Increasing social pensions and expanding family mortgages

Family mortgages will expand

Starting in April, the family mortgage programme will be expanded with an interest rate of 6% per year. The apartment can be purchased not only in new buildings, but also on the secondary market. However, there is a caveat: it will be possible to buy housing on the secondary market only in those settlements where construction volumes are low. In cities where housing construction is actively developing, everything will remain unchanged — family mortgages will apply only to the primary market.

Indexation of social pensions

Social pensions in Russia will grow by 14.75%. Old-age pensioners who have reached the age of 68 (men) and 63 (women), people with disabilities of all groups, orphaned children and students who have lost their parents will receive increased payments. Those who turn 80 in April and who receive disability group I for the first time this month will receive a separate increase.

Admission of first-graders begins in Russia

Admission to the first class begins on April 1. An application for admission of a child can be sent through the Gosuslugi portal, submitted directly to the school's admissions office or to the MFC. The first stage will last until June 30. During this period, the application can be sent to the school by registration or if the family has a benefit. At the second stage, from July 6 to September 5, applications will be accepted from parents, regardless of the address, if there are places left. As for the priority, applications from beneficiaries are accepted first. They have the right to choose any school, regardless of their registered address.

Deductions will be made from the income from online advertising

Amendments to the Law on Advertising will come into force, according to which advertising distributors and operators of online advertising systems will be required to pay deductions from the amount of income for the sale of online advertising distribution services aimed at attracting consumer attention in the Russian Federation. The amount of payments will be 3% of the quarterly income from such activities. Roskomnadzor will control the process, and it will calculate the deductions based on information about online advertising that is transmitted to the agency.

Testing for migrant children

A law comes into force in April, according to which, when children of foreign citizens are admitted to educational institutions, they will need to pass a Russian language proficiency test. It is enough to score 3 points. The tests will be conducted orally for first-graders, and in writing for the rest. If the test is successful, the child will be enrolled in school, and if unsuccessful, he will be offered additional Russian language training. It will be possible to retake the test only after three months.

A foreign driver's license will no longer be valid

Starting from April 1, foreign and international driver's licenses will become invalid in Russia. To replace them with Russian ones, they need to take the exam again. This applies to foreign citizens who obtained a residence permit or citizenship of the Russian Federation before April 1, 2024 and have a valid foreign driver's license issued before that date. The same rules will apply to those foreigners who entered Russia before April 1, 2024 and did not have time to exchange their rights. A driver's license issued in Belarus is an exception.

Number of SIM cards will be regulated

The number of SIM cards issued per person will be limited. According to the new rules, there must be no more than 20 of them. Before registering a new SIM card, the operator will be required to check the number of existing ones. This can also be done independently through the Gosuslugi portal. The operator will also verify the accuracy of information about the subscriber and corporate users. If incorrect data is found, it will be impossible to receive the services.