Russian citizenship based on the status of a participant (family member of a participant) in the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement of Compatriots Living Abroad to the Russian Federation.

There are categories of foreign nationals who may submit an application and the required set of documents for Russian citizenship without first obtaining a residence permit. These include foreign nationals—compatriots who have been granted participant status in the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement of Compatriots Living Abroad to the Russian Federation (hereinafter, the State Program), as well as members of their families.

It is important to note that persons relocating under the State Program may apply for various legal statuses after registering with the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation as a participant (or family member of a participant) in the State Program (hereinafter, activation of the certificate).

If a participant (applicant) in the State Program plans to acquire Russian citizenship, while their family members do not plan to do so for some reason yet, they may apply for the initial status available to them, depending on whether they participate in the State Program as compatriots or as repatriates.

Consider the following examples:

A Spanish citizen received a State Program participant certificate as a compatriot together with his wife and their two children, but for personal reasons his wife does not yet plan to acquire Russian citizenship. In this case, after the certificate is activated, the husband and both children may submit an application and the required set of documents for Russian citizenship, while the wife may apply for a temporary residence permit.

A citizen of Uzbekistan received a State Program participant certificate as a repatriate together with his parents and minor brother, but his father does not yet plan to acquire Russian citizenship for himself or his younger son. In this case, after the certificate is activated, the elder son (the applicant) and his mother may submit citizenship documents, while the father and younger son may apply for residence permits, bypassing the stage of obtaining temporary residence permits.

In addition, a foreign national must provide proof of proficiency in Russian and knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation. This often means that they must take an examination and obtain the relevant certificate, unless they are fully exempt from this requirement.

Please note that participants (family members of participants) in the Resettlement Program must monitor the period of authorized stay in Russia and, if necessary, extend it in advance through the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the basis of the activated certificate, followed by an extension of migration registration.

According to Article 5 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of 25.07.2002 “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation”:

• The period of temporary stay of a foreign citizen in the Russian Federation is determined by the validity period of the visa issued to them, except in cases provided for by this Federal Law.
• The period of temporary stay in the Russian Federation of a foreign citizen who arrived in the Russian Federation under a visa-free procedure may not exceed a total of ninety days during one calendar year.

Document Package

The current list of required documents in .pdf format can be downloaded here

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship based on the status of a participant in the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement of Compatriots Living Abroad to the Russian Federation, or the status of a family member of a participant in the said State Program

A foreign citizen or stateless person who has reached the age of eighteen, has legal capacity, and permanently resides in the Russian Federation (regardless of the length of residence) may apply for admission to Russian citizenship without meeting the requirements

1) to reside permanently in the Russian Federation for five years from the date of the decision to issue a residence permit in the Russian Federation until the date of filing the application for admission to Russian citizenship;

if the said foreign citizen or stateless person

has participant status in the State Program to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement of Compatriots Living Abroad to the Russian Federation, or the status of a family member of a participant in the said State Program.

The application and documents required to acquire Russian citizenship are submitted at the applicant's place of residence, place of stay, or actual place of residence in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation selected for resettlement.

1. Application — 2 copies (printed double-sided)

The application must be completed in Russian by hand using black, blue, or purple ink, or by electronic means. The applicant must sign each page of the application in the designated field in the lower-right corner. Handwritten text must be legible. Abbreviations and acronyms may not be used when completing the application, except for commonly accepted ones, and no corrections or erasures are permitted.

All fields of the application that require completion must be filled in, unless the circumstances needed to answer a question do not exist. In that case, enter the word "none" in the relevant field or leave the corresponding section blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be comprehensive.

If there is insufficient space in a field of the application to provide all the required information, that information must be provided on additional sheets attached to the application, which form an integral part of it (hereinafter, an addendum). In this case, enter "See addendum" in the relevant field.

The number of the field being supplemented must be indicated on the addendum sheets, along with the required information. All addendum sheets must be numbered. The page number and total number of addendum sheets must be indicated in the upper-right corner of each sheet. The number of copies of each addendum must match the number of copies of the application. The applicant must sign each addendum sheet in the lower-right corner.

2. A document certifying the applicant's identity.

If a foreign citizen does not have such a document, a copy of the finding establishing the foreign citizen's identity, issued by the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation

The document must remain valid for at least the application processing period at the time the application is submitted (at least 6 months is recommended). 

A document confirming the presence or absence of citizenship (a citizen's passport, a stateless person's identity document, a temporary identity document for a stateless person in the Russian Federation, a non-citizen passport issued by the relevant authority of a foreign state, or documents issued by the competent authority of the foreign state in which the applicant was born confirming that the applicant does not hold that state's citizenship).

3. A residence permit, temporary residence permit, temporary residence permit for educational purposes, temporary identity document for a stateless person in the Russian Federation, visa, migration card, or other document provided for by federal law or an international treaty of the Russian Federation confirming the applicant's right to stay or reside in the Russian Federation

4. Migration card and detachable section of the notification of arrival of a foreign citizen or stateless person at their place of stay — migration registration.

5. Birth certificate.

6. Documents confirming changes to the applicant's full name.

Marriage certificate, divorce certificate, or certificate from the civil registry office in the event of multiple surname changes, or a certificate of name change.

7. State Program participant certificate or, if the applicant has the status of a family member of a State Program participant, a copy of that certificate.

8. One of the documents confirming *

- proficiency in Russian:

• a document of the prescribed form (or its duplicate) confirming education (at least basic general education) received in the territory of a state that was part of the USSR before September 1, 1991,

or

• a document of education in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), or a document of education and qualifications in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), confirming education received in the territory of the Russian Federation after September 1, 1991;
• a document of education and/or qualifications issued in a foreign state by a higher education institution that was jointly administered by the Russian Federation and the foreign state under an international treaty of the Russian Federation, and where instruction was conducted in Russian;
• a document confirming education (at least basic general education) received in a foreign state where Russian is one of the official languages (for citizens of that state);
• a certificate confirming the level of Russian-language proficiency required for the purpose of acquiring Russian citizenship, issued in the Russian Federation or a foreign state by a state institution included in the list of state institutions established by the Government of the Russian Federation that conduct examinations in Russian as a foreign language, Russian history, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation. The procedure and criteria for including such state institutions in this list, the procedure for maintaining the list, the procedure and grounds for removing state institutions from it, the form and procedure for conducting the Russian language examination for the purpose of acquiring Russian citizenship, the Russian-language proficiency requirements for this purpose, the examination fee, and the procedure and time limits for storing examination materials are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The form of the certificate confirming the level of Russian-language proficiency required for the purpose of acquiring Russian citizenship, the procedure for issuing it, and the technical requirements for the certificate are approved by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Information about the certificate is entered by the issuing state institution in the federal information system "Federal Register of Information on Documents of Education and/or Qualifications, and Documents of Training";
• a certificate of proficiency in Russian and knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation at a level corresponding to the purpose of obtaining a residence permit;
• a decision recognizing a compatriot as proficient in Russian, adopted by a commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or its territorial body for recognizing compatriots as proficient in Russian;

- a certificate confirming knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation at the level required for the purpose of acquiring Russian citizenship, issued in the Russian Federation or a foreign state by a state institution included in the list of state institutions established by the Government of the Russian Federation that conduct examinations in Russian as a foreign language, Russian history, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation,

or

• a document of the prescribed form (or its duplicate) confirming education (at least basic general education) received in the territory of a state that was part of the USSR before September 1, 1991, or a document of education in the prescribed form (or its duplicate) or a document of education and qualifications in the prescribed form (or its duplicate) confirming education received in the territory of the Russian Federation after September 1, 1991;
  • a document of education and/or qualifications issued in a foreign state by a higher education institution that was jointly administered by the Russian Federation and the foreign state under an international treaty of the Russian Federation, and where instruction was conducted in Russian;
  • a document confirming education (at least basic general education) received in a foreign state where Russian is one of the official languages (for citizens of that state);
  • a certificate of proficiency in Russian and knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation at a level corresponding to the purpose of obtaining a residence permit.

* Foreign citizens and stateless persons who have reached the age of 70 or are persons with Group I disabilities are exempt from providing proof of proficiency in Russian and knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation when submitting an application.

9. Personal photographs, 3 x4 cm — 3 pcs. (black and white or color).

The image of the applicant (child or legally incapacitated person) in the photograph must correspond to their age on the date the application is submitted.

10. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

All the listed documents must be submitted as photocopies, together with the ORIGINALS.

A copy made from an original document must be of good quality, easily legible, and contain all the information shown in the original. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut to the size of the original using scissors.

The originals of the document certifying the applicant's identity and other required documents submitted by the applicant must be returned. Copies of these documents are attached to the application; an official checks them against the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the authority responsible for Russian citizenship matters, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

The period for providing the public service is 3 months.

The period may be extended for the time required to verify the documents submitted by the applicant and the information provided when filing the application, and to obtain additional documents and information stipulated by this Federal Law, but by no more than three months.

An application will not be accepted for consideration and will be returned to the applicant together with the attached documents if:

a) the application and documents are improperly completed, including containing clerical errors, typos, or other mistakes;

b) the documents required under this Regulation and attached to the application have not been submitted in full.

If an application is refused acceptance for consideration, the official returning it shall state, orally or in writing, the circumstances that constitute the grounds for refusal and how they may be remedied.

At the applicant's written request, the official shall provide the circumstances and how they may be remedied in writing, including a list of missing documents.

All official documents issued by foreign authorities in a foreign language must be legalized, translated, and notarized.

For countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention:

• The original document must be apostilled in the country where it was issued.
• The document and the apostille affixed to it must be translated into Russian.
• The translation must be certified by a notarial inscription made by a notary in the territory of the Russian Federation.

                 For countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention:

• Documents must undergo consular legalization through consular offices of the Russian Federation abroad or the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

All documents not in Russian must be submitted with a translation into Russian. The accuracy of the translation or the authenticity of the translator's signature must be notarized in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The originals of the Russian translations of these documents must be returned. Copies are attached to the application; an official checks them against the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the authority responsible for Russian citizenship matters, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

If a document executed in a language other than Russian has all entries duplicated in Russian, it is not necessary to submit a translation into Russian.

Based on Part 3 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ of 28.04.2023 "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation"

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 889 of 22.11.2023 "Issues of Citizenship of the Russian Federation" ("Regulation on the Procedure for Considering Issues of Citizenship of the Russian Federation", "Regulation on the Procedure for Taking the Oath of a Citizen of the Russian Federation"