Citizenship of the Russian Federation under the general procedure

Attention!
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 821 “On the temporary procedure for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation and issuance of a residence permit in the Russian Federation” has been in force since 05.11.2025. *

A foreign citizen or stateless person who has reached the age of eighteen and has legal capacity is entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation, provided that the persons concerned undertake to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, take the Oath of a Citizen of the Russian Federation, and reside permanently in the Russian Federation from the date of the decision to issue a residence permit (hereinafter, a residence permit) until the date of filing the application for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation, for five years.

This means that any foreigner who has obtained a residence permit in Russia and has held it for at least five years is entitled to submit an application and the required set of documents to the authorized territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for admission to Russian citizenship. They must also provide a document confirming proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation, unless exempt from providing such a document.

Consider an example:

A citizen of Turkmenistan obtained a residence permit in Russia on December 1, 2025 under the bilateral agreement on regulating the resettlement process and protecting the rights of resettlers, concluded between the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan on July 31, 1992, and intends to acquire Russian citizenship without grounds for its simplified acquisition. In this case, they are entitled to apply with an application and the required set of documents for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation only after five years from the date of receiving the residence permit, that is, no earlier than December 1, 2030.

*Under Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 05.11.2025 No. 821 “On the temporary procedure for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation and issuance of a residence permit in the Russian Federation,” when foreign citizens and stateless persons who are legally competent men aged 18 to 65 apply for citizenship on the following grounds:
• Part 1 of Article 15 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” (permanent residence in the Russian Federation 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, for five years),

one of the following documents must additionally be provided:

a) an extract from the dismissal order concerning discharge from military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or rescue military formations of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (hereinafter, military service) before February 24, 2022, on the grounds provided for in subparagraphs “a,” “b,” “c,” and “d” of paragraph 1 of Article 51 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, “On Military Duty and Military Service”;

b) a decision of the joint commission of the contract military service selection point and the military commissariat on the selection of candidates entering contract military service, or an extract from the minutes of a meeting of the military unit’s attestation commission, drawn up at the contract military service selection point or military unit, if the foreign citizen or stateless person has been found unfit for military service upon entry into contract military service.

This requirement does not apply to citizens of the Republic of Belarus.

Document package

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

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship under the general procedure after 5 years of residence in Russia with a residence permit

A foreign citizen or stateless person who has reached the age of eighteen and has legal capacity is entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation provided that the foreign citizen or stateless person concerned undertakes to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, take the Oath of a Citizen of the Russian Federation, and also simultaneously meets the following requirements:

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

2) is proficient in Russian;

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

4) there are no circumstances concerning the foreign citizen or stateless person concerned that constitute grounds for rejecting an application for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation, as provided for in Article 18 of this Federal Law.

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.

As of November 5, 2025 a temporary procedure for admission to Russian citizenship has been established pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 821.

Legally competent men who are foreign citizens or stateless persons aged 18 to 65 (except citizens of the Republic of Belarus) must, in addition to the items listed below, provide one of the following documents:

- an extract from the dismissal order from military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or rescue military formations of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters before February 24, 2022. on the grounds provided for in subparagraphs “a,” “b,” “c,” and “d” of paragraph 1 of Article 51 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, “On Military Duty and Military Service”

- a decision of the joint commission of the selection point for contract military service and the military commissariat on the selection of candidates entering contract military service,

or

- an extract from the minutes of a meeting of the military unit’s attestation commission, drawn up at the contract military service selection point or military unit, if the foreign citizen or stateless person has been found unfit for military service upon entry into contract military service.

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

The application must be completed in Russian by hand using black, blue, or purple ink, or electronically. 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 those in common use; corrections and erasures are also not permitted.

All mandatory fields in the application must be completed, except where the circumstances required to answer a question do not exist. In that case, enter “none” in the relevant field or leave the corresponding section blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be exhaustive.

If there is not enough 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 it (hereinafter, an addendum). In this case, write “See addendum” in the relevant application field.

The number of the field being supplemented must be shown on the addendum sheets, together with 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 sheet. The number of copies of each addendum must correspond to the number of copies of the application. The applicant must sign each addendum sheet in the lower right corner.

2. Document proving the applicant’s identity.

If a foreign citizen does not have such a document: a copy of the conclusion 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.

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

A document confirming the presence or absence of citizenship (citizen’s passport, stateless person’s identity document, temporary identity document of a stateless person in the Russian Federation, non-citizen’s passport issued by the relevant authority of a foreign state, or documents confirming the applicant’s lack of citizenship of a foreign state, issued by the authorized body of the foreign state in which the applicant was born).

3. Residence permit.

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

In most regions, the Ministry of Internal Affairs requires a stamp in the residence permit confirming registration at the place of residence when an application is submitted.

5. Birth certificate.

6. Documents confirming changes to personal name details.

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

7. One of the documents confirming *

- proficiency in Russian:

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

or

• an education document in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), or a document on education and qualifications in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), confirming that the holder received education in the territory of the Russian Federation after September 1, 1991;
• a document on education and/or qualifications issued in a foreign state by a higher education organization under the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the foreign state pursuant to an international treaty of the Russian Federation, where instruction was conducted in Russian;
• a document confirming receipt of education (at least basic general education), issued in a foreign state where Russian is one of the official languages (for citizens of that state);
• a certificate confirming a level of proficiency in Russian required for the purposes of acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation, 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 the list, the procedure for maintaining the list, the procedure and grounds for removing state institutions from it, the format and procedure for conducting the Russian language examination for the purposes of acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation, the Russian proficiency requirements for the purposes of acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation, the examination fee, and the procedure and periods for storing examination materials are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The format of the certificate confirming the level of proficiency in Russian required for the purposes of acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation, 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. The issuing state institution enters information about the certificate into the federal information system “Federal Register of Information on Documents on Education and/or Qualifications, and Documents on Training”;
• a certificate of proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation at the 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 purposes of acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation, 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 in the prescribed form (or its duplicate) confirming that the holder received education (at least basic general education) in the territory of a state that was part of the USSR before September 1, 1991, or an education document in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), or a document on education and qualifications in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), confirming that the holder received education in the territory of the Russian Federation after September 1, 1991;
  • a document on education and/or qualifications issued in a foreign state by a higher education organization under the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the foreign state pursuant to an international treaty of the Russian Federation, where instruction was conducted in Russian;
  • a document confirming receipt of education (at least basic general education), issued in a foreign state where Russian is one of the official languages (for citizens of that state);
  • a certificate of proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation at the 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 confirming proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation when submitting an application.

8. Photographs (personal) 3 x4 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 date the application is submitted.

9. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

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

Copies of original documents must be of good quality, easy to read, and contain all the information shown in the original. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut with scissors to match the format of the original.

The originals of the document proving 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 verifies that they correspond to the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters of the Russian Federation, 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 by them when filing the application, and to obtain additional documents and information provided for 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 have not been properly completed, including if they contain clerical errors, typos, or other mistakes;

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

If an application is refused acceptance for consideration, the official returning the application shall indicate, orally or in writing, the circumstances that served as grounds for the refusal and how to remedy them.

At the applicant’s written request, the official shall provide these circumstances and methods of remedying them 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 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 original Russian translations of the above documents must be returned. Copies are attached to the application; an official verifies that they correspond to the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters of the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

If a document not in Russian has all entries duplicated in Russian, its translation into Russian is not required.

Based on Part 1 of Article 15 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”