Grounds and procedure for acquiring and terminating Russian citizenship in 2021

Reasons

The grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship, as well as the legal basis for Russian citizenship, are described in the Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation,” which was adopted on May 31, 2002.

According to this law, the grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship are:

Fact of birth.
Acquisition of citizenship.
Completing the residency restoration procedure.
The fact of choosing the country of citizenship.
Other reasons.

Depending on the basis for obtaining citizenship, the package of required documents also changes. In addition, the procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship also changes depending on the reasons and grounds for acquiring citizenship.

Obtaining Russian citizenship. Ways to obtain Russian citizenship using a simplified scheme

There are two ways to obtain residency in this country:

Simplified receipt procedure.
Standard procedure for becoming a citizen.

According to the basic norms, becoming a citizen is the acquisition of residence of the Russian Federation by a representative of another state or a stateless person. Stateless persons, or stateless persons, are people who are not nationals of any country. In other words, they do not have residency in any country in the world.

Grounds and procedure for obtaining

The main official document regulating these issues is the citizenship law N62-FZ. According to it, there are two options for obtaining citizenship: regular and simplified. For a regular one, you need to have a residence permit or temporary residence permit (TRP), and also have lived in Russia for at least five years.

With the simplified procedure, the above requirements do not apply. You can obtain citizenship even in less than a year from the moment you move to the Russian Federation.

The following categories can take advantage of such preferential conditions, which can be divided into two large groups:

Persons related by various family ties to Russian citizens:
spouse of a citizen of the Russian Federation, if the marriage was concluded at least three years ago;
an incapacitated person or a child whose guardian is a Russian citizen;
a disabled person who has an adult child - a citizen of Russia.
Persons with close historical or cultural ties to Russia:
a native speaker of the Russian language, whose status is established as a result of an interview with authorized bodies;
refugee;
participant in the state program for the resettlement of compatriots;
a citizen of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Belarus, since these countries, together with the Russian Federation, signed a quadripartite international agreement;
a former citizen of the USSR who was either born on the territory of the RSFSR or is a WWII veteran.

Depending on where a person lives - within Russia or beyond its borders - the choice of the authority to which to contact depends (read about which authorities deal with issues related to citizenship here). In the first case, this is the Main Directorate of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has taken over the functions of the disbanded Federal Migration Service since 2016 (see Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 04/05/2016 N156, as amended on 12/21/2016 and Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 04/15/2016 N192).

Foreign residents must apply at consular or diplomatic missions.

According to the order of the Federal Migration Service N64 dated March 19, 2008, documents are provided in this order:

Identity card with a notarized translation into Russian.
Application for citizenship.
Document about place of residence.
Three photographs 35x45.
Certificate of availability of a legal source of income.

Depending on the grounds for obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation, other papers may be required :

Certificate of refugee status.
Certificate of marriage and change of surname.
RVP or residence permit.
Birth certificate.
Certificate of knowledge of the Russian language.
Documents of relatives.

All foreign documents must be legalized or have a renowned apostille.

When submitting documents, a state fee of 3,500 rubles is paid. This rule does not apply to orphans and stateless children - residents of the former republics of the USSR. Receipt of documents must be recorded in a receipt, which is handed to the applicant.

An important step should be the renunciation of previous citizenship - this is one of the requirements of the current legislation. The person is obliged to provide the relevant document of the foreign state. In order to facilitate the receipt of such a document, you can request a certificate from the Main Department of Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the possibility of granting a person Russian citizenship. There are two exceptions to these rules:

Since the Russian Federation has signed a bilateral agreement with Tajikistan allowing residents of both countries to have dual citizenship, it is not necessary to receive such a refusal.
From September 1, 2021, citizens of Ukraine can only get by with a notarized application for renunciation of their previous citizenship: one copy remains with the migration department, the other is sent by mail to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

Consideration of the application usually takes up to six months, and in the case of native Russian speakers or participants in the resettlement program for compatriots - three months.

You can only obtain a Russian passport in person. At the same time, in a solemn atmosphere, the oath of the new citizen is read, which obliges to comply with the legislation of Russia, respect its history, culture, traditions, protect independence, and promote the protection of the rights and freedoms of residents. Only those who, for physical reasons, cannot read or sign it are exempt from this procedure.

More details about the stages of proceedings in cases related to obtaining Russian citizenship can be found in this material.

Reasons for refusal

Failure of the applicant to meet the above requirements may result in a negative decision on the application. In addition, failure may be caused by reasons such as :

a decision on a ban on entry into the Russian Federation or the undesirability of staying on its territory;
providing false information or forged documents;
committing offenses and other forms of non-compliance with the law.

These are the circumstances that exclude admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation.

Despite this, such individuals are given a second chance - the opportunity to re-apply documents after a year, even if they were rejected.

Acquiring residency by birth

The regulation on the procedure for considering issues of citizenship provides that people born in the Russian Federation have the right of filiation. Filiation is the acquisition of residency in the Russian Federation by right of birth, if the parents of a newborn baby (or one of them) are representatives of the Russian Federation.

In other words, if a child was born from parents who are representatives of Russia, then he automatically becomes a resident of the Russian Federation. Moreover, the country where he was born does not matter at all. In this situation, the so-called principle of consanguinity is applied, when the newborn is assigned the citizenship of his parents.

The basis for acquiring citizenship is also birth in Russia. In this situation, the so-called principle of soil, or earth, is applied. This means that if a child was born on the territory of the Russian Federation, then he has every right to become a resident of this federation.

But in this case there are some nuances:

A child can only apply for residency if his parents are stateless. In this case, the parents of the newborn must give their consent to the newborn becoming a citizen of the Russian Federation.
A child can acquire citizenship with the permission of parents who are residents of other countries. But in this case, their consent alone will not be enough. The country of citizenship of the child's parents must allow him to take citizenship. If the home country of the parents refuses to grant citizenship to the newborn, then only the consent of his parents will be sufficient.

Residency is assigned automatically by birth. This means that you will not need to apply for citizenship.

If one of the parents has died or is considered missing, then the born baby is automatically assigned Russian residency, provided that the missing parent was a resident of the Russian Federation.

If the baby was born outside the Russian Federation, but the parents want him to become a citizen of Russia, then they need to contact the Russian diplomatic mission in a foreign country with a request to assign citizenship to the born child.

Methods of obtaining

There are several options for acquiring Russian citizenship. The choice depends on the reason for obtaining citizenship.

At birth

The issue of filiation is regulated by Article 12 of Federal Law No. 62-FZ dated May 31, 2021, as amended on March 18, 2021.

A child is awarded the status of a resident of the Russian Federation if:

One or both parents are Russian. The baby becomes a citizen of Russia, regardless of place of birth.
Mom has citizenship of the Russian Federation, dad is a representative of another power, or vice versa. A child is granted the status of an indigenous person of the Russian Federation upon birth in Russia.
The parents or sole parent have citizenship of another country, but that country does not make the child a resident. A child becomes a Russian citizen if he was born on the territory of the Russian Federation.

A minor is awarded the status of an indigenous person of the Russian Federation upon birth in Russia, if his parents are unknown and they have not shown up within 6 months from the date of his discovery.

In general order

The procedure under this scheme is regulated by Article 13 of document No. 62-FZ dated May 31, 2021, edited in 2021. An adult with legal capacity can apply for citizenship.

Terms of registration:

Permanent residence in Russia for 5 years continuously from the date of receipt of a residence permit until the submission of an application for acquisition of citizenship. During the year, a person can leave the territory of the Russian Federation, but for no more than 3 months. Departure for an extended period entails interruption of the period of stay in the Russian Federation and is not counted.
Compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Availability of regular cash receipts.
Refusal of citizenship of another power. This is not required if international agreements of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 62-FZ provide for dual citizenship or the applicant cannot formalize the renunciation for reasons beyond his control.
Knowledge of Russian language. Knowledge is tested in an exam, and upon passing, the test taker is given a certificate.

The period of residence is reduced to 1 year for one of the following reasons:

success in cultural, scientific, and other areas, professions in demand in the Russian Federation;
granting political asylum;
recognition of a person as a refugee;
special services to the Russian Federation;
a representative of another state that was part of the former USSR served in Russia for 3 years.

In a simplified manner

This is the shortest way to become an indigenous person of the Russian Federation. Registration of citizenship in this way is provided for in Article 14 of Law No. 62-FZ.

Conditions for the procedure:

The presence of one of the Russian parents in an adult, capable person. Citizenship is granted if mom and dad are constantly in Russia with short trips out of the country.
People undergoing the procedure were born in the RSFSR and previously had USSR resident status.
Registered marriage. You can apply for Russian citizenship 3 years after visiting the registry office.
The presence of adult capable Russian children. Russian Federation resident status is awarded to a disabled applicant.
An indigenous child of the Russian Federation, aged 18, was declared partially or completely incompetent by a court decision. Citizenship is granted on the condition that the second parent has died, is declared missing, or is unable to perform his immediate duties due to deprivation of rights or other objective circumstances.
Presence of minor Russian children. The status of an indigenous person of the Russian Federation is awarded to a person if the second parent has died, etc.
Obtaining a diploma in in-demand professions after June 1, 2021. Educational documents issued by institutions with state accreditation are taken into account. Citizenship is granted if a citizen has worked in Russian companies for 3 years after graduating from university, paid taxes, and transferred money to the Pension Fund.
The applicant is an individual entrepreneur. You can apply for the status of a resident of the Russian Federation 3 years after the start of commercial activities in Russia. At the same time, a citizen must pay taxes annually and make transfers to the Pension Fund for a total amount of 1,000,000 rubles.
Investing in Russian enterprises. Applications are accepted from persons who have a share in the company of at least 10%, if the authorized capital of the organization is at least 100,000,000 rubles. The company's deduction for taxes and contributions to the Pension Fund should be 6,000,000 per year.
Work for a year in a specialty from the list for registration of citizenship under the simplified system, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the company in which the citizen is employed must regularly make contributions to the Pension Fund.
Having the status of a WWII veteran. Citizenship is granted if the applicant previously had USSR citizenship and permanently resides in Russia.
The person is a participant in the state program for the resettlement of compatriots.
Entry into the category of citizens determined by the President of the Russian Federation.

A person who is called a native Russian speaker can undergo a simplified procedure under the following conditions:

compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;
availability of regular cash receipts;
renunciation of citizenship of another power, except for cases provided for by international agreements and local legal acts.

Reinstatement of Russian citizenship

The status of an indigenous person of the Russian Federation can be renewed if the person previously had Russian citizenship. Conditions:

Continuous stay in the Russian Federation for 3 years. A citizen has the right to leave the country for 3 months a year. If the applicant leaves the State for a longer period, the calculation of the period begins from the moment of his arrival in the State.
Availability of a regular source of cash income.
Refusal of citizenship of another state. An exception is the registration of dual citizenship if this is provided for by international agreements of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 62-FZ, or the applicant cannot formalize the renunciation for reasons beyond his control.

A person who previously had the status of a resident of the Russian Federation has the right to again come under the jurisdiction of Russia in a simplified manner if he meets the conditions of Article 14 specified above.

Restoration of citizenship

The regulation on the procedure for considering issues of citizenship also provides for the assignment of citizenship by restoring previously lost citizenship due to its acquisition in another country. In legislative terminology, restoration of residence is called renaturalization. In the basics of Russian citizenship, this term is listed as re-entry into citizenship.

If you have such a right, a simplified scheme is provided for acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation. This means that instead of the required five years, a representative of a foreign state who was previously a citizen of the Russian Federation will have to live on the territory of the Russian Federation for at least three years. That is, the required period for obtaining residency is automatically reduced by two years.

A clear example of the restoration of citizenship is a person’s residence in Russia at the time when it was part of the USSR. But at the same time, the person had to have USSR citizenship. With the collapse of the Union, citizens could choose their country of citizenship from the former republics of the USSR. If, for example, a person chose Ukraine, but after 10 years he wanted to become a Russian citizen again, then he will undergo a simplified procedure for restoring residence.

Let us recall that the choice of citizenship in the countries that were part of the USSR is called an option. Today the option is not very common. It is possible only if the state is divided into several countries or becomes part of another, as was the case with the Crimean peninsula, which in 2014 passed from Ukraine to Russia.

Acquiring citizenship

The regulation on the procedure for considering issues of citizenship provides for the acquisition of citizenship by acquiring residency. This is a standard procedure that is known throughout the world. The grounds and procedure for acquiring citizenship depend on the length of stay, financial situation and biography of the person wishing to become a resident of the Russian Federation. Thus, according to the current legislation, a citizen of another country has the right to claim citizenship of the Russian Federation only after he has lived within the Russian Federation for more than five years from the date of issue of a residence permit.

How to obtain Russian citizenship, temporary residence permit, residence permit

But there are a number of cases where the standard citizenship scheme is reduced from five years to one year. People who have asked for political asylum in the Russian Federation can obtain residency in one year. In other words, these are people who are in refugee status. This privilege can also be used by persons who have distinguished themselves by very serious successes in science or culture of the Russian Federation.

Acquiring citizenship in this way is called naturalization.

Obtaining citizenship through a simplified procedure is possible if a citizen of another country is married to a resident of the Russian Federation. If their marriage is legally formalized and has existed for at least three years, then a resident of a foreign state has the right to submit a petition to acquire citizenship. In this case, the established mandatory period of residence is reduced by two years.

Sample marriage certificate

Main characteristics of naturalization:

Only a person who is 18 years of age at the time of filing the application can apply for resident status.
An applicant for citizenship must have a stable financial income and permanent residence.
An applicant for citizenship must first pass a test of knowledge of the Russian language. This is necessary so that the government of the Russian Federation is confident that the person sufficiently speaks the state language of the Russian Federation. The certificate of passing the test confirms that the applicant will not have a language barrier with Russian representatives in the future.

Certificate of passing Russian language testing

Only the President of the Russian Federation has the right to make a decision on conferring citizenship. All applications for residency are reviewed by a commission created under the president.