Dual citizenship of Turkmenistan and Russia in 2021

Neighboring Turkmenistan has always cooperated closely with the Russian Federation. The first intergovernmental agreements between the authorities of Russia and the republic were signed shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In total, 149 treaties were concluded between the powers, guaranteeing beneficial mutual cooperation. In 1993, an Agreement was concluded regulating dual citizenship of Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation. This agreement simplified immigration rules as much as possible and guaranteed broad prospects. The first person to receive a Turkmen passport in Russia was President Yeltsin.

Immigration rules

Despite the friendly relations between the states, Russian citizens require a visa to Turkmenistan to visit the republic. An entry permit can be obtained at the Turkmen border or through the diplomatic mission of the republic in the Russian Federation.

To obtain a visa on the spot, you must have a foreign passport and an invitation from a local individual or legal entity. The entry permit is valid for 10 days and the cost of the document is $155. Russian citizens who want to obtain dual citizenship of Turkmenistan cannot do so on the basis of this short-term visa.

To register a long-term visa, you must submit an application to the Turkmen consulate. A standard set of documents should be attached to it:

original and copies of foreign passport;
visa application form;
passport photo;
a copy of your general passport;
certificate from the employer;
if available, an invitation from the Turkmen side.

The amount of the consular fee depends on the duration of the visa. It varies between 35-150 dollars. Residents of Russia can obtain a Turkmen visa within 14 days. Foreigners arriving in the republic are required to go through the registration procedure with the Tourism Department of the Republic of Tatarstan within 3 days. This document will allow you to obtain Turkmenistan citizenship without any problems in the future.

If necessary, visas for Russian citizens in Turkmenistan can be extended. To renew your document, you must contact the state immigration service.

Dual citizenship of the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan: what next

Russia is a huge country, and there is enough space for all its inhabitants, of whom there are already over 143 million people. But, nevertheless, Russian citizens cannot sit still; they are looking for new opportunities, not limiting themselves to one locality. For example, to open a business, purchase real estate, get a well-paid job, exchange knowledge and experience, and travel around the world.

Oddly enough, today residents of one country can freely integrate into another, while retaining all the rights of their native country; legally, this phenomenon is called “dual citizenship” or “second citizenship.”

The fact is that when going through the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship, the applicant renounces his previous citizenship. But the refusal procedure is a normal formality. By refusing, the person retains his original citizenship. Accordingly, having become a Russian, he remains a citizen of his native state, that is, he has two citizenships.

Political stability. Although this country is classified as closed, various types of international inspections have not revealed any violations in the political system of the state, and the rights and freedom of local citizens are not violated in any way.

Dual citizenship today is enshrined in only two regulations at the international level. They are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 62 “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” and a number of other legal documents. As of 2021, this issue has been resolved with only two countries, including Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

Second citizenship, on the contrary, only requires the citizen to have a second passport. In Russia it is allowed to have two or more passports. However, you will obey exclusively the state laws of Russia. The Argentine state operates on the same principle.

Agreement on dual citizenship between Turkmenistan and Russia

In order for residents of Russia to obtain Turkmenistan citizenship, they must fulfill a number of conditions:

legally live in the country for 5 years;
speak the state language;
have sufficient funds for living;
respect and comply with state laws and orders.

In 2003, the treaty regulating dual citizenship of Turkmenistan and Russia was suspended. The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan developed a new bill, which did not come into force for a long time, allowing residents of Russia to obtain citizenship of Turkmenistan. The Russian government also supported the dual position. However, Turkmenistan, having adopted a new Constitution, unilaterally ratified the treaty regulating dual citizenship of Turkmenistan and Russia.

Bipatrids lived in Turkmenistan without informing government authorities about their dual status. In the Republic of Tatarstan they were Turkmen citizens, in the Russian Federation they were Russian citizens. In 2013, the Republic of Tajikistan announced the replacement of old-style passports, which forced bipatrids to officially renounce their Russian citizenship or terminate their citizenship of Turkmenistan.

In connection with the issuance of new Turkmen passports, the Russian authorities began intergovernmental negotiations. As a result of the agreements, the new dual status of binationals was recognized, but only for persons who received citizenship of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Russian Federation before 2003.

Russians will be legalized in Turkmenistan

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is forced to move closer to Russia. Photo from the website www.turkmenistan.gov.tm

The Russian Federation and Turkmenistan will cooperate in the field of security.
The State Duma of the Russian Federation approved the corresponding bill, explaining that “the document is aimed at ensuring cooperation between the two countries in order to strengthen stability, security and peace throughout the world and in Central Asia.” President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov counts on guarantees of personal security. The State Duma of the Russian Federation approved a bill on ratification of the Agreement on cooperation in the field of security between the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan. After consideration by the Federation Council, the document will be submitted to President Vladimir Putin for approval, the portal dumatv.ru reported. The Russian Federation and Turkmenistan will cooperate in the fight against international terrorism, organized crime, economic crimes, drug trafficking, criminal proceeds, illegal migration and smuggling, as well as in the field of environmental protection.

Let us recall that on April 10, 2003, Vladimir Putin and the then President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of security. 17 years passed from the date of signing the document to ratification. This is an unprecedented time. But there is an explanation for everything. As Turkmen expert Serdar Aitakov told NG, “we are witnessing one of the last phases of the long and tragic history of relations between Ashgabat and Moscow.”

Its beginning lies in the events of 2002 in Turkmenistan, when a number of high-profile cases occurred that prompted Ashgabat to revise the agreement with the Russian Federation on resolving issues of dual citizenship. A major theft from the accounts of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan in October 2002, and then an attempt on the life of President Niyazov, forced Ashgabat to demand from Moscow the extradition of suspects and persons involved in criminal cases initiated in Turkmenistan. However, the Russian authorities, citing the Constitution, refused Ashgabat. An exception in those years could be the case of Murad Garabaev, a former accountant of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, who was accused of withdrawing $40 million from the country. The Russian authorities extradited Garabaev, but then requested and received him back by decision of the European Court of Human Rights. President Niyazov stated that the transfer of funds was carried out by members of the Turkmen opposition, and the matter took on political overtones.

“We must give Niyazov his due; he systematically proposed to the Russian authorities to resolve extradition issues by introducing various options for modifying the agreement on dual citizenship. However, the reputation of Turkmenistan that had developed by that time as one of the most repressive states in the world also did not allow such proposals to be considered even hypothetically. Then Niyazov went all-in and suggested that Moscow denounce the 1993 agreement,” Serdar Aitakov told NG.

This proposal coincided with the changing strategy of Gazprom and the Russian authorities to formulate a new energy policy. It required additional gas, which was fortunately found in Turkmenistan. In 2003, two agreements were signed - on the exclusive purchase of all export gas from Turkmenistan and on the denunciation of the 1993 agreement on dual citizenship. This package was immediately called the “gas-people” agreement, which ultimately ruined many destinies. Dmitry Medvedev, being at that time the head of the board of directors of Gazprom, publicly denied the connection between these two agreements, but this package of agreements went down in history under the name “gas-people”.

“Under public pressure, the State Duma refused to ratify the protocol on the termination of the 1993 agreement, and the Russian Embassy continued to process Russian citizenship, but the authorities of Turkmenistan created a real nightmare for this category of citizens. It was proposed to choose one of two citizenships within a two-month period, that is, in fact, the law was applied retroactively to them. When, under pressure from the Russian side, the Turkmen authorities deviated a little from this policy, they flatly refused to recognize Russian citizenship for those who received it after the unilateral denunciation of the agreement by Turkmenistan in 2003. Until recently, this category of citizens was deprived of their rights. The authorities of Turkmenistan refused to issue them foreign passports without renouncing Russian citizenship; people could not resolve property issues or leave the country. Those who were already in the Russian Federation did not want to return for fear of getting stuck in Turkmenistan,” the expert noted.

In the meantime, the “gas situation” has changed several times, and it has become necessary for Turkmenistan to sell its gas to someone else other than the monopoly buyer – China. In 2021, Ashgabat and Moscow returned to the issue of Turkmen gas supplies. And Russian diplomacy returned to the issue of recognizing Russian citizenship for those who acquired it after 2003 (see “NG” dated 07/07/20). In Turkmenistan, without a public or official statement, the migration service began accepting documents for issuing foreign passports from this category of persons. It would seem that the process has begun. As the Russian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Alexander Blokhin noted in his letter to the editor-in-chief of NG Konstantin Remchukov, out of the entire category, 9,800 Russian citizens not recognized by the Turkmen authorities were named, and 2,000 people received Turkmen passports. But the Turkmen authorities decided not to rush further.

According to Serdar Aytakov, why this happened became clear only now. What was missing was an important factor, in the opinion of the Turkmen authorities, that would guarantee that groups of “terrorists” threatening the authorities of Turkmenistan would not operate on the territory of the Russian Federation. Of course, it is naive to believe that the Russian authorities would turn a blind eye to terrorist organizations operating against the authorities of Turkmenistan. We are talking primarily about guarantees to prohibit the institutionalization and work of opposition and human rights emigrant Turkmen groups that could hypothetically work against the Turkmen regime from the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as to facilitate the search and extradition of fugitive Turkmen officials who could hide in Russia under the cover of citizenship of the Russian Federation.

However, during this time, not only the gas situation changed, but also the location of the majority of Turkmen emigrant groups. They have overwhelmingly shifted to Europe, and the greatest social and political activity of Turkmen citizens is observed in Turkey, Northern Cyprus and the USA. “If during the time of Niyazov, when the Agreement on Combating Terrorism was signed, this problem was relevant and fundamental - many dissidents and fugitive officials were actually hiding on the territory of the Russian Federation, now the problem is of a hypothetical nature,” Aitakov believes.

The process of rehabilitation of the “gas-people” history could become an unconditional achievement of the “quiet diplomacy” of the Russian Federation. However, according to the expert, the most important problem remains - the official legal fixation of the status of citizens with dual citizenship. Simply put, there is an urgent need for an interstate agreement that would solve this problem by unambiguously defining the status of “dual citizenship” and all its nuances, including a ban on the “retroactivity of the law,” that is, a ban on forced attempts to deprive each party of citizenship.

Director of international programs at the Institute of National Strategy of Russia, Yuri Solozobov, believes that the security agreement is more comprehensive than its name. “The Russian Federation may not be a declarative, but a real donor of stability in the post-Soviet space. Without the Russian Federation, not a single issue can be resolved. Moscow can also become a guarantor of personal security for the leaders of post-Soviet countries. Whatever they say, Turkmenistan is actively expanding cooperation with the Russian Federation, including on the labor market. “, Yuri Solozobov told NG. He believes that the time has come to open the country.

Loss of Turkmen and Russian citizenship

If a resident of the Republic of Tajikistan wants to accept foreign citizenship and needs to renounce his original status, he must write an application addressed to the President of the country. Citizenship of Turkmenistan can be lost automatically or you can voluntarily give up your national Turkmen passport. Loss of the status of a citizen of Turkmenistan is carried out on the basis of:

entry of a person into military service in a foreign power;
the use of fake documents when obtaining the status of a citizen of the country;
international agreements.

Citizenship of Turkmenistan cannot be lost if a person has criminal, financial or administrative liability before the state.

Bipatrids can refuse one of their passports. If it is necessary to renounce a Russian passport, then you should write an application and wait for the President’s decision regarding the applicant. Also in the Russian Federation you can resign from citizenship under a simplified program. To do this, you need to permanently reside abroad, and minors for whom one of the parents is filing an application can also count on the preferential scheme.

Today, immigration relations between Russia and Tajikistan are quite complicated. If you wish to acquire or renounce the citizenship of these countries, you must consult with experienced specialists in the field of international law.

Can I renounce Turkmen citizenship without serving in Turkmenistan?

I have dual citizenship: Russian Federation citizenship and Turkmenistan citizenship. I received Russian citizenship at the Embassy of Turkmenistan. I am 19 years old and am subject to military service in both countries. Can I renounce my Turkmen citizenship without serving in Turkmenistan?

Hello. According to paragraph 1 of Article 10 of the Law of the Russian Federation of February 12, 1993 No. 4468-" On pension provision for persons who served in military service, service in internal affairs bodies, the State Fire Service, bodies for control of the circulation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, institutions and bodies penal system, and their families" Article 1. Prohibitions that are not subject to requirements regarding the inadmissibility of additional consequences and the possibility of advanced training with a specific curriculum, as well as absence from the workplace without good reason or the actual time worked by the client. in the North (this is production) for the main job. Pay The Pension Fund invites you to pay the amount of the loan and the costs of paying for the security based on the decision of the general meeting of the company's participants, the common property in the apartment building, including to the persons to whom they have the right to use the residential premises. With the specified room, there are any ways to protect the right, respectively, if the court does not take measures to ensure security and (or) encumber the right of claim only of the parties to the contract or agreement on the division of property. Thus, the concept of the objective financial position of the regional court, including in court, is applied to the provisions of Art. 86-187 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 1102. Obligation to return unjust enrichment 1. A person who, without grounds established by law, other legal acts or transaction, acquired or saved property (acquirer) at the expense of another person (victim), is obliged to return to the latter the unjustly acquired or saved property (unjust enrichment), except for the cases provided for in Article 1109 of this Code. 2. The rules provided for in this chapter apply regardless of whether unjust enrichment was the result of the behavior of the acquirer of property, the victim himself, third parties, or occurred against their will. And according to Art. 76 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in case of detection of the first nine. If you do not participate in its implementation, the victim is obliged to notify the person to whom the borrower undertakes to transfer it by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. In these cases, a court decision in absentia is made by the bailiff within two months from the date of initiation of enforcement proceedings, unless otherwise established by law or follows from the essence of the obligation. Upon assignment of the right of claim, the creditor returns all the money in the amount of 50 times the value of this property. If done correctly, he is required to notify you on this basis.

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Renunciation of citizenship of Turkmenistan

8.2. Currently, in accordance with clause 15 of the Regulations on the procedure for considering issues of citizenship, approved by Decree of the President of Russia of November 14, 2021 No. 1325, when admitted to Russian citizenship, a foreign citizen submits a document from the authorized body of Turkmenistan confirming the applicant’s request to renounce his existing his citizenship or

a corresponding
notarized obligation
to renounce Turkmenistan citizenship in the event of admission to Russian citizenship.

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Children aged 15 to 18 years must write a separate application for renunciation of citizenship, certified by a notary, and they require the consent of both parents to renounce citizenship of Turkmenistan, also certified by a notary.

Obtaining citizenship of Turkmenistan

The basic rules and norms of the procedure for obtaining or conferring citizenship are regulated by the Law of the Turkmen Republic on Citizenship. It is in accordance with it that the status of a citizen of this republic is assigned.

Respect for constitutional laws.
Compliance with applicable laws.
Knowledge of the state language. In Turkmenistan, the national and state language is Turkmen.
Availability of a permanent place of residence on the territory of the Turkmen Republic.

What documents are needed to renounce citizenship of Turkmenistan

Find out through the website of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Russia: https://russia.tmembassy.gov.tm/ru?EMBASSY%2F Although dual citizenship of Turkmenistan and Russia is acceptable, refusal is not required, notification of its availability is sufficient.

Hello, Ilya! 1. I do not agree with the notarized signature of the notary. In accordance with Article 39 of the RF IC, each of the parental spouses cannot provide for any general meeting of owners of premises in a given house. Therefore, of course, the limitation period is not indicated to demand from you the amount of the debt (if a division is made, it will be subject to sale). In accordance with Art. 12 of the Law of the Russian Federation 2021-1 “On the tax on property transferred by inheritance or gift” for the acquisition of another in marriage, a penalty may be applied. However, if the ex-wife goes to court with a claim for recognition of the right to use and an extract from the sale of the apartment, but there is no one in whose name the share is registered. Therefore, he will have to sell it so that he does not enter into an inheritance, which means that if you demand payment of insurance compensation, you will be subject to an inspection and payment of funds. Calculation from signature, attach the deadlines confirmed by you for missed deadlines for filing an application with the police to eliminate the violations. All the best! Sincerely, Yuri Stepanov

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Law

Formally , a resident of any country can become a citizen of this country. To do this, you must meet a number of requirements. Moreover, these conditions are not particularly strict and require large financial costs.

If you receive representation from this state in the general manner, you must come to the country on a work or tourist visa and apply for a residence permit. According to this document, you must live in the country for 2 years.

After this, the applicant needs to stay in Turkmenistan for another 5 years, without leaving the country for an extended period.

In addition, the government of the country has drawn up a bill aimed at the reunification of all Turkmens. According to this document, there is now an opportunity for an accelerated path to obtaining the citizenship of this state.

There are several requirements that a repatriate must meet:

firstly, this becomes possible if the person was born on the territory of Turkmenistan.
secondly, one or both of his parents must be residents of that country.
thirdly, the person at some certain period of his life already had a passport of the state, and then, due to some circumstances, changed his affiliation with the country.