Foreign citizens have recently got more options for acquiring Russian citizenship and residence permits in accordance with several legal acts introduced in August 2024:
• Federal Law No. 253-FZ dd. August 8, 2024 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (hereinafter the “ FL No. 253”),
• President Decree No. 702 dd. August 19, 2024 “On Providing humanitarian support to persons sharing traditional spiritual and moral values of Russian” (hereinafter “Decree No. 702”).
Russian compatriots living abroad
First option is applicable for “compatriots living abroad”, who can now obtain a permanent residence permit in a simplified way, bypassing the need to obtain a temporary residence permit. To make use of this option a potential repatriate shall officially participate in the “State Program on assistance to the voluntary resettlement to the Russian Federation of compatriots living abroad”, or obtain the status of a family member of a participant of the said State Program.
An application for a Russian residence permit can be submitted abroad to the diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation in the country, where the application for participation in the State Program was earlier submitted to. Residence permit is issued only upon the foreign citizen undergoes the mandatory state fingerprint registration and photographing, as well as submits results of a medical examination. The changes will take effect on November 6, 2024.
Note, following foreign citizens can be acknowledged as compatriots living abroad:
Persons and their descendants residing outside the territory of the Russian Federation and belonging, as a rule, to the peoples historically residing in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as persons who have made a free choice in favor of spiritual, cultural and legal ties with the Russian Federation, whose relatives in the direct ascending line previously resided in the territory of the Russian Federation, including:
- persons who were citizens of the USSR, residing in states that were part of the USSR, who received citizenship of these states or became stateless persons;
- people (emigrants) from the Russian state, the Russian Republic, the RSFSR, the USSR and the Russian Federation who had the appropriate citizenship and became citizens of a foreign state or stateless persons.
Foreigners who share traditional Russian values
A second simplified option newly implemented by the Decree No. 702 introduced a separate ground for acquisition of a temporary Russian residence permit for those foreign citizens, who share “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values and oppose the destructive neoliberal ideological agenda” in their home country. Such persons can now apply for a temporary residence permit without an established foreigners quota, proof of Russian language proficiency or knowledge of Russian history and the country’s laws.
The list of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values provided for by the President Decree No. 809 dd. November 9, 2022 includes: life, dignity, human rights and freedoms, patriotism, civic consciousness, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate, high moral ideals, strong family, the priority of the spiritual over the material, humanism, mercy, justice, collectivism, mutual assistance and mutual respect, historical memory and the intergenerational continuity, the unity of the peoples of Russia.
To arrive in the country, foreign citizens will be able to obtain single-entry ordinary private visas for 3 months.
The Decree No. 702 comes into force on September 1, 2024. Still the list of foreign states implementing policies that impose destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values is yet to be approved by the Russian Government as per the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hereto until the implementation of the detailed regulatory base and official explanations the obtainment process of such simplified temporary residence permit will not become workable.
Personal interview
Contrary to the above some immigration restrictions also become due upon the Government Decree No. 1087 tightening the conditions of entry into the Russian Federation, which appeared on August 15, 2024. In accordance with the updated regulation, visa applicants will have to undergo a personal interview to verify the purpose of the trip and the conditions of stay in the Russian Federation.
Whenever you are seeking support regarding immigration opportunities to Russia, our professional lawyers will be glad to guide you through this sophisticated process, explain and settle all kinds of documentation for obtainment of residence permits, business visas, student visas, Russian citizenship or even opening your own business or start-up in Russia.
