A new law on citizenship of the Russian Federation has entered into force. Why it will become easier to get it

From now on, it will become easier for law-abiding and non-criminal citizens to obtain Russian citizenship.

The innovations are provided for by Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”, which entered into force on October 26. This regulatory legal act replaced the law of the same name, which has been in force in the state for more than 20 years. More than 6.5 million people became citizens of the Russian Federation during this period.

Participants of the program for the return of compatriots to their homeland can acquire citizenship without obtaining both a temporary residence permit and a residence permit. They only need to confirm their knowledge of Russian, history and the laws of the state.

If foreign citizens and stateless persons who are participants in the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation of compatriots Living Abroad and their family members who have received a temporary residence permit in the Russian Federation or a residence permit have registration at their place of residence within the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation chosen by them for permanent residence in accordance with the specified State Program or are registered at their place of residence within the territory of the specified subject of the Russian Federation, they have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified procedure without observing the conditions of residence, availability of a legitimate source of living, proficiency in the Russian language and renunciation of existing other citizenship.

The authorities explain that the provisions of the previous law relating to the simplified procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship by compatriots who have knowledge of Russian and history of Russia are reflected in the new law. Since the adoption of this law is the result of the development of legislation on citizenship in the Russian Federation.

A separate article is devoted to the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation in the new law. In particular, it defines the procedure for revoking an identity document. The document will be considered invalid if it has become unreadable or the citizen has changed personal data: full name, date of birth, gender.

The law provides a period of 90 days to obtain a new passport. Moreover, the passport may henceforth be not only in paper form, but also in electronic form.

In addition, the authorities add that the new law has managed to resolve an issue of concern to many individuals. Children born in mixed marriages will be able to obtain citizenship in a simplified procedure. Under the previous law, it was required to provide the consent of the second parent, who is a foreign citizen. This caused legal uncertainty when one of the spouses wanted the child to be a Russian citizen, and the other did not give consent to this. The new law solves this problem. Now the consent of the second foreign parent is not required. A child acquires citizenship of the Russian Federation at the request of a citizen of the Russian Federation.

A significant innovation is the simplification of the condition on the duration of marriage. According to the previous law, foreigners and stateless persons could become full-fledged Russians under a simplified procedure if they had been married to a citizen of the Russian Federation for at least 3 years. From now on, the duration of the marriage does not matter. The basis for a simplified procedure for acquiring citizenship will only be the presence of a common child, it does not matter whether he is native or adopted.

The state bodies will now issue citizenship in an exceptional manner only by decision of the president in special cases. This can be done due to services to Russia or because of a profession that is of interest to the state.

Graduates who have graduated from the full-time department of a Russian university with honors, as well as those who have worked in the country in their specialty for more than a year, having received a diploma, will be able to apply for a Russian citizenship. At the same time, the clause on citizenship by investment has been abolished from the law.

It is also crucial that the State has not prohibited the acquisition of citizenship of other states. At the same time, such a fact will not cancel Russian citizenship. According to the law, such individuals will be considered only Russians with all the rights and obligations that follow.

In addition to dual citizenship, the law introduced the concept of “multiple citizenship” – for individuals who are citizens of states with which Russia does not have dual citizenship agreements. At the moment, the Russian Federation has concluded such an agreement only with Tajikistan.

It is worth noting that the difference is not only nominal, but also legal. Thus, an individual with dual citizenship retains his rights and obligations in both states, however, pays taxes and performs military service only in the state of permanent residence. For example, if a Tajik citizen has already served in his homeland and received a Russian passport, he will not be recruited into the Russian army.

With multiple citizenship, each state considers itself to be the “main one” – with all the relevant consequences. If a second citizenship of a Russian individual is not Tajik, then, according to the new law, he does not have dual citizenship, but multiple citizenship. Thus, all the rights and obligations of Russians, including military service, are reserved for them. It is necessary to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs about obtaining a second citizenship, this can be done online. The deadline for notification is 60 days.