlier steps

In June, the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, passed a second package of anti-fraud measures. It provides for a unified IMEI database in Russia, including a "blacklist" of phones that were stolen or illegally brought into the country.