Citizenship for a stateless person who previously held USSR citizenship and was registered at their place of residence in the Russian Federation on November 1, 2002, as well as for the adult children of such a person (provided that such a child does not have a document, as prescribed by the legislation of a foreign state, confirming the right to reside in a foreign state).

There are categories of foreign citizens who may be admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation under a simplified procedure without obtaining a residence permit (hereinafter, a residence permit), and such foreign nationals include stateless persons who previously were citizens of the USSR and had residence registration in the Russian Federation as of November 1, 2002. The adult child of such a person may also be admitted to Russian citizenship without obtaining a residence permit, provided they do not have a document confirming the right to reside in another state.

Consider an example: 

Imagine that a non-citizen of Latvia was born in the Latvian SSR (and was a citizen of the USSR), and after the collapse of the USSR obtained non-citizen status in Latvia. From the perspective of Russian government authorities, this person is stateless. This Latvian non-citizen lived in Russia from December 2001 through September 2002 on a residence permit and had residence registration (a stamp in the residence permit) throughout this period. Then, due to family circumstances, they returned to Latvia.  In this case, the Latvian non-citizen may apply for admission to Russian citizenship immediately after arriving in Russia.

To submit an application and the complete set of documents for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation under paragraph 1 or 2 of part 4 of Article 16 of Federal Law N 138-FZ "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation", a stateless person must apply to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the constituent entity where they are staying.

Document Package

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

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship for stateless persons who had residence registration in Russia on November 1, 2002, and their adult children

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 period of residence) is entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation without regard to the requirements

1) to permanently reside 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 citizenship of the Russian Federation;

2) to have command of the Russian language;

3) to know the history of Russia and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation;

if the foreign citizen or stateless person in question:

1) was a citizen of the USSR and was registered at their place of residence in the Russian Federation as of November 1, 2002.

2) is the adult son or adult daughter of the person referred to in paragraph 1 of this part, and does not have a document, as prescribed by the legislation of a foreign state, confirming the right to reside in a foreign state.

The application and documents required to acquire citizenship of the Russian Federation are submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or its territorial body.

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

The application must be completed in Russian by hand using black, blue, or violet ink, or using 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. When completing the application, abbreviations and acronyms may not be used, except for those in common use, and corrections or erasures are not permitted.

All mandatory fields of the application must be completed, except where the circumstances required to answer the question do not exist. In that case, the word "none" must be entered in the relevant field, or the corresponding section must be left blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be exhaustive.

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

The addendum sheets must state the number of the field being supplemented and provide the required information. All addendum sheets must be numbered. The sheet number and total number of addendum sheets must be indicated in the upper right corner of each addendum 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 a territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation

At the time the application is submitted, the document must remain valid for at least the processing period (we recommend at least 6 months). 

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

3. A residence permit, temporary residence permit, temporary residence permit for education, temporary identity document of 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 person's right to stay or reside in the Russian Federation.

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

5. The applicant's birth certificate, or the applicant's adoption certificate if the birth certificate does not identify the adoptive parent as the applicant's parent (when an application is submitted by the adult son or daughter of a stateless person who previously held USSR citizenship and was registered at their place of residence within the Russian Federation as of November 1, 2002).

6. Documents confirming changes to the applicant's first, last, or patronymic name.

A 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. One of the documents confirming that the applicant or their parent, who is a stateless person, previously held USSR citizenship

(a birth certificate issued by a civil registry authority in the territory of the USSR or by a diplomatic mission or consular office of the USSR in a foreign state, including a duplicate birth certificate issued by the specified authorities (organizations) or by a civil registry authority in the territory of the Russian Federation).

If the birth certificate was issued by an authorized authority of a foreign state or is unavailable, documents confirming that the applicant or their parent previously held USSR citizenship may include a USSR citizen's passport, 1974 edition, an international passport of a USSR citizen, relevant official documents issued by the authority responsible for citizenship matters of the Russian Federation, or a certificate from the authorized authority of a state that was part of the USSR confirming the exchange of a USSR citizen's passport for a stateless person's document.

8. One of the documents confirming the registration of the applicant or their parent, who is a stateless person and previously held USSR citizenship, at their place of residence within the Russian Federation as of November 1, 2002.

(a USSR citizen's passport, 1974 edition, bearing a residence registration mark as of November 1, 2002; a residence permit bearing a residence registration mark as of November 1, 2002; or a certificate of residence registration as of November 1, 2002). If these documents are unavailable, the fact of residence registration within the Russian Federation as of November 1, 2002, may be confirmed by an arrival (departure) address slip, an address certificate issued by the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, a unified housing document, an extract from the house register, a copy of the apartment card, an extract from the household register in the form used before January 1, 2024, a document containing military registration information, a military ID, an archival certificate, an extract from archival documents, a copy of a document from the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation and/or other archival documents, or a court decision establishing the fact that the applicant or their parent resided in the Russian Federation as of the specified date.

9. Personal photographs 3 х4 cm – 3 pcs. (black and white or color).

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

10. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

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

A copy of the original document must be of good quality, easy to read, and contain all the information presented in the original document. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut with scissors to match the original document's size.

The original identity document of the applicant 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 citizenship matters of the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

The period for providing the state service is 3 months.

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

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

a) the application and documents are improperly completed, including if they contain clerical errors, typographical errors, or other mistakes;

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

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

At the applicant's written request, the official shall provide those circumstances and means of remedy 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 endorsement of 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 original Russian translations of the specified 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 citizenship matters of the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

If a document completed in a language other than Russian duplicates all entries in Russian, no translation into Russian is required.

Under part 4 of Article 16 of Federal Law N 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 Matters of Citizenship of the Russian Federation", "Regulation on the Procedure for Taking the Oath of a Citizen of the Russian Federation"