(RUSSIA) — Russia issued 1,112 visas in 2025 under its “Traditional Values” program, Alexey Klimov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s consular department, said on June 17, 2026, offering the clearest official count yet for a residency track created by Presidential Decree No. 702.

“Russian diplomatic missions and consular offices issued 1,112 visas in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 702. They come here. realizing that this is their only chance to live in accordance with their conscience and raise their children with traditional values,” Klimov said.

The Russian MFA figures put Germany first among recipient countries with 168 visas, followed by France with 140, the United States with 105 and Italy with 100. Other countries with notable totals included Estonia with 63, Latvia with 60, Canada with 54, Lithuania with 46 and Australia with 43.

President Vladimir Putin signed Presidential Decree No. 702 on August 19, 2024, creating a simplified path to Russian residency for citizens of 47 countries. Russian officials cast the program as an option for foreigners who want to live by what Moscow calls “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”

Applicants under the Traditional Values visa route do not need to meet several standard requirements. The decree exempts them from proof of Russian language proficiency, knowledge of Russian history and basic law, and annual immigration quotas.

Instead, the process requires a written statement declaring rejection of “destructive neoliberal ideals” and support for “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” The eligible countries include the United States, the United Kingdom and European Union states.

The program sits at the intersection of family migration, ideology and state messaging. Russian officials frame it as a family-oriented relocation channel, while critics describe it as a propaganda tool aimed at attracting conservative Westerners and turning them into domestic political symbols.

That framing has sharpened the contrast with Washington’s policy toward Russia. The U.S. Department of State said on January 21, 2026 that it had halted immigrant visa issuance for Russian nationals as part of a broader restriction.

“Effective January 21, 2026, the Department of State paused all visa issuances to immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of. Russia. to ensure that immigrants from high-risk countries do not unlawfully utilize welfare. or become a public charge,” the department said.

Days earlier, the United States had kept in place its highest warning level for travel to Russia. In a travel advisory reissued on December 29, 2025, the State Department warned Americans against entering the country and urged those already there to leave.

“Do not travel to Russia for any reason due to terrorism, unrest, wrongful detention, and other risks. U.S. citizens in Russia should leave immediately. The risk of wrongful detention of U.S. citizens remains high,” the State Department said.

Those warnings give the Russian visa program a harder edge for American families considering relocation. The offer of easier residency comes alongside an explicit U.S. government warning that Americans in Russia face detention risks, including pre-trial confinement.

Those risks include reported arrests of Westerners on what U.S. officials describe as false charges shortly after arrival. They also include pre-trial detention tied to visa or registration technicalities, an issue with direct relevance for foreign families entering through a fast-track ideological program.

Russian officials have promoted the visa as a route for foreigners who want to raise children outside what Moscow calls liberal social norms. The policy language makes family life central to the application itself, citing values that include family as a union between a man and a woman and the priority of spirituality over materialism.

That emphasis helps explain why the Traditional Values visa has drawn interest from countries that are not geographically close to Russia. The presence of the United States in third place, with 105 visas, placed it ahead of several neighboring states and behind only Germany and France.

Western Europe accounted for much of the intake. Germany’s 168 visas and France’s 140 formed the largest national groups, while Italy added 100.

The Baltic states also appeared prominently in the list despite their sharper political tensions with Moscow. Estonia received 63 visas, Latvia 60 and Lithuania 46.

Outside Europe and North America, Australia recorded 43 visas. Canada, another country included in the decree’s target group, received 54.

The program’s structure removes barriers that usually slow or limit Russian residency cases. Waiving language tests, history and law requirements, and annual quotas lowers both the procedural burden and the waiting pressure that standard applicants can face.

That does not mean the process is apolitical. The written declaration is not a routine administrative formality; it asks applicants to define themselves against “destructive neoliberal ideals” and in favor of the state’s preferred moral framework.

In practical terms, the Traditional Values visa offers a residence track built around ideological alignment rather than labor demand, study, investment or family reunification in the usual sense. The decree uses values as the entry point.

That feature sets it apart from more conventional migration channels. Many countries assess applicants through employment, income, education, sponsorship or close family ties. Russia’s decree waives several standard integration tests and places political and moral declaration at the center.

The public record around the program includes sharply different pictures of life after arrival. Russian state media have highlighted families such as the Hare family from Texas as examples of successful resettlement.

Other accounts describe a harsher experience. Some arrivals reported “humiliating treatment” and “racism” after reaching Russia, and some ended up in pre-trial detention centers over paperwork issues tied to visas or registration.

Those accounts matter because the decree promises simplification, not immunity from the wider legal environment. Foreign nationals who enter through an expedited ideological route still face Russia’s registration rules, policing practices and national security climate.

For U.S. citizens, the legal and travel risks carry unusual weight because the State Department warning is categorical. It does not advise caution or selective travel. It says, “Do not travel to Russia for any reason.”

The result is a visa pathway that speaks in the language of conscience and family while operating inside a relationship between Moscow and Washington marked by travel warnings, visa restrictions and detention concerns. Families weighing relocation would have to assess both parts at once: the streamlined entry terms set by Russia and the security warning issued by their own government.

Klimov’s statement on June 17, 2026 gave the program a firm official benchmark for the first full year of issuance after the decree took effect. The total, 1,112, showed that the scheme moved beyond isolated publicity cases and became a measurable migration channel.

People seeking to verify the program’s terms can review the decree text, U.S. visa updates and the Russia Travel Advisory dated December 29, 2025.