How to obtain Russian citizenship by marriage in 2021?

Is it possible to obtain Russian citizenship by marriage?

Yes, you can.
But some conditions must be met. To become a citizen based on marriage to a Russian man/woman, you must:

the applicant must stay in the family union for at least 3 years;
spouse – have permanent registration.

Important: the duration of the marriage is counted from the date of its conclusion. It does not matter where the couple previously lived.

For example, a marriage can be concluded in Ukraine, where the spouses have lived for 3 years. This means that immediately upon arrival in Russia, after registration, a family migrant can submit documents to the migration authorities in the prescribed manner. With one caveat: a marriage concluded in the civil registry office of another state must be recognized as valid in the Russian Federation.

If a marriage with a foreigner takes place on Russian territory, the migrant must provide the registry office with confirmation that he is not in any other legal relationship that could become an obstacle to the marriage union.

Fictitious relationship between spouses for living in Russia

In a fictitious marriage, the parties do not aim to create a family. It is intended to obtain certain benefits , including the opportunity to obtain simplified citizenship.

Statistics show that a fifth of marriages currently concluded are essentially fictitious; in Moscow and St. Petersburg this figure is even higher.

The consequences of such a marriage are provided for in Article 170 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to this article, a fictitious marriage has no legal force. This means that if the marriage is recognized as fictitious, the entry in the registry office will be canceled and citizenship will be refused.

The fact that at the time of marriage one of the parties did not plan to start a family is recognized by a court decision. The claim for recognition of the marriage as fictitious is filed by the party that was used to obtain citizenship. Statistics show that the victims in the vast majority of cases are single women who naively believe in the selfless feelings of foreigners.

In practice, it is extremely difficult to prove that the parties did not have the goal of starting a family when entering into marriage . Living together, maintaining a common household, correspondence and printouts of negotiations are evidence that the parties intended to start a family.

However, if there are no common children, after receiving citizenship the interested person has ceased to fulfill family responsibilities, treats his spouse rudely, it makes sense to apply for recognition of the marriage as fictitious.

Attention! After filing the application, the court will conduct a comprehensive study of the circumstances of the case, give a legal assessment of the available documents and make a decision to recognize the marriage as fictitious. This decision must be submitted to the registry office and the marriage registration certificate must be annulled.

At the next stage, it is necessary to submit a court decision and a letter about the cancellation of the registration record in the UVM, which will cancel the decision on admission to citizenship and the foreigner will be deported from the territory of Russia.

How to obtain Russian citizenship through marriage?

The minimum period for obtaining citizenship by marriage is 5-6 months.
The first step of a future citizen should be registration for migration. Then he should issue a temporary residence permit. After this, you can obtain a residence permit, and then apply for citizenship, take the oath and receive an internal passport as a Russian citizen.

There are several nuances to consider here:

A temporary residence permit can be issued earlier than the age of marriage reaches three years;
quotas for temporary residence permits do not apply to such migrants - they receive a temporary residence permit without restrictions;
if a Russian spouse has permanent registration in one place, and is temporarily registered and lives in another, you should apply for a temporary residence permit at the place of permanent registration;
if the marriage has children who are citizens of the Russian Federation, you can skip the stage of obtaining a temporary residence permit and go straight to obtaining a residence permit. In addition, if you have common children, you are not required to comply with the 3-year period of cohabitation in an official marriage. As a rule, 1 year is enough. Also, the waiting period for citizenship is reduced to 1 year if the spouse was pregnant at the time of marriage;
The period of residence under a residence permit in this case is not determined by law (unlike naturalization in the general order, in which a migrant must live in Russia with a residence permit for at least 5 years). Therefore, as soon as the family union turns 3 years old, a migrant can apply for Russian citizenship by marriage;
This format for obtaining citizenship does not imply the renunciation of previous citizenship and does not require the family migrant to confirm legal income.

What is a simplified procedure?

Representatives of foreign states can count on receiving a passport of a Russian citizen in a shorter time frame than is established for obtaining citizenship on a general basis.

The grounds for submitting documents and obtaining citizenship under a simplified scheme are for the categories of persons specified in Art. 14 Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”.

Namely:

After receiving a residence permit and without taking into account any periods of residence, persons who have at least one parent a citizen of the Russian Federation and those who were previously a citizen of the USSR and have not subsequently received citizenship of another country can apply for citizenship.
Persons who have received a residence permit may not adhere to the 5-year period of residence with a residence permit if they have the following reasons:

have children with Russian citizenship; persons born in the RSFSR;
businessmen who conduct business in the Russian Federation with a turnover of at least 10 million rubles;
people who have made investments in the Russian economy in the amount of at least 100 million rubles or who have paid taxes in the amount of 6 million or more;
are highly qualified workers;
married a citizen of the Russian Federation
and other reasons.

Fictitious marriage and citizenship

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List of documents for Russian citizenship by marriage

The package of papers for this procedure is almost no different from the package for obtaining citizenship for other reasons. The applicant must submit to the migration department of the internal affairs bodies at the place of registration of the spouse:

application form in two copies. It must be filled out in accordance with all the rules - without corrections, erasures, abbreviations and entries in Latin, have the signatures of the applicant and the official who accepted the documents;
passports of the applicant and his spouse, as well as their notarized copies;
residence permit and its copy;
marriage certificate - original and copy certified by a notary;
document confirming the change of surname (if it has changed). The requirement for such documents filled out in any language other than Russian is a notarized translation;
certificate, diploma, certificate or other documentary evidence of the applicant’s proficiency in Russian;
entry visa - for immigrants from countries with which Russia interacts in the visa regime;
three matte photos measuring 3x4;
a receipt confirming the fact of payment of the state duty.

Important: depending on the region, the package of necessary documents for Russian citizenship by marriage may, albeit slightly, differ. Therefore, it is advisable to contact the local competent authority in advance and obtain a complete list of papers and requirements for them.

The application review period ranges from 3 to 6 months. The applicant for citizenship will be notified of the decision made by notification sent by mail. It is also advisable to independently contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the expiration of the 3-month period - sometimes in this way you can quickly find out whether a decision has been made on the applicant’s application.

Application form for Russian citizenship (8238 Downloads) Application form for Russian citizenship (new from 07/24/2020) (14728 Downloads) Sample application for Russian citizenship by marriage (4166 Downloads)

List of required documents

The FMS must provide:

- statement;

– marriage registration certificate;

– an identification document of the spouse, who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and has a permanent place of registration;

– receipt of payment of state duty;

– residence permit;

– registration document;

– photographs 3*4 cm;

– certificates of permanent official income;

Russian citizenship by marriage and divorce

In addition to information on how to obtain Russian citizenship by marriage, it is also important to know whether the dissolution of an official family union can interfere with this process. So:

in the event of a divorce, after receiving a temporary residence permit, this permission is not canceled; moreover, the applicant will be able to submit documents for obtaining a residence permit;
if the divorce occurred during the period of validity of the residence permit, the applicant also does not lose the right to stay in the country with a residence permit;
It will no longer be possible to apply for citizenship through a marriage dissolved during the validity of a temporary residence permit or residence permit - you will have to look for another basis for obtaining citizenship;
if the divorce occurs after the documents for Russian citizenship have already been accepted by the migration service, the migrant will be able to become a Russian citizen - divorce after filing the documents is not a basis for their return.

Grounds for revocation of citizenship by marriage to a citizen of the Russian Federation may be proven facts of providing false information, falsifying documents or their incorrect execution. In addition, if the marriage is recognized as fictitious, concluded for the purpose of obtaining citizenship by one of the spouses and monetary compensation by the other, it will be declared invalid and the migrant will be deprived of citizenship. There is currently no other punishment for such manipulations in Russia.

RF CITIZENSHIP UNDER THE NEW MARRIAGE LAW FROM JULY 24, 2021.

What are the grounds for refusal?

Citizenship may be denied for the following reasons :

Violation of the rules of stay on the territory of the Russian Federation. Such violations may be living without registration, lack of timely registration with the Department of Internal Affairs, carrying out labor activities without special permission, etc.
Having an outstanding or unexpunged criminal record
Participation in armed conflicts on the territory of Russia and abroad.
A criminal case has been initiated against the person and is at the stage of investigation or trial. A person may apply for citizenship after an acquittal
The person is in custody or serving a criminal sentence in the form of imprisonment. Appeal to the Department of Internal Affairs is possible after serving a sentence and expunging a criminal record.
Having citizenship of a foreign state. When studying the documents, the Department of Foreign Affairs can submit a request to the consulate of the country from which the foreigner arrived and check the accuracy of the information about the lack of citizenship.
Submission of false documents to the Department of Internal Affairs. Such documents can be fake certificates, marriage certificates, stamps confirming the provision of temporary residence permits and residence permits.

Application forms and samples

Application form for citizenship of the Russian Federation (8238 Downloads) Application form for citizenship of the Russian Federation (new from 07/24/2020) (14728 Downloads) Application form for Russian citizenship for a child (2790 Downloads) Application form for citizenship of the Russian Federation according to the NRN (1462 Downloads) Application form for citizenship Russian Federation in a simplified manner (4242 Downloads) Application form for Russian citizenship for the LDPR according to Decree No. 187 (9624 Downloads)

Sample application for citizenship of the Russian Federation (5804 Downloads) Sample application for citizenship of the Russian Federation for a child (1282 Downloads) Sample application for citizenship of the Russian Federation according to NRN (1352 Downloads) Sample application for citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified manner (8734 Downloads) Sample application for citizenship of the Russian Federation by marriage ( 4166 Downloads) Sample application for Russian citizenship for the LDPR according to Decree No. 187 (6142 Downloads) Sample application for Russian citizenship for the LDNR according to Decree No. 187 (submission by “trailer”) (4162 Downloads)

Application form for participation in the resettlement program for compatriots (2756 Downloads) Sample application for participation in the resettlement program for compatriots (1535 Downloads) Notification of dual citizenship (1167 Downloads) Notification of dual citizenship through a representative (403 Downloads) Application for Russian citizenship by birth ( One Download) Application for renunciation of Russian citizenship in a general manner (349 Downloads) Application for renunciation of Russian citizenship in a simplified manner (267 Downloads)

Autobiography template for Russian citizenship (One Download) Sample of filling out an autobiography for Russian citizenship (1149 Downloads)

What is the cost of the registration procedure?

To obtain Russian citizenship when concluding a marriage with a citizen of the Russian Federation, you must pay for the following services:

Procedure	Price
State fee when submitting an application	3,500 rub.
For the work of the commission taking the exam to determine proficiency in the Russian language	6,000 rub.
For an exam to confirm basic knowledge of Russian history and legislation.	4,800 rub.

On average, the cost will be 20,000 rubles. (notary services, cost of photographs, translations, etc.).

Registration of international marriage

In accordance with the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, to register a union, future spouses must:

Submit an application to the registry office.
Wait for the date of the ceremony.
Arrive at the registration location on the specified day and time.

In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 11 of the RF IC, marriage takes place one month after filing the application. However, some reasons allow us to make an exception to the rules:

pregnancy;
birth of children;
there is a threat to the life of one of the parties;
other important, urgent circumstances.

The law defines the requirements that those getting married must meet.
But they are relevant only if the bride and groom decide to get married on the territory of the Russian Federation. When planning a wedding, you should remember that the ceremony is held in accordance with the legislation of the state in whose territory it will take place. Since a couple can get married under Ukrainian laws, it is worth discussing how the wedding will take place in the first and second cases.

Ceremony according to the laws of the Russian Federation

As mentioned above, the main legislative act regulating the procedure for registering a marriage is the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Please note that:

Marriage with a citizen of Ukraine in Russia in 2021 will take place only if both the bride and groom are over 18 years old.
Russian legislation prohibits family unions between close relatives, as well as adopted children and adoptive parents.
A prerequisite for the ceremony is the absence of other official marriages at the time of registration.
The union will not be legal if one of the parties is incapacitated or suffers from mental illness.

When going to the registry office, a citizen of the Russian Federation must have with him an identity card, as well as a receipt confirming payment of the state duty.

The Ukrainian side will have to prepare an expanded package of documents. If a Ukrainian citizen marries a Russian citizen on the territory of the Russian Federation, his application must be accompanied by:

national passport;
documentary evidence of the absence of another marriage at the time of filing the application;
a certificate of divorce if the Ukrainian was already married;
receipt of payment of state duty.

All documents issued in Ukrainian must be translated into Russian and properly certified.

How to register a marriage in Ukraine

Future newlyweds can sign on the territory of Ukraine. The marriageable age for the bride and groom is 18 years.

The conditions for registering a family union and the requirements for future spouses provided for by the Family Code of Ukraine are identical to those in Russia.

Registration of marriage in Ukraine with a citizen of the Russian Federation is carried out on the basis of an application. The only difference is that now a Russian will have to collect certificates, translate them into Ukrainian and have them certified by a notary.

If, after an official ceremony on the territory of Ukraine, the newlyweds decide to settle in Russia, additional legalization of the marriage will not be required.

Recognition of marriage as fictitious

Given the opportunities that are opening up, fictitious marriage to obtain Russian citizenship is not uncommon. At the moment, this action is not criminally punishable. As punishment, the applicant for Russian citizenship will be expelled from the country.

Many foreign citizens are trying to marry a Russian and obtain citizenship. It is quite difficult to determine that a marriage was concluded precisely for this purpose. Most often, the second party goes to court - the husband or wife of a foreigner who perceives selfish goals. By decision of the court, all registration papers will be canceled, and the defendant will be deported to his homeland.