MOSCOW, January 7. / TASS /. In 11 months of 2020, Russian bailiffs expelled over 10,000 foreign citizens out of the country, who were in Russia illegally, according to the information made available to TASS by the Federal Bailiff Service on Thursday.

"The number of foreign citizens and stateless persons actually expelled from the Russian Federation is 10,775," the materials say. Among those expelled are 40 minors.

According to the bailiff service, on December 1, 2,504 foreigners were subject to expulsion, 595 of them were held in special facilities. Compared to 2019, in 2020 the number of foreigners expelled by bailiffs has significantly decreased. In just nine months of 2019, the bailiffs expelled 26,000 foreign citizens.

As TASS was told earlier by Ministry of Internal Affairs press service, the number of foreigners staying in Russia last year significantly decreased due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the number of foreign citizens in Russia numbered about 6 mln people, 1 million of which have a temporary permission to stay in the country or a residence permit. Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 9 mln to 11 mln foreign citizens annually residing in Russia.