Citizenship for veterans of the Great Patriotic War

Certain categories of foreign nationals may be admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation under a simplified procedure without obtaining a residence permit (hereinafter, residence permit). These foreign nationals include veterans of the Great Patriotic War who previously held citizenship of the USSR.

This means that veterans, participants in or persons with disabilities resulting from the Great Patriotic War, as well as other persons holding a certificate or ID confirming their entitlement to benefits and participation in the Great Patriotic War, are entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation without obtaining a residence permit.

Consider an example:

A citizen of Estonia, who previously held citizenship of the USSR, was a resident of besieged Leningrad. They have the commemorative badge “Resident of Besieged Leningrad” and the corresponding certificate. In this case, they may apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation at a Russian consular office abroad or an Interior Ministry office in Russia, without obtaining a residence permit.

Document submission procedure

To submit an application and a complete set of documents for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation pursuant to Clause 1, Part 8, Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation,” a foreign national must apply to a Russian consular office in their country of residence or to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the federal subject where they are staying.

The application for admission to citizenship is reviewed within three months. If necessary, the Russian Interior Ministry authorities may extend the review period by a further three months.

Document package

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

List of documents for veterans of the Great Patriotic War applying for Russian citizenship

A foreign national or stateless person with legal capacity is entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation provided that the foreign national or stateless person undertakes to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and take the Oath of a Citizen of the Russian Federation, without meeting the requirements to

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

2) have command of the Russian language;

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

if the foreign national or stateless person concerned is:

a veteran of the Great Patriotic War and was previously a citizen of the USSR.

Foreign nationals or stateless persons outside the Russian Federation submit their application and documents to a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation.

In Russia, they are submitted to the Russian Interior Ministry or its territorial body. 

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

The application must be completed in Russian, by hand using black, blue or purple ink, or using electronic means. The applicant must sign each page of the application in the designated field in the lower right-hand corner. Handwritten text must be legible. Abbreviations and acronyms may not be used when completing the application, except for generally accepted ones; corrections and erasures are also not permitted.

All fields of the application that must be completed must be filled in, unless the circumstances required to answer the question do not exist. In that case, the word "none" is entered in the relevant field or the relevant section is 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 thereof (hereinafter, an addendum). In this case, the relevant application field must state "See addendum."

The number of the field being supplemented must be written on the addendum sheets, together 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-hand 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-hand corner.

2. A document identifying the applicant.

If a foreign national does not have such a document, a copy of the conclusion establishing the foreign national’s identity, issued by a territorial body of the Russian Interior Ministry 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 application review period (we recommend a validity period of at least 6 months). 

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’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 competent authority of the foreign state where the applicant was born).

3. A document confirming veteran status in the Great Patriotic War.

(a veteran of the Great Patriotic War certificate, a disabled veteran of the Great Patriotic War certificate, a participant in the Great Patriotic War certificate; a certificate or ID confirming entitlement to benefits, the forms of which were approved before January 1, 1992; an ID for the “Resident of Besieged Leningrad” badge), as well as one of the documents confirming that the applicant previously held USSR citizenship.

Documents confirming that the applicant previously held USSR citizenship may include a birth certificate issued by a civil registry office in the territory of the USSR or by a diplomatic mission or consular office of the USSR in a foreign country, including a duplicate birth certificate issued by the aforementioned authorities (organizations), or by a civil registry office in the territory of the Russian Federation, or by a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation, or by a competent authority of a foreign state that was part of the USSR; a 1974-model USSR citizen’s passport; a USSR citizen’s foreign passport; relevant official documents issued by the authority responsible for citizenship matters of the Russian Federation; or a certificate from the competent 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.

4. Migration card and detachable section of the notification form concerning the arrival of a foreign national or stateless person at their place of stay — migration registration. (If applying in Russia).

5. Birth certificate.

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

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

7. Photographs (personal) 3 х4 cm – 3 copies (black and white or color).

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

8. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

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

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

The originals of the document identifying the applicant 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 authority 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 documents submitted by the applicant and information provided by them 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 have not been properly completed, including if they contain clerical, typographical or other errors;

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 it will indicate, orally or in writing, the circumstances that constituted grounds for the refusal and how they may be rectified.

At the applicant’s written request, the official will provide written notice of those circumstances and how they may be rectified, 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 certificate issued by a notary in the Russian Federation.

                 For countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention:

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

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 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 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 has all entries duplicated in Russian, no translation into Russian is required.

Pursuant to Clause 1, Part 8, 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”