Many foreign citizens can obtain Russian citizenship. Persons who previously renounced Russian citizenship have the right to restore it. You should understand this issue in order to know how to act in unforeseen situations, and who can join the holders of Russian passports.
The main document of a Russian citizen.
The law states that citizens who previously had Russian citizenship can restore Russian citizenship, but on the condition that after the start of the restoration procedure they will reside in the country for 3 years (if they permanently reside outside the country). Those persons who already live in the country with a residence permit restore Russian citizenship in a simplified manner without the requirement of a period of residence in the country.
Is it possible to restore Russian citizenship?
Yes, you can.
A Russian citizen cannot be deprived of citizenship under any circumstances, but can renounce it on a voluntary basis. If life circumstances have changed and a person wants to regain his rights, he has the right to have them restored. Many categories of citizens also have the right to reintegration under a simplified procedure. These include:
- persons undergoing the State Program for the Resettlement of Compatriots;
- on the basis of marriage, if the spouse has Russian citizenship, and more than three years have passed since the marriage;
- parents (one of them) or the child is a citizen of the country live on the territory of Russia;
- incapacitated persons who received permanent registration (before July 1, 2002);
- persons born on the territory of the RSFSR.
The procedure for restoring Russian citizenship is determined by legislative acts.
Foundations and main stages
Who is eligible?
The possibility of restoration of citizenship of the Russian Federation is indicated in Art. 15 Law No. 62-FZ of May 31, 2002. Only those persons who meet the following requirements can obtain a Russian passport in this way:
- The applicant was a former citizen of the Russian Federation.
Having a USSR passport does not mean that you are a Russian citizen. - A formalized renunciation of Russian citizenship in full compliance with the law.
The procedure for registering an exit is regulated by the Regulations approved by Decree No. 1325 dated November 14, 2002. If in the past a Russian citizen applied to formally renounce Russian citizenship, but for some reason did not achieve approval, then he still remains a citizen of Russia, even if he received citizenship of another state. - Attainment of 18 years of age and legal capacity.
The return of citizenship can occur in a general manner or in a simplified manner, if the applicant has legal grounds for this.
Is it possible to obtain Russian citizenship if you were simply born in Russia?
Some foreign citizens and stateless persons mistakenly assume that they can apply for restoration of Russian citizenship. One of the most common misconceptions is that persons born on the territory of Russia have the right to restore Russian citizenship.
Important! The very fact of a person’s birth on the territory of Russia does not yet confirm that he belongs or belonged to the citizenship of the Russian Federation.
A child is recognized as a citizen of Russia only in cases where:
- His parents or one of them have a Russian passport, or there is no information about them at all.
- Also, Russian citizenship is assigned to the children of foreign citizens if the state of their citizenship cannot grant citizenship to their child, and he was born on the territory of the Russian Federation (Article 12 No. 62-FZ).
Therefore, the mere fact of birth in Russia is not enough to formalize the procedure for restoring Russian citizenship, since a person may never have had Russian citizenship.
In other publications, our experts talk in great detail about obtaining Russian citizenship in a general and simplified manner. Read these articles:
- Methods for obtaining Russian citizenship.
- How can you quickly acquire the status of a Russian citizen?
- Features of receiving by parents if their child is Russian.
- How to obtain a stateless person or by right of soil?
Who can't restore?
To submit documents for the restoration of Russian citizenship, the applicant must meet a number of requirements established by law. If the application is submitted on a general basis, the conditions will be as follows:
- residence in Russia with a residence permit for 3 or more years;
- availability of legal income;
- good level of Russian language proficiency;
- formalized renunciation of existing foreign citizenship.
If there are no grounds for restoration of citizenship under the simplified procedure, and the above requirements are not met, then the application will be refused.
Persons who meet the requirements of Part 2-4 of Art. have the opportunity to restore Russian citizenship under a simplified scheme. 13 or art. 14 No. 62-FZ.
In this case, the applicant will not need to fulfill all of the above conditions.
In addition, persons who:
- participated in any terrorist acts;
- call for the overthrow of the government;
- are extremists;
- violated the rules of entry and exit from the country, which led to administrative expulsion;
- provided false documents;
- are in military service in other states;
- other grounds (Article 16 No. 62-FZ).
How to restore Russian citizenship?
They previously contacted the FMS on this issue, but according to Presidential Decree No. 156 (04/05/2016), this body was disbanded. Currently, the migration department of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs deals with issues of citizenship and migration. To restore Russian citizenship, you must go through several mandatory stages: submit documents and an application for a residence permit, live in this status for three years on the territory of Russia, apply for Russian citizenship, after receiving a positive answer, take the oath and receive a passport.
Russian citizenship can be restored according to a simplified and general scheme. The list of grounds for obtaining citizenship in a simplified manner is established by Federal Law 62-FZ “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” (05/31/2002). The main ones:
- by place of birth - if the place of birth is the RSFSR;
- by kinship – one or both parents are citizens of the Russian Federation;
- by marriage - after three years of marriage with a citizen of Russia;
- if children over 18 years of age are citizens of the country, and the person wishing to obtain citizenship is recognized as disabled due to age or health condition;
- native speakers of Russian (Article 33.1).
I want to hand over my passport
Let us remind you that these changes affected people who, in addition to the Russian one, have a document on citizenship of another state or a residence permit in another country, and this is tens of thousands of people. They are obliged to inform the authorities about the existence of such a document or about their desire to refuse it. Moreover, they must do this within 60 days. An exception is made only for those who permanently reside abroad. Concealing such information is subject to criminal liability in the form of a fine in the amount of up to 200 thousand rubles or in the amount of the salary or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year. They may be assigned compulsory work for up to 400 hours. However, criminal liability arises only for a deliberate decision to fail to notify. If the notification is submitted at the wrong time or in an incorrect form, the violator will only receive a fine - from 500 rubles to 1 thousand.
The draft order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explains in detail, step by step, how and where to submit such a notification. In this case, all possible everyday situations are considered. For example, if a citizen is a minor or incompetent, then who is obliged to represent him and what documents are needed for this. Sample forms that will have to be filled out have also been published. After approval, all this will be publicly available, every interested person will be able to obtain the necessary information.
Both the new law and the order significantly simplify the notification procedure. If a person decides to renounce the citizenship of another state or the right of permanent residence in a foreign territory, it is enough for him to submit a written notification of his decision to the territorial body of the federal executive body in the field of internal affairs at his place of residence in the Russian Federation. That is, to the police. And if there is no place of residence, then based on the fact of stay. But he must do this personally.
By the way, there is no need to communicate with embassy or consular officers of the country whose citizenship you are renouncing. And the term “dual citizenship” itself is applicable only to those people who, in addition to Russian citizenship, also have Tajik citizenship. Russia has concluded a corresponding international treaty with this country. If a person, in addition to the Russian one, has a passport, say, Israel, the USA, the European Union, then we should not be talking about dual, but about one more citizenship. Or two, three, four. The law allows this.
There is no need to communicate with the embassy of the country whose citizenship you are renouncing
Having another citizenship deprives a Russian citizen of the opportunity to enter the civil state or municipal service. There are relevant federal laws and departmental orders regulating the procedure for hiring and service, including military service. So they are offered a choice: have another passport, but give up a government career, or live a private life, do business, or work for hire. Otherwise, a person with Russian-foreign citizenship enjoys all the rights of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
What is needed to obtain a residence permit?
Restoring citizenship requires fewer documents than obtaining it by foreign citizens, but obtaining a residence permit is practically no different. The package of documents includes:
- original and copy of passport. All pages must be copied;
- birth certificate;
- documents on change of personal data;
- medical certificates confirming the absence of diseases dangerous to others;
- bank receipt for payment of state duty;
- certificate of temporary or permanent registration;
- documents confirming legal and stable income;
- four photographs of the established sample 35x45 mm.
Filling out the application form is a very important part of the preparatory stage, since the final decision depends on the correctness and completeness of the data submitted. All fields must be filled out manually or printed on a computer.
There are categories of citizens who can apply for restoration of Russian citizenship immediately after receiving a residence permit. You just need to wait three months, which are given to the migration department to study the documents and grounds.
When do foreigners renew their Russian passport?
It is difficult to imagine that government bodies keep statistics on the reasons why citizenship is restored; this is a purely individual procedure that only requires compliance with formal conditions. And although the law does not directly provide for a mandatory analysis of the reasons for moving back to Russia, when submitting documents to renew a Russian passport, they will still have to indicate the motives that prompted such a decision.
The true reasons and motives indicated in the documents may not coincide, but generally they are called:
- the desire to live and work in Russia is a template phrase indicated by the vast majority of applicants;
- return to their homeland after long-term immigration, caused by a Russian person’s non-acceptance of foreign culture, traditions and mentality or unsatisfactory living conditions abroad;
- return to homeland of a former Russian citizen taken abroad by foreign adoptive parents as a minor, which made it possible to change his citizenship to a foreign one;
- arrival in Russia due to persecution in a new homeland, obtaining refugee status or political asylum in the Russian Federation and a justified desire to connect their future life with Russia;
- marriage with a citizen of the Russian Federation and associated further residence in the country, etc.
Please note that this list of reasons is approximate and not exhaustive; none of the options answers the question of whether it is possible to restore Russian citizenship, because the answer to it depends on compliance with purely formal conditions provided for by law: length of residence, status on the territory of the Russian Federation, the presence or absence of privileges, etc. Let us remind you once again that certain reasons for returning to your homeland do not affect the final decision of the migration authorities.
What documents are needed to restore Russian citizenship?
Citizenship is restored based on the submission of an application and submitted documents. Need to submit:
- three copies of the reintegration application form;
- originals and certified copies of civil passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, residence permit;
- documents confirming official income in the proper amount.
Important! All documents issued in other countries must be translated into Russian and notarized!
The application form contains items that must be filled out consistently and as completely as possible. In this case, abbreviations, erasures, and corrections are not allowed. At the end of the questionnaire, the applicant confirms the correctness and reliability of the entered data. If papers are completed by hand, only black or dark blue ink is used. Handwriting should be clear and easy to read.
The processing time for an application for restoration of citizenship takes up to three months.
Can they refuse to renew my passport?
Even if there are formal conditions for restoration of citizenship, the legislator left the migration authorities the opportunity to refuse the application.
An exhaustive list of reasons for which a refusal may occur is indicated in Art. 16 of the law, according to which the application is rejected if the applicant:
- calls for the overthrow of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation;
- participated or is participating in armed conflicts/terrorist attacks;
- committed/is committing illegal actions qualified as extremism;
- has a restriction on entry into the Russian Federation as a result of previously applied administrative expulsion to him;
- submitted false documents;
- serves in the army or security agencies of other states;
- has an outstanding criminal record based on a sentence passed by a Russian court;
- prosecuted, convicted or serving a sentence in the Russian Federation for crimes, etc.
Restoration of Russian citizenship for children
If a child has lost Russian citizenship together with his parents, when moving to another country, adoption, etc., he has the right to restore his civil rights, which were given to him by birthright. Documents for children can be submitted separately or together with their parents.
If one of the parents or both have already restored their citizenship, it is enough to submit a copy and original of the birth certificate, copies and originals of the parents’ passports, pages with pasted photographs and registration are copied. Proof of citizenship is a stamp that is affixed to the birth certificate.
Acquiring Russian citizenship
Citizenship is a stable political and legal connection between the state and the individual, expressed in their mutual rights and obligations. Russian legislation provides for several options for acquiring citizen status.
According to Article 11 of the Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” dated May 31, 2002 No. 62-FZ, it can be obtained:
- by birth from Russians, one of the Russians or from foreigners on Russian territory;
- as a result of long-term residence and naturalization of a foreigner in Russia;
- as a result of an option, when the choice of a Russian passport is carried out when the borders of the state change (as, for example, it was in Crimea);
- upon restoration of a previously lost status.
As we can see, restoration is one of the ways to acquire a Russian passport. Along with other methods, it has its own conditions, a limited range of subjects, a mandatory period of residence in the Russian Federation and other features, which we will discuss below. We must not forget that a person purchasing a Russian passport, in accordance with Art. 11.1 of the law, is obliged to take the oath to Russia.
To learn more about procedural issues, the material on how to obtain Russian citizenship will help.
