08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

The 2002 Law on Citizenship made access to citizenship more difficult for most foreigners ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144], [ID 11156]

"A 2002 Law on Citizenship, as amended in 2003, made access to citizenship more difficult for most foreigners by requiring possession of a residence permit or propiska and five years of uninterrupted residence after the propiska is issued. Applicants for citizenship must also demonstrate a lawful source of income, complete an application renouncing any previous citizenship, and establish a knowledge of the Russian language.

Amendments passed in 2002 and 2003 exempted the estimated 1.5 million former Soviet citizens residing in Russia without benefit of citizenship from having to meet most of these requirements. In essence, this reaffirmed earlier provisions that granted citizenship to those with Soviet citizenship who were legally in the Russian Federation as of February 6, 1992. However, the authorities have not always been willing to recognize the acquisition of citizenship on this basis. In December the State Duma and Federation Council passed amendments to the law, extending the deadline for former Soviet citizens to obtain Russian citizenship until January 1, 2008 and simplifying some of the earlier requirements. In addition the legislation extended the right to seek citizenship to those who obtained a resident permit in Russia after January 1, 2002, increasing the number of those potentially eligible for citizenship. At year's end the legislation was awaiting President Putin's signature."

Document(s): Open document

03.06.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Between 600,000 and 1, 4 million people without any legal status; this concerns a large number of former Soviet citizens ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation [Doc. 10568]") [#32710], [ID 11158]

"346. We have also been informed that between 600,000 and 1, 4 million people live on the territory of the Russian Federation without any legal status. Apart from illegal migration, the problem concerns deprivation of legal status of a large number of former Soviet citizens who previously resided legally in the Russian Federation and have been considered illegal migrants since the entry into force in 2002 of the Federal Laws on Russian Citizenship and on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation. Thus citizens of the former USSR who didn't obtain Russian citizenship run into unsolvable problems when trying to receive a residence permit and may be deported. From 2005, when Soviet passports will no longer be valid as identity certifying documents, these persons will find themselves in a complete legal vacuum.

347. Many former Soviet nationals live in the country under a temporary registration or even without registration. It is not their fault – they cannot objectively comply with the passport system requirements or were arbitrarily denied registration."

Document(s): Open document

03.2005 - Source: Forced Migration Online

Report focused on identity document regime (passeports, residence registration) and law on forced migrants (changing interpretations of the law, federal migration apparatus) ("The Outside Inside: Chechen IDPs, Identity Documents and the Right to Free Movement in the Russian Federation (by Kate Desormeau)") [#34740], [ID 11157]

Document(s): Open document

01.11.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Putin supports legislation that will allow dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship; between 4 - 6 million Ukrainian citizens permanently or temporarily living in Russia will be eligible for Russian citizenship ("Putin makes good on pledge to push for dual ukrainian-russian citizenship...(Newsline Volume 8 Number 206)") [#26787], [ID 11152]

Document(s): Open document

01.2004 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Background Note On the Replacement of USSR passports in the Russian Federation ("Background Note On the Replacement of USSR passports in the Russian Federation") [#23010], [ID 11159]

Document(s): Open document

13.10.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Hundreds of thousands of former Soviet citizens are being denied their legal right to obtain Russian citizenship and/or permanent residency rights, thus denied a whole range of basic rights including freedom of movement and equality before the law ("Russian Federation: Amnesty International delivers petitions to President Vladimir Putin") [#16675], [ID 11160]

Document(s): Open document

28.10.2002 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

Norwegian Refugee Council - Global IDP Project: Documentation needs and citizenship ("Profile of internal displacement: Russian Federation") [#9340], [ID 11164]

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: New law on Russian Federation citzenship ("Country Assessment - October 2002") [#9606], [ID 11161]

"5.3. Matters relating to citizenship in the Russian Federation are governed by the new law on citizenship, which was adopted by the Duma on 19 April 2002 and came into force on 1 July 2002.[16] Under the previous law, all citizens of the former USSR who were permanently resident in Russia on the day the Citizenship Act took effect (6 February 1992) were considered Russian citizens, apart from those who, within a year of that date, declared that they did not wish to become Russian citizens (Article 13.1).

5.4. Under the new law, a child whose parents or single parent at the time of birth are Russian citizens is a Russian citizen, irrespective of the place of birth (Article 12.1a). If one of the parents of a child at the time of birth is Russian and the other stateless, the child is a Russian citizen, irrespective of the place of birth (Article 12.1b). A child, one of whose parents is a Russian citizen and the other a citizen of another country, would be considered a Russian citizen provided the child is born on the territory of the Russian Federation or would otherwise become stateless (Article 12.1c). A child of stateless parents or those with citizenship of other states is considered a Russian citizen if those states do not extend citizenship to the child, provided the child is born on the territory of the Russian Federation (Article 12.1d).

5.5. On 31 December 2000, the possibility for former USSR citizens (who resided on the territory of the USSR and arrived for permanent residence in the Russian Federation after 6 February 1992) of obtaining Russian citizenship through the simplified procedure, provided for under Article 18(d) of the 1992 Act ceased to be available. The Presidential Commission on Citizenship stated that those holding a USSR passport, who had not acquired the citizenship of any country before this deadline, would, as of 1 January 2001, be considered as stateless persons. As a consequence, they would have to apply for Russian citizenship according to the provision of the law applicable to stateless persons. From 1 January 2001, all citizens of any former USSR country had to apply according to the rules for foreign citizens, as the simplified procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship no longer applied.

5.6. Under the new law, certain categories of former USSR citizens are once again accorded special privileges. As under the previous law, any adult who is not a Russian citizen, irrespective of their origin, can apply for Russian citizenship. However, under the new law, the period of continuous residence in Russia required for foreigners (including former Soviet citizens, except for those covered by Article 13.2 and 14.1b - see below and paragraph following) to qualify for citizenship was increased from three years to five (continuous residence meaning no more than three months absence in a year), which must now be proved by a valid residency permit to cover that period (Article 13.1a). They must also have a command of the Russian language; undertake to observe the Constitution and legislation of the Russian Federation; have a legal source of means of subsistence; have renounced citizenship of any foreign state unless this is impossible due to circumstances outside the person's control or an international treaty of the Russian Federation provides otherwise (Article 13.1b-e). Exempted from the five-year continuous residence requirement are those born on the territory of the Russian Federation who were USSR citizens in the past; those married to Russian citizens for at least three years; those who lack dispositive capacity and who have an adult son or daughter who is a Russian citizen; those with significant achievements or professional skills that Russia needs; and those who have refugee status. Such people need only have resided in Russia for one year to apply for citizenship (Article 13.2).

5.7. Exempted from any residence requirement are persons who are eligible to apply for citizenship in a "simplified manner" under Article 14, including those who had USSR citizenship, resided and reside in former USSR states, and have not become citizens of those states thus remaining stateless (Article 14.1b). Such persons may apply for Russian citizenship at a Russian diplomatic mission or consular institution outside the Russian Federation (Article 31.f), and consideration may take up to six months after all the necessary supporting documentation has been obtained (Article 35.4).

5.8. Applications for citizenship are denied to the following persons: those who lack a legal source of means of subsistence at the date of application for citizenship or during the five-year term of their uninterrupted stay in the Russian Federation; those who advocate violent political change in the Russian Federation; those who were evicted from the Russian Federation under a federal law during the five-year term preceding the date of their citizenship application; those who have used forged documents or intentionally provided false information; those who undergo military service, or service with the security or law-enforcement bodies of a foreign state, unless an international treaty of the Russian Federation provides otherwise; and those who have been criminally prosecuted or convicted of acts prosecuted under Russian laws (Article 16)."

Document(s): Open document

06.2002 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR: Accession to Russian citizenship by recognised refugees ("Analysis of the courts practice in the Russian Federation as pertaining to refugee status determination") [#7771], [ID 11165]

"According to the Article 19 of the 1992 RF Law on Citizenship, a foreigner can apply for
acquisition of citizenship after five years of permanent residence in Russia (or three years, if
this permanent residence has been continuous). Point 2 of Article 19 provides that the
residence period can be halved in the case of recognised refugees.
Law enforcement bodies restrictively interpret the “permanent residence” requirement as
implying possession of registration at the place of residence. Therefore, in the opinion of
interior agencies, those who lack registration at the place of residence are not permanently
residing in the RF territory and cannot apply for Russian citizenship. Freedom of movement
and citizens’ rights to choose their place of sojourn and/or residence is ruled under the eponym
federal law of 1993. Problems have occurred with the implementation of this federal law,
whereby law enforcement bodies in various subjects of the Federation have turned the
registration system into a permission to sojourn/reside (reminder of the USSR “propiska”
system), as opposed to a system under which citizens notify the administration of their place of
sojourn and/or residence.
It is a common situation for refugees and asylum seekers that they are living in the country
since several years, but cannot register at their domicile, either because they do not own a flat
or because the landlord of the apartment they rent is unwilling to sign a lease agreement (in
order to evade taxes) or to register the lessee at their premises (in order to avoid the
cumbersome registration procedure). One of the ways out from this vicious circle, for refugees
and asylum seekers, is to establish facts of legal importance (in that case, residence) through
the courts."

Document(s): hcr-rus-caselaw0702.pdf

06.2002 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR: Second citizenship ("Analysis of the courts practice in the Russian Federation as pertaining to refugee status determination") [#7771], [ID 11166]

"Under Article 5.1.4 of the RF Law on Refugees, the availability of citizenship in a third state or
the right to stay legally in the territory of a third state, entails, in the absence in that third state
of the circumstances enumerated in Article 1.1(1) of the law, denial of consideration of a
refugee application on the merits. As we see, this article combines two provisions of the 1951
Geneva Convention: the second paragraph of Article 1.A(2), related to the possession of
several nationalities, and the non-applicability clause of Article 1.E, related to the enjoyment,
in the country of residence, of rights and obligations normally attached to the possession of
nationality."

Document(s): hcr-rus-caselaw0702.pdf

04.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: Russian Federation Citizenship Act ("Country Assessment - April 2002") [#7107], [ID 11163]

"6.5. Matters relating to citizenship in the Russian Federation are governed by the Russian Federation Citizenship Act, which came into force in 1992. A citizen of the Russian Federation may be allowed, upon application, simultaneously to have the citizenship of another state, provided that there is a corresponding bilateral treaty with that state. All citizens of the former USSR who were permanently resident in Russia on the day the Citizenship Act took effect (6 February 1992) are considered Russian citizens, apart from those who, within a year of that date, declared that they did not wish to become Russian citizens (Article 13.1). [...]
6.8. On 31 December 2000, the possibility for former USSR citizens (who resided on the territory of the USSR and arrived for permanent residence in the Russian Federation after 6 February 1992) of obtaining Russian citizenship through the simplified procedure, provided for under Article 18(d) ceased to be available. The Presidential Commission on Citizenship stated that those holding a USSR passport, who had not acquired the citizenship of any country before this deadline, would, as of 1 January 2001, be considered as stateless persons. As a consequence, they would have to apply for Russian citizenship according to the provision of the law applicable to stateless persons. From 1 January 2001, all citizens of any former USSR country have to apply according to the rules for foreign citizens, as the simplified procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship no longer applies.


6.9. Under the 1992 law, any adult who is not a Russian citizen, irrespective of their origin, can apply for Russian citizenship. Under a new bill, approved by the Duma in February 2002, the period of permanent residence in Russia required for foreigners (including former Soviet citizens) to qualify for citizenship was increased from three years to five, which must now be proved by a valid residency permit to cover that period. Exempted from this requirement are those married to Russian citizens for at least three years; those who have a child, biological or adopted, who is a Russian citizen; those with significant achievements or professional skills that Russia needs; and those who have refugee status. Such people need only to have resided in Russia for one year to apply for citizenship. Applications for citizenship are denied persons who advocate violent political change in Russia, who are members of organisations or parties whose activities are incompatible with the constitutional principles of Russia, or who have been convicted of acts prosecuted under Russian laws (Article 19)."

Document(s): Open document