Photo: NTV Russia will make it easier to get your citizenship

It is likely that the updated norm of Russian citizenship for native speakers of Russian will be adopted during the spring session.

Russia plans to introduce a new principle of citizenship based on the “law of the soil”.

The main criteria for obtaining Russian citizenship will be: relationship with the territories of the USSR and the Russian Empire, as well as knowledge of the Russian language.

One of the authors of the bill, Konstantin Zatulin, speaking about the document noted its importance for the citizens of Ukraine.

Корреспондент.net decided to find out how and why Russia decided to simplify the procedure for obtaining your citizenship .

Putin Suggested

To date, the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship in the law “On citizenship of the Russian Federation” and is defined in the decree of the President of Russia dated 14 November 2002 “About the statement of Regulations about the order of consideration of questions of citizenship of the Russian Federation”.

Thus, the Russian citizenship is acquired at birth if one of the parents is a citizen of Russia.

Also the Russian citizenship can be obtained upon application, but it needs at least five years of living in Russia since receiving a residence permit. Sometimes citizenship can provide by his decree the President of Russia.

The point about the native language appeared in Russian legislation after the message of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in 2012.

Then Putin instructed to develop accelerated procedure for granting citizenship “to the direct descendants of those born in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.”

“Then make her, failed, so we need to do it now,” – said Zatulin.

According to him, the amendments worked for two years. In the law they were formed only in April 2014 – a month after the referendum in the Crimea.

The law of carriers of the Russian language appeared after the annexation of Crimea

But they were not quite efficient for Russian, apparently because of a literal understanding of the words of the Russian leader about the need to “renounce their citizenship today”.

“If from all other kinds of compatriots as the identity of the waiver of another citizenship is required, just a statement of renunciation of citizenship from the native speakers is not just a statement of withdrawal, but also the corresponding certificate from that state. And without this information the documents will not be accepted,” explained Zatulin.

It turned out that in fact no such references does not: “Try it in Ukraine to obtain the document-view in Russia that the DOE came out from the Ukrainian citizenship”.

New amendments to the “law of soil”

At the end of last year, Russian first Deputy Chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots Konstantin Zatulin and MP Natalia Poklonskaya has made new amendments to the laws “On citizenship of the Russian Federation” and “On legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”.

March 10, the state Duma Committee on Affairs of nationalities approved the bill Zatulin and Polonskaya, simplifying the acquisition of Russian passports to native Russian speakers.

Map of the Russian Empire, 1914

The document cancels the requirement of certificate of renunciation of foreign citizenship – as noted in the explanatory Memorandum, not to put a procedure in dependence “from voluntarism to foreign officials.”

In addition, introduced a geographical amendment.

In the category of “Russian speakers”, in accordance with the project, will include all born on the territory of the former Russian Empire or the Soviet Union (not adjusted for current boundaries).

Also the point about native speakers covers persons whose relatives in the direct ascending line were born in Russia.

“In the case of the adoption of the law to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation will be not only on the principle of blood kinship, but also on the basis of the soil. The main criterion will be the knowledge of the Russian language and is the basis for the relationship with the territories of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire”, – said the Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on nationalities Ruslan Balbec.

Map of the USSR

Balbec added that now the right to receive Russian citizenship receive Russian living in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and so on.

The Ukrainians did not have benefits

As told Zatulin, for the duration of the provisions on the Russian speakers of 2014 only 24 Ukrainians were able to get a Russian passport at this point.

“With the huge number of those wishing to obtain Russian citizenship – primarily refugees from Ukraine – this item could use just a thousand people,” – said the official, noting that most of them citizenship was not.

But the demand is great. According to the Russian Ministry of foreign Affairs, in the period from 2014 to 2016, the citizenship of the Russian Federation received almost 170 thousand citizens of Ukraine. In particular, in 2014 – 24141 people in 2015 – 67400, in 9 months of 2016 – 75497.

While Kiev says that the majority of them – inhabitants of the Crimea.

We will remind that after the beginning of the conflict in the Donbass Russia has imposed concessions for Ukrainian citizens – it became possible to repeatedly extend the period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation. But in the fall of 2015 preferential migration regime for Ukrainians Moscow was canceled.

For Ukrainian citizens, in addition to natives of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, began to spread General rule: not more than 90 days within six months, then you need to either leave the country or to issue a patent or other status.

It is likely that the updated norm of Russian citizenship for native speakers of Russian will be adopted during the spring session.

It is noteworthy that shortly before the amendment to the state Duma on the problem again drew the attention of Putin and urged all involved.

Issues with acquisition of Russian citizenship, especially certain categories of citizens of the former republics of the Soviet Union, that these issues should be minimum of bureaucracy

Putin at the end of 2016

Last week the state Duma Council decided rapid way to collect feedback on the draft law on the Russian language until March 17.