Telecom operators in Russia are in no hurry to block foreign subscribers who have not passed the mandatory biometric identification, Roskomnadzor reported. According to the agency, more than half of the SIM cards registered to foreigners have not yet been fully identified.
Deputy Head of Roskomnadzor Oleg Terlyakov said at the "Spectrum-2025" forum that as of October 2025, 7 million foreign subscribers with more than 8.8 million SIM cards were registered in Russia, of which 53% have not been verified in accordance with the law. According to him, operators explain the delays by the inability to simultaneously send all subscribers to submit biometrics in order not to overload the salons, as well as the fact that the process is proceeding according to the plan of the Ministry of Digital Development.
In 2024, a restriction was introduced for foreigners: it became forbidden to issue more than ten SIM cards per person, and to connect, you need to pass biometrics, apply for SNILS and register on "Gosuslugi". Terlyakov noted that operators are not yet blocking foreigners who have exceeded the limit, as well as citizens of the Russian Federation with an excess of the number of SIM cards - disconnection for Russians will begin on November 1, 2025.
Representatives of operators explain that the verification process is carried out in stages in order not to overload offices and related structures, including banks and MFCs. According to one of the sources in the market, out of 300 million active SIM cards in Russia, 8.8 million remain unidentified, which creates a potential security threat.
Major companies such as T2 and MegaFon note the high speed of validation: now almost 70% of foreign subscribers have been identified. T-Mobile has suspended services to foreigners who have not passed the verification. MTS and VimpelCom declined to comment.
