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).
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.
Step-by-step procedure algorithm
Where to begin?
If a foreign citizen meets all the requirements that Russian legislation puts forward for persons wishing to restore citizenship of the country, then the next step will be to collect all the necessary documents and submit them for consideration and decision-making to the Main Directorate of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The collected package of documents must be submitted to the migration department at the place of residence . As a rule, appointments are made by appointment. You can make an appointment during a personal visit to the inspector or by using the online service on the official website of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
What documents are required?
The list of documents required to obtain Russian citizenship is specified in clause 22 and clause 10-12 of the Regulations (Decree No. 1325). The package of documents for restoration of Russian citizenship includes:
- a written application requesting the restoration of Russian citizenship;
- copy of residence permit;
- a copy of the applicant's current passport;
- a copy of the birth certificate;
- additional documents confirming the change of name, etc., depending on the situation (marriage certificate or divorce certificate);
- document confirming income;
- confirmation of Russian language proficiency;
- renunciation of existing other citizenship.
Documents drawn up in a foreign language must be translated into Russian and notarized.
If the applicant has the right to restore Russian citizenship in a simplified manner, then documents confirming this fact are attached to the general list.
State duty - how much does it cost and where to pay?
A foreign citizen, along with a package of documents for obtaining or restoring citizenship, is required to provide a receipt for payment of the state fee. According to clause 25 of Article 333.28 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the state duty is paid in the amount of 3,500 rubles .
Payment details can be obtained from the department of the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or you can generate a receipt on their official website by selecting the required region and service for payment. Payment is made to the account of the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region.
You can make a payment at the cash desk of a Sberbank branch, at a self-service terminal, or use online banking services.
Procedure and terms for consideration of the request
The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for two procedures for the restoration of Russian citizenship: general and simplified. The simplified procedure allows the applicant to obtain a Russian passport in a shorter time , but for this the requirements specified in Art. 14 No. 62-FZ.
If it is not possible to restore citizenship on preferential terms, the application can be submitted in the general manner subject to the standard requirements for admission to Russian citizenship (Article 13 No. 62-FZ). To submit documents on a general basis, the applicant must live in Russia for 3 years on a permanent basis.
The period for considering an application and making a decision on the restoration of Russian citizenship, both in general and in a simplified manner, corresponds to the terms for considering and making decisions on applications for admission to Russian citizenship (read about obtaining Russian citizenship in the general procedure here, and in a simplified manner here) . The applicant, depending on each specific situation, can expect a response to the application from three to six months.
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).
How and when can I find out about the results after submitting documents?
The applicant submits documents for restoration of citizenship during a personal visit to the inspector . After all the paperwork is completed, the responsible employee informs you of the time frame for making a decision. After a specified period of time, the applicant can learn about the decision as follows:
- by phone;
- during a personal visit to the inspector.
On the official website you can find out the telephone number of the regional unit of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If you do not have access to the Internet resource, you can obtain the necessary information during a personal visit to the migration department during reception hours.
The procedure for restoration of Russian citizenship and admission to it have only some differences in the requirements for the applicant. If a foreign citizen applies on one of these issues in accordance with the general procedure, then the period for consideration of the application in both cases will be the same.
The situation is similar with the simplified scheme for restoring Russian citizenship. Applicants who have the legal right to take advantage of preferential conditions will require much less time to restore citizenship and obtain a passport as a citizen of the Russian Federation.
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.
What to do in case of refusal
The first step is to request a written response, which will outline the reasons for the refusal. If the applicant considers the decision to be unlawful, he can appeal it in court. To draw up a statement of claim, it is better to use the services of a migration lawyer.
The most common reason for a negative resolution is the provision of false information and forged documents.
The integration procedure will be successful if you carefully approach the fulfillment of the requirements: clarify in advance the list of required papers, facts of personal and family biography. The main thing is to provide the most complete and honest information possible, and not try to mislead the receiving employee.
Required documents and state fees
When applying, an application for restoration of citizenship is submitted, in the text of which the person undertakes to comply with the requirements of the Constitution and other legal acts of Russia. Read about how to apply for Russian citizenship and avoid common mistakes when filling out the application form here. In addition, a package of necessary documents is collected, which includes :
- Passport or other proof of identity.
- Document confirming the availability of financial means of subsistence. This could be a work book, a pension certificate, or a document confirming the opening of a bank deposit.
- Document on renunciation of foreign citizenship. This requirement does not apply to holders of a Tajik passport, since Russia has a separate bilateral agreement with it.
- Three copies of the photo (3x4 format).
- If necessary, a certificate of change of surname, name or patronymic.
- Documents confirming the possibility of simplified acquisition of citizenship.
Foreign documents must be submitted with a notarized translation into Russian.
When contacting the competent authority, you must pay a state fee of 3,500 rubles, or a consular fee, the amount of which varies up to hundreds of dollars. A receipt for payment is attached to the documents provided. Stateless persons who live on the territory of post-Soviet countries are exempt from state duty.
Procedure and terms for consideration of the request
The period that will pass from the moment of filing the application to the decision on it varies between 3-12 months (what determines the period for obtaining citizenship?). Participants in the state program for the resettlement of compatriots, as well as citizens of Belarus and Kazakhstan, can count on the fastest possible consideration of the issue (3 months).
Categories of persons covered by the simplified scheme will have to wait up to six months. Those who restore citizenship on a general basis will receive a decision no earlier than in a year.
You can read about how to check the readiness of Russian citizenship in this article, and here we talked about what needs to be done after obtaining Russian citizenship, and about the features of replacing some documents.
