Russian police round up suspected illegal migrants during a raid on a Moscow warehouse, 14 October 2013. Photo: EPA / MAXIM SHIPENKOV

The Russian Interior Ministry has announced that 685,000 people have had their names added to the National Register of Illegal Migrants, a centralised list of foreign citizens in Russia who do not have a legal basis for their presence in the company.

Announcing the news, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev stressed that foreign citizens had until 30 April to get the necessary documents to remain in the country, after which they could be removed from the list.

Speaking at an Interior Ministry meeting on Wednesday, Kolokoltsev, said that only 400,000 people had already been added to the register.

“The main purpose of the register is to limit the number of foreign citizens who have entered our country illegally, or rather, those who have lost the legal grounds to remain in our country,’ Interfax quoted Kolokoltsev as saying.

The National Register of Illegal Migrants was created in February and contains data on foreigners who are known to be illegally residing in the Russian Federation, though last month dozens of migrants legally residing in Russia found that their names had appeared in the register in error.

Anyone whose name is in the register has certain rights curtailed, such as the right to move house legally, to get married, and to buy vehicles or real estate. Companies or organisations that employ people in the register or provide services to them are also subject to fines.