A foreigner can become a Russian citizen through the available options: general and several preferential ones. The general rules for obtaining a Russian passport apply to foreigners whose circumstances do not fall under any simplified procedure. Sometimes obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner is also a quick procedure. True, it all depends on the specific circumstances. The time frame for obtaining Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure is up to six months.

Acceptance of citizenship is an application-based process. A positive response to a foreigner’s request for Russian citizenship depends on several requirements and conditions that the government approves. Life circumstances in the “Russian” experience are not considered an exception; more often they are additional conditions that may or may not have any effect on speeding up the procedure. A simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for children has been introduced.

Who is most likely to become a citizen?

What is the procedure for obtaining citizenship? The procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner is carried out in several directions. Today they are more in demand than citizenship according to the general principle. In addition, the country provides opportunities. A foreigner will quickly receive a Russian passport if his desire to become a Russian meets certain conditions. For example, the applicant knows Russian perfectly or well, he has relatives from Russia. The federal law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation,” adopted in 2002, provides for all the grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner. Let's take a closer look at them.

Grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner

Russian legislation accepts citizenship of a citizen of another country if his mother or father is Russian and registered in a constituent entity of Russia. What other conditions are there for obtaining Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure? Another condition concerns Soviet people, that is, persons who received citizenship of the republics that left the Soviets. Simply put, a stateless person. Separately, the law prescribes the possibility of obtaining a Russian passport for a native of the constituent entities of the RSFSR. Spouses of Russian citizens have the right to a simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation. The couple must have been married for more than three years.

A disabled foreigner raising children under eighteen years of age who are Russian citizens can also qualify for faster processing of the application. In a situation where one of the parents is declared incompetent, dies or is deprived of rights to children, a foreigner can initiate the process of obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner.

The next relaxation is educational and applies to students in licensed universities, colleges and research centers. If a foreigner has received a document on graduation from an educational institution and qualifications, then begins to work at enterprises and organizations in Russia, then after three years he has the right to apply for a simplified procedure for acquiring citizenship.

A benefit has been defined for the business sector. If an enterprise has revenue of ten million rubles, and its founder has been working in Russia for at least three years without any complaints, then he, too, can quickly and without red tape become the owner of a Russian passport. An investor with an authorized capital of more than one hundred million for each asset also has grounds for it. They will take into account timely paid taxes and their amount - not less than six million rubles for three years of investment.

Easy citizenship is also available to foreigners with rare qualifications and professionals who are in high demand in various fields. Russian-speaking foreigners with registered registration can easily obtain Russian citizenship in a short time.

All of the above points are grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner.

Obtaining citizenship under an international agreement

In migration policy, Russia is closely connected with several countries, most of them are former republics of the USSR. This connection is maintained at different levels and in several directions. Considering the historical situation in which citizens of the united Soviet Union suddenly become foreigners to each other, the authorities accommodated those who wanted to change their citizenship for personal reasons. An international agreement has been concluded between the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which works in favor of an easy change of citizenship; it shortens the duration of this process. The document has been in force since 1999 and in the legal field is not inferior to the Federal Law “On Citizenship”.

This path to Russian citizenship is the easiest, and the application is processed within three months. The applicant will not be asked to provide evidence of a legal source of income in Russia or to demonstrate knowledge of the language.

But you will still need to purchase a residence permit and registration. You can initiate the process at any nearest department of the municipal Migration Service. The consulates will not accept your application.

Who will be granted Russian citizenship under the Agreement?

The applicant must be a citizen of the Byelorussian, Kyrgyz and Kazakhstan SSR and have Soviet citizenship. Another option: the same conditions and additional residence in Russia until December 21, 1991. The agreement also works if the applicant has a relative who is a citizen of Russia. The agreement is valid only if parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren are from Russia. Foreigners married to a Russian woman or married to a Russian citizen also fall under the Agreement, and it does not matter when the marriage was concluded - a month or three years ago. This point has meaning in conditions of a different order.

Documents for residence permit

Russia has adopted a special program that allows immigrants to Russia to obtain residence permit status if their qualifications and profession are important for the socio-economic sphere of the state. High-class foreign specialists with their families receive a residence permit. Disabled children or incompetent adults, political “refugees,” and persons with terminated Russian citizenship have the right to receive it. These categories have their own list of documents, but we will provide a general list of necessary certificates for obtaining a residence permit in Russia.

Required package of documents:

  1. Application in two copies.
  2. Applicant's passport and copy of the document.
  3. Certificate of income or certificate of employment - a foreigner must receive an amount not less than the minimum subsistence level established in Russia.
  4. For those disabled - an appropriate certificate.

You will also need a certificate of absence of human immunodeficiency virus, infectious diseases and drug addiction. Moreover, certificates will be taken into account if they were issued by medical institutions in Russia. You will also need four photographs and pay a state fee.

Citizenship for Russian speakers

Simplified Russian citizenship for those who know the state language and can use it in any situation and circumstances: in a store and at an art exhibition, in a profession or at study.

What matters is not only the ability to conduct and maintain a dialogue, to write competently, clearly and coherently expressing one’s thoughts. It is also important to think “in Russian”. For example, be able to retell the content of any text - be it a literary work, a philosophical treatise or a newspaper article. Or another example: a foreigner claiming to be a native speaker must immediately grasp the dialogues of movie characters. It is also important to demonstrate broad knowledge of examples of folk wisdom, use epithets, select synonyms, feel the language and its beauty - take into account the peculiarities of the language.

You will have to confirm your knowledge at an interview. They must invite you to the exam after the specialists accept the documents, that is, in two days. The commission takes into account the results of the interview and makes a decision within five days. If the answer is positive, assigning the status of a native speaker of the state language also facilitates the process of obtaining citizenship.

Citizenship by Resettlement

Compatriots abroad can safely and soon receive a Russian passport. This area of ​​citizenship has the most applications; this is again a consequence of the turning point events of the nineties. Russian legislation has specifically approved a resettlement program that provides its participants with benefits beyond the classical order. This group includes relatives of representatives of the peoples and nationalities of Russia, as well as Soviet citizens. It is clear that legally this status is insignificant, but in this case it does exist. The program covers foreigners with temporary residence in Russia and those who have received temporary asylum.

Simplified citizenship without a residence permit

For some who wish to obtain citizenship, it is not necessary to obtain a residence permit. This relaxation applies to displaced compatriots and members of their families, if they have registration at the place of residence. War veterans who remained living in Russia after the collapse of the USSR will not need to obtain a residence permit. A residence permit will not be asked for disabled citizens of the former Soviet republics, who have been required to be included in the Russian migration system since 2002.

Citizenship in general

These, of course, are not exceptional and sensational solutions, but still the scheme is not so popular. The main condition applies to five years of residence in Russia from the date of receipt of the right to a residence permit until the initiation of the application process for a Russian passport.

Moreover, it is forbidden to leave Russia for more than three months.

In Russia, they are very sensitive to the desire of a foreigner to become a Russian if he has undeniable talents and professionalism. For such people, the state has reduced the duration of the residence permit from five years to twelve months. It is clear that not all first-class specialists will be granted citizenship only based on the competencies in demand in the country and those who have achieved high-quality results in science and social areas. The condition also applies to refugees, including political ones. And also those who served under contract service in the RF Armed Forces.

Conditions for the general procedure for citizenship of the Russian Federation

A simple point is to sign the statement in the column about the promise to honor and fulfill the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the laws of the country. However, Russian President V. Putin proposed this year to formulate the text of the oath or oath of new citizens of Russia. They are currently working on sample oaths.

Other general requirements will require hassle, but no more than in other countries. For example, you will have to renounce citizenship, but not all applicants. There is no application template; it is drawn up in free form and submitted to the embassy. But this obligation does not apply to all applicants. Refugees, political migrants or citizens of those countries with which Russia has an agreement allowing them to have dual citizenship have been released.

You also need to provide proof of legitimate sources of income. This includes not only wages, but also pensions, benefits, bank deposits and dependency.

It is necessary to learn the Russian language, communicate and express yourself freely in it, speak so that others understand, and write correctly, be able to clearly express your thoughts and understand speech.

It is considered that the applicant has mastered the Russian language well enough if he graduated from a Soviet school or a Russian one. There will be no questions for Belarusians, because in Belarus Russian is the state language.

The remaining applicants will have to pass a special exam in the state language. However, here again there are exceptions. For example, citizens over 65 years of age and applicants over 60 years of age, disabled people of the first group and incompetent persons will be exempt from testing.

Consultations on obtaining Russian citizenship

In Russia, there are several ways to provide advice to those interested in Russian citizenship. The most popular are consulates and Internet portals. At offline receptions, embassy specialists or on websites, FMS lawyers explain obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner more often than other issues. There are many possibilities for this, as well as conditions. Therefore, it is difficult for applicants to understand and determine on their own which group they fall into. In addition, in Russia there is a special “hotline” with three numbers: in Moscow and the Moscow region, in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, as well as a federal number:

  • on weekdays from nine to twenty-three, on weekends from ten to twenty-one, calls are accepted in the capital and the Moscow region by telephone;
  • in the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg, details will be given about the general and simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for citizens from Monday to Friday from nine to twenty-one hours, on Saturday and Sunday from ten to nineteen.

Any caller can quickly find out the answers to questions about obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified manner.

Specialists from the Federal Migration Service will describe in detail the simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship. The further procedure will become easier, of course, if all the conditions and requirements are met. Applicants are also interested in the stages of obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner.

How long does it take to get citizenship?

The time frame for obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified and full manner is different. In general, the wait for a decision will take almost a year. He is received by the President of Russia. Simplified schemes allow you to become a citizen of the Russian Federation within a period of three to six months.

Important! According to the general procedure or simplified procedure, the package of documents must contain all the necessary certificates and copies. Therefore, it is better to prepare for the application with the help of a lawyer or FMS specialists.

After the decision on citizenship is made, the new Russian must be informed about it no later than a month later.