Over 635,000 SNILS (personal insurance policy) numbers have been assigned to newborn children since the year has begun. The Social Fund assigns a newborn with a personal insurance policy number automatically after the birth is filed in a registry office. There is no need for parents to apply. The relevant notification is delivered to the parents' profiles on the Public Services Portal.
The SNILS is a personal insurance policy number in the compulsory pension and social insurance system. It is assigned to every employed person in Russia, foreigners included. In addition to insurance, SNILS numbers are used extensively by the public services system, so children need them just as much as adults.
The insurance number is required, in particular, to receive maternity capital, enroll a child in a kindergarten or school, receive welfare benefits and allowances. Medical records or healthcare insurance policies are also impossible to get now without a SNILS number.
SNILS turned 30 this year, having been introduced on April 1, 1996. In three decades, those numbers have become a fact of life for every Russian.
Starting out as green plastic cards, SNILS numbers are now assigned digitally, with no physical medium required. You can find your insurance number in your Public Service Portal profile or request a hard copy from a Social Fund client office or a multifunctional center.