MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued instructions to the Russian government to make changes in its approach to the country’s immigration policy.

"We need to make a fundamental, in-depth upgrade of our approaches to immigration policy. I am instructing the Interior Ministry and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies to work together with the government and the presidential administration to address all of these issues in a comprehensive, thorough manner," the Russian leader said in addressing a meeting of the board of the Interior Ministry, which has oversight over immigration matters. He also emphasized the need to draw up a list of high-priority solutions.

The head of state noted that, "when you look into the circumstances of a specific case and crime, it turns out that the defendant had no problem entering Russia, going through all the formalities and obtaining a labor patent despite having an entire record of offenses, including egregious ones." "After that, he applies for citizenship, even though he can’t speak basic Russian. What’s necessary here are cutting-edge digital biometric databases. The ones we currently have are not up to the task, judging by everything, as they don’t enable fully curbing the risks and repeat offenses of illegal immigration," the president stressed.

Putin also noted that, meanwhile, "our compatriots [outside Russia] whose ancestors were raised in the very heart of our country sometimes spend years trying to obtain [Russian] citizenship.".