Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation", which
came into force on 1 July 2002.
Any person born in Russia to at least one Russian parent, or born overseas to two Russian parents, receives Russian citizenship at birth. Foreign nationals may become citizens by admission after meeting a minimum residence requirement (usually five years), proving a legal source of income, and demonstrating proficiency in the
Russian language
Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...
.
Russia previously led the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and local residents were
Soviet citizens. Following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, all
post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
established separate citizenship laws. Although citizens of the former
Union Republics are no longer Soviet, they continue to be eligible for a facilitated acquisition of Russian citizenship in which they can be exempted from some requirements for admission as Russian citizens.
Terminology
The distinction between the meaning of the terms
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
and
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of t ...
is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers a person's legal belonging to a country and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation.
The
Constitution of Russia
The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of gov ...
provides differing definitions for both terms; citizenship is the status given to an individual indicating the state which exercises jurisdiction over that particular person and nationality refers to a person's
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
. Soviet regulations required a person's nationality to be indicated on their
internal passport
An internal passport or a domestic passport is an identity document. Uses for internal passports have included restricting citizens of a subdivided state to employment in their own area (preventing their migration to richer cities or regions), cle ...
, determined by the nationality of their parents. If their parents' nationalities differed, they could choose either nationality.
Russian internal passports since the 1990s have omitted this information completely. In the Russian context, the two terms are not interchangeable and cannot be used as a synonym for the other.
History
Imperial Russian subjects
Before the concept of citizenship was codified in legislation, inhabitants of the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...
and
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
personally owed
allegiance
An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign.
Etymology
From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al ...
to the
Russian monarch. No general requirements were required to become a Russian subject until the 16th century, when it became customary to treat any person who had been
christened by the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
as having acquired subjecthood. Foreigners who wished to become Russian subjects became required to swear an oath of personal fealty to the Russian monarch during the reign of
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
. The oath used during this time required the subject to pledge themself as an "obedient slave and eternal subject with my family" of the sovereign and remained unchanged until 1796, when the word "slave" was removed.
Provincial governments held wide discretion in determining who could naturalize as Russian subjects until 10 February 1864, when the imperial government introduced a five-year residence requirement and shifted authority over naturalization from provincial authorities to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire. The residence requirement could be reduced for individuals who performed an extraordinary service for the Russian state, were especially talented or highly skilled in a scientific field, or made significant investments in the empire. The term "citizenship" became introduced in this reform as a different name for the concept of subjecthood.
Russian women who married foreign men automatically lost Russian subject status. A formerly Russian widow or divorcée who lost had her Russian subject status through marriage could petition a provincial authority for restoration of that status. Other Russian subjects could separately apply for the end of their subjecthood through the Ministry of Internal Affairs with approval from the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
. Any person who became a foreign subject or citizen without prior government approval could be punished by the deprivation of their rights or
banishment to Siberia.
Revolutionary Russia and Soviet Union
After the start of the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...
in 1917, the new
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
(RSFSR) government abolished all previous imperial legislation. Prevailing
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
theory at the time considered communism to be an international movement, which became reflected in citizenship regulations in the new state. Under the
1918 Russian constitution, local
soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
s were empowered to directly grant foreigners Soviet citizenship, particularly intended for those belonging to the
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
and
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
es. No specific procedures were required to become a Soviet citizen during this time other than obtaining local authority approval. While this model of citizenship acquisition was quite simple and expeditious, contemporary regulations also allowed for citizenship deprivation at any time at the sole discretion of the central government as a deterrence against "the enemies of Soviet power".
The RSFSR became a
founding member of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
(USSR) in 1922. Citizenship regulations were restructured under the authority of the
All-Union government following adoption of the
1924 Constitution of the Soviet Union. Every person living within the borders of the USSR was a Soviet citizen unless they declared themselves as foreign citizens. Soviet citizens also held citizenship of the
Union Republic
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
in which they were permanently resident, although republican citizenship was symbolic and held no substantive meaning. Standard regulations in other countries required wives and children to hold the same citizenship as the male head of the family. Soviet legislation deviated from the contemporary international norm and allowed Soviet women who married foreign men to retain their Soviet citizenship after marriage. Any imperial Russian subjects who had permanently departed Russia before 7 November 1917 and had acquired foreign citizenship or applied for such status were deprived of Russian/Soviet citizenship by decree in 1933.
The first piece of legislation governing solely on the issue of citizenship was the 1938 Soviet Citizenship Law, which provided a redefinition for who held Soviet citizenship. Unlike previous regulations which automatically granted citizenship to virtually all residents of the USSR, this law defined Soviet citizens as anybody who had been a Russian subject at the time of the founding of the RSFSR in 1917 and had not subsequently lost Soviet citizenship, as well as those who had lawfully obtained citizenship. All other people resident in the USSR who neither held Soviet citizenship nor could prove foreign citizenship were treated as
stateless persons. Citizenship could be deprived under this law as part of a court decision or by decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).[Soviet Jews
The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "For ...]
who permanently migrated to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
were stripped of Soviet citizenship by decree beginning in 1967.
Following adoption of the
1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union
The 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union, officially the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was the constitution of the Soviet Union adopted on 7 October 1977 until its dissolution on 21 December 1991 ...
, which established the principle that all Soviet citizens would enjoy protection abroad from the Soviet government, a new citizenship law was enacted on 1 December 1978. This law prohibited the
extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
of Soviet citizens to any foreign jurisdiction and formally barred holding
multiple citizenship
Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...
s. Citizenship was held to be a unique relationship between a citizen and country, and any deviation from that was considered a violation of loyalty to the state, which led to a potential deprivation of citizenship.
During the reform period of ''
glasnost
''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
'' and ''
perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
'', Soviet citizenship law was revised for a final time in 1990. The modified legislation transferred responsibility for citizenship deprivation from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet to the
President of the Soviet Union
The president of the Soviet Union (russian: Президент Советского Союза, Prezident Sovetskogo Soyuza), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), abbreviated as president of the USSR (), was ...
and greatly limited the circumstances in which this power would be exercised. Soviet citizenship could now only be deprived from individuals who enlisted in foreign militaries or other governmental bodies, permanently lived abroad and failed to register at a Soviet consulate for at least five years, or had fraudulently acquired citizenship.
Transition and post-Soviet Russia
In the waning days of the Union, the RSFSR adopted the
, which reemphasized the role of republican citizenship within Soviet citizenship. This declaration restated that every citizen of the RSFSR also held citizenship of the USSR. As part of its preparations for a
reformed Soviet Union, the RSFSR drafted new citizenship legislation that brought regulations in line with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
. Under this law, citizenship could no longer be deprived at the sole discretion of the government and holding multiple citizenships ceased to be strictly prohibited, though this was only explicitly allowed in cases where the RSFSR had a bilateral agreement on dual citizenship. This law was adopted on 28 November 1991 but did not come into force until 6 February 1992, after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
.
Former Soviet citizens who were permanently resident in Russia on 6 February 1992 automatically became Russian citizens unless they explicitly applied to refuse citizenship by 6 February 1993. Residence was based on a person's officially listed place of domicile in the ''
propiska Propiska is both a residency permit and a migration recording tool, generally referred to as an Internal passport:
* Propiska in the Russian Empire
* Propiska in the Soviet Union
* Propiska in Ukraine; see :uk:Прописка#Прописка в ...
'' system. Any other former Soviet citizen could obtain Russian citizenship by registration if they migrated to Russia between 6 February 1992 and 31 December 2000, or before 6 February 1995 if they were resident in a former Union Republic and had not become citizens of that new country. Stateless persons living in Russia or a Union Republic that had remained part of the Soviet Union on 1 September 1991 could register as Russian citizens by 6 February 1993. Spouses, children, and other lineal descendants of Russian citizens were eligible for citizenship by registration without time limit. Children of former Russian citizens who were born after their parents' loss of citizenship had a right to register as Russian citizens within five years of reaching age 18.
As a result of the Soviet Union's collapse, large numbers of ethnic Russians became resident outside the boundaries of the Russian state. In order to give this population and other former Soviet citizens an opportunity to choose the country of their new affiliation, visa-free movement was established throughout the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
(CIS) in 1992. Facilitating this were dual citizenship treaties signed with
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
in 1993 and
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
in 1996. Simplified naturalization procedures through which applicants of a treaty CIS country could acquire Russian citizenship after three months of their application were separately signed with
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
and
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
in 1996, as well as a multilateral agreement with
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
in 1999. Residents of the breakaway regions of
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
,
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
, and
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
were granted Russian citizenship under provisions of the 1991 law accommodating former Soviet citizens. Overseas Russians gained official status as "compatriots" in 1999 in Russian law, which defined them as any persons who lived outside the territory of the Russian Federation who themselves or their ancestors had previously lived in Russia, although this had no practical effect on existing citizenship legislation. However, the Russian government had no wider initiative to resettle overseas Russians during this time and the agreement on CIS-wide free movement expired by 2000. Although there were several attempts at negotiating a dual citizenship arrangement with
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
during the 1990s and in 2004, they ultimately ended with no agreement.
Part of Russia's objectives in pursuing dual citizenship agreements with CIS member states in the 1990s was to provide Russians residing in the former Soviet Union with some sense of security from the Russian state so that they would be less likely to resettle in Russia during that period of prolonged economic crisis and restructuring. The other post-Soviet states were wary of Russia's intentions with extending citizenship to people within their borders and did not want to expose themselves to further Russian influence. Despite some support within the
State Duma
The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
for automatically extending Russian citizenship to all former Soviet citizens, the legislature ultimately rejected this to prevent causing unnecessary friction.
The dual citizenship agreements had been intended to ease the post-Soviet transition for ethnic Russians who found themselves living in foreign countries. However, most of the people utilizing this were not ethnically Russian at all and originated from areas of the CIS that were economically dependent on Russia. Beginning in 2000, facilitated naturalization pathways for former Soviet citizens began to be restricted. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
ceased issuing new Russian passports in that year to former Soviet citizens who did not have established ''propiska'' in Russia on 6 February 1992. Reforms enacted in 2002 limited eligibility for simplified naturalization only to those who had been born in Russian territory and raised requirements for that process. While virtually any former Soviet citizen could obtain Russian citizenship by simple registration under the 1991 law, the 2002 changes required such individuals to fulfill a language requirement, prove a legal income, and renounce their previous citizenship. They also became required to establish permanent residence in Russia before they could naturalize, even if they previously held ''propiska''. The cumulative effect of these added conditions extended the time in which a former Soviet citizen could acquire Russian citizenship to as long as eight years.
Dual citizenship was actively discouraged by Russian government agencies until after the 2014
annexation of Crimea. Regulations were again relaxed for citizens of some post-Soviet countries beginning in the late 2010s as a way for the Russian state to exert greater influence on neighboring states. Ukrainian citizens seeking to acquire Russian citizenship have not been required to prove renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship since 2017 and residents of
Donetsk Oblast
The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
and
Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...
became eligible for expedited acquisition of Russian citizenship in 2019. The five-year residence period for naturalization was later removed for citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
, and Ukraine and the requirement to renounce foreign citizenships to naturalize as Russian was completely abolished in 2020.
Eurasian integration
Russia and Belarus established the supranational
Union State
The Union State,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва Расі́і і Белару́сі, Sajuznaja dziaržava Rasii i Bielarusi, links=no. or Union State of Russia and Belarus,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва, Sajuznaja dziar ...
in 1999. Citizens of both countries automatically hold Union State citizenship, which grants eligibility to vote in Union State elections and stand for office in Union State institutions. Russian and Belarusian citizens may reside and work in either country under a freedom of movement for workers established by bilateral agreement, which was later expanded to all member states of the
Eurasian Economic Union
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of some post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The Treaty on the Eurasian Econo ...
(EAEU) founded in 2015. These movement rights are tied to a worker's contract of employment in another member state and do not grant automatic permanent residence rights anywhere in the EAEU.
Acquisition and loss of citizenship
Any person born in Russia automatically receives Russian citizenship by birth if at least one parent is a Russian citizen. Individuals born in the country to two foreign parents only receive Russian citizenship by birth if they cannot acquire the citizenship of either parent. Children born overseas to two Russian parents are Russian citizens by descent, while those who are born to one Russian parent only receive Russian citizenship if they would otherwise be stateless.
Abandoned children
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...
found in the country are presumed to have been Russian citizens by birth if their parents cannot be found within six months.
Foreigners may become Russian citizens by admission after residing in the country for more than five years while possessing a residence permit. Individuals without permits who permanently settled in Russia before 1 July 2002 are treated as if they have had a permit since the date on which they registered their place of residence. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the
Russian language
Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...
and have a legal source of income. The residence requirement is reduced to one year for individuals who have been granted asylum or refugee status, or who have made extraordinary scientific, technological, or cultural contributions. It may also be waived for citizens of other
post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
who have served in the
Russian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
for at least three years. Additionally, the
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
has discretionary authority to directly grant citizenship to any foreigner.
Certain groups of foreign citizens and stateless persons qualify for a facilitated acquisition of Russian citizenship without needing to fulfill a minimum residence requirement. These include: persons with at least one Russian parent who lives within Russia, former Soviet citizens permanently resident in a post-Soviet state but have not acquired citizenship in that country, and citizens of a former Soviet state who have been educated in Russian secondary schools or universities since 1 July 2002. Foreign and stateless individuals already resident in Russia may also be eligible for this simplified process if they are: former Soviet citizens born in the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, married to a Russian citizen for at least three years, a disabled person with an adult child who is a Russian citizen, a person with a Russian citizen child but a Russian spouse who is deceased or has been declared missing or otherwise unable to hold parental rights, or a person with a Russian citizen child over the age of 18 who has been declared mentally unfit by court order.
Russian citizenship can be relinquished by making a declaration of renunciation. Parents of Russian citizen children may apply for renunciation on their behalf. In circumstances where the Russian Federation cedes territory to a foreign country, Russians living in affected territory are given a choice between retaining Russian citizenship or acquiring citizenship of the new controlling state.
References
Sources
Publications
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External links
Ministry of Internal Affairs - Main Directorate for Migration Affairs
{{Authority control
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
Law of Russia