How long to wait for Russian citizenship after submitting documents: deadlines 2021

Time limits for consideration of an application for citizenship

Applications in a general and simplified manner are considered by different authorities. The timing of the decision also depends on this.

On a general basis

To apply, a citizen of another country needs to obtain a residence permit and live with it in Russia for at least 5 years. The review period reaches 1 year, and only then can you obtain citizenship. The President of Russia is generally responsible for making decisions on conferring Russian citizenship.

Watch the video about the time frame for obtaining citizenship on a general basis.

In a simplified manner

The time frame for obtaining Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure is shorter. Applications are processed within 3-6 months. Native speakers of the Russian language, refugees, and people from the LPR and DPR receive citizenship the fastest.

What are the differences between the general order and the simplified order?

If you have relatives in the Russian Federation

A simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship is only possible for married couples and parents. Brothers and sisters are not eligible for benefits.

A relative of a citizen of the Russian Federation comes to Russia and receives temporary residence permit status without a quota, and a year later, a residence permit. After this, you can immediately apply for Russian citizenship. The time frame for consideration under the simplified procedure does not exceed 6 months for adults and children.

A complete list of relatives and persons who can apply for accelerated registration of Russian citizenship is in the new law of April 21, 2021 No. 134-FZ, which is published on the official website of legal information of Russia.

Marriage

If a couple is married and one spouse has Russian citizenship, the simplified procedure is carried out as follows:

obtaining a temporary residence permit;
obtaining a residence permit;
3 years of cohabitation;
passing the state exam in the Russian language (except for certain categories).

After this, you can apply for citizenship by marriage. The time frame for making a decision is up to six months.

Read more about obtaining citizenship by marriage.

NRN

The “Russian Native Speaker” program is accelerated. Citizens who have direct relatives who permanently reside or have previously resided in Russia can take part.

Find out who can apply for citizenship under the NRN program in the video.

A foreign citizen legally residing in the country submits documents confirming family ties. If the results are positive, the next procedure is to obtain a residence permit. There is no need to wait six months, as is standard. After receiving the status, you can immediately apply for Russian citizenship.

All processes are reviewed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so the period for obtaining citizenship does not exceed 3 months. Conditions for AEs vary in each region.

Representatives of rare professions

The simplified procedure for issuing citizenship applies to foreigners with professions that are rare in the Russian Federation. However, experience gained in another country is not taken into account.

Until 2021, a foreigner had to work for 3 years in Russia by profession, after the changes - 1 year. After this, a foreign citizen can obtain Russian citizenship. Earning the required work experience should only occur through official employment with a residence permit.

Resettlement program participants

The essence of the program for the resettlement of compatriots is the issuance of citizenship through a simplified procedure. The peculiarity of this program is that it is not necessary to obtain a residence permit. After issuing a temporary residence permit, a foreigner has the right to immediately apply for citizenship. The review period does not exceed 3 months.

Deadlines for other cases

In 2021, the Russian President issued a decree concerning residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. It says that any citizen who is registered in one of these regions and lived in them in 2014 can apply for citizenship using a simplified procedure for residents of the DPR and LPR, providing only a Ukrainian passport.

The time frame for obtaining citizenship bypassing a residence permit and temporary residence permit is no more than 3 months.

Grounds for issue

The general period for accepting Russian citizenship during application is up to 12 months from the date of submission of the appropriate application form and all required and correctly executed papers.

The period for obtaining Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure is up to six months from the date of submission of documents. However, there may be certain exceptions to this rule. Thus, the period of six months is reduced to 3 months if the foreign person is:

candidate of the program for the resettlement of compatriots who live abroad. In this case, the three-month period applies to all family members;
a foreign person who has applied for citizenship in a simplified form, taking into account the international agreement between countries such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan dated March 26, 1999;
a native speaker of the Russian language, that is, this status is recognized in accordance with the established legislative procedure.

It must be said separately that the applicant is most often interested in how long it takes to obtain Russian citizenship in a “broader sense”, or more precisely, how long it takes to obtain Russian citizenship from the date of filing the application and when can one receive a passport.

Period of execution of decisions

Status	Considered by	Review period
In general order	President of Russia	up to 12 months
By direct relationship	Ministry of Internal Affairs	up to 3 months
Marriage	Ministry of Internal Affairs	up to 3 months
By profession	Ministry of Internal Affairs	up to 3 months
According to the program of resettlement of compatriots	Ministry of Internal Affairs	up to 3 months
Refugees from the LPR/DPR	Ministry of Internal Affairs	up to 3 months
Native Russian speaker	Ministry of Internal Affairs	up to 3 months

How long to wait for citizenship on a general basis

If a foreign representative or a stateless person passes the exam on knowledge of written and spoken Russian with excellent marks, then there is a high probability that he can apply for early citizenship, since he is a native speaker of the state language of the Russian Federation. In addition, the time frame for obtaining Russian citizenship by marriage is significantly reduced; in this case, a foreign representative or a stateless person can apply for the status of Russian citizen earlier than after 3 years of residence in the country, but he is also required to pass a test of knowledge of written and oral Russian speech. Terms of deadlines for authorizing the issuance of a passport After a foreign representative or stateless person has been approved for citizenship of the Russian Federation, he must appear at the authority of the Federal Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia to transfer the application from one department to another.

the applicant for citizenship has one or both parents with Russian citizenship;
the loss of citizenship by a foreign person occurred during the collapse of the USSR;
upon reaching a period of 3 years after marriage with a citizen of the Russian Federation;
confirmation of information about a person’s birth in the RSFSR and, accordingly, the presence of USSR citizenship;
the applicant for citizenship has limited ability to work and has children who are already citizens of Russia.

In these cases, the applicant can obtain Russian citizenship by staying on its territory for 3 years under a simplified program without long trips abroad and receiving a certificate of knowledge of the Russian language in oral and written form at a decent level.

Submitted marriage documents for citizenship, how long to wait?

Important

But in practice, you will rarely be issued a new passport much earlier than the expiration date. How to deal with violations of your rights Often, the Federal Migration Service violates the deadline for obtaining a passport, wrongfully denies citizenship, or requires the provision of additional documents not established by law.

Most foreigners, due to ignorance of the regulatory framework, leave things to chance; some turn to lawyers, spending a lot of money. But you can defend your rights on your own. To do this, you must submit all documents only against the signature of the employees; you must be given an admission certificate, otherwise it will be impossible to prove the fact later. If the deadline has been violated, first warn the employee that you will not leave the situation unattended and will insist on justice. Threaten with a complaint to the management, the President, the human rights defender.

How to obtain Russian citizenship on a general basis

What are the deadlines? Depending on the grounds for the request, it is customary to allocate several deadlines within which you will receive a response:

In general, if you are not a program participant and submit a complete set of documents and photographs, it may take up to one year;
In a simplified procedure, the procedure takes less time - up to six months, this applies to obtaining citizenship by marriage or on other legal grounds;
According to the program for the resettlement of compatriots - 3 months, this period is set for a citizen of Ukraine who previously lived in the country or has relatives;
For native speakers – 3 months;
For citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus – 3 months.

Keep in mind that these terms are maximum, their increase is not provided, but reduction is quite possible.

After submitting an application for Russian citizenship, how long do you need to wait for a decision?

How to check readiness Readiness for citizenship of the Russian Federation can be checked in the following most accessible way for you:

upon a personal visit to the authority of the Federal Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place of registration;
through the official website of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia;
through the portal of State services to the population;
through the city portal for providing services to the population.

If the request for citizenship was sent in the form of a registered letter, then you will also receive a response to it in the form of a response registered letter. Foreign representatives or stateless persons have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation on a general basis or under a simplified program. In any case, after submitting the application, the period for consideration will be 30 calendar days from the date of transfer of the application to the migration service officer.

Deadline for obtaining Russian citizenship

The period within which the decisions must be executed The applicant must be informed in writing about the results of consideration of the application for admission to Russian citizenship by sending a notice of the decision by mail to his place of residence. For this purpose, a period of one month has been established from the date of publication of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on the admission of a foreign citizen or stateless person to Russian citizenship in the general manner or the adoption by the relevant territorial unit for migration issues of a decision on the admission of the applicant to Russian citizenship in a simplified manner. Having received this notification, a foreign citizen or stateless person who has acquired Russian citizenship can apply to the migration department with an application for the issuance of an internal Russian passport if they acquired Russian citizenship on the territory of Russia.

How many months do you have to wait for a decision on accepting Russian citizenship by marriage 2018

qualified specialists who have worked in the state for at least 3 years.

Other categories It is worth considering the following foreign citizens:

native Russian speakers;
participating in the “Compatriots” resettlement program.

The Russian government understands the importance of preserving national unity. If we study international experience, we can conclude that many advanced countries, first of all, issue citizenship to those who are close to the local culture. It’s one thing to naturalize a newcomer who learned Russian, learned history, but was brought up in different conditions with values alien to the community. And it’s quite another thing to accept a person who speaks the state language from birth and shares Russian values. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large number of former citizens of the USSR remained to live in neighboring countries.

Plus a document confirming the candidate’s incapacity for work - a certificate of disability, a certificate of a pensioner or a disabled person.
The candidate was a citizen of the USSR and arrived in Russia from a country that was formerly part of the USSR.
If the candidate had a residence permit in Russia before July 1, 2002, he must add the following documents for the FMS: renunciation of current citizenship (with a copy of the receipt for the registered mailing of this application to the relevant authorities of the country whose citizenship the candidate is renouncing).

A residence permit or certificate or temporary residence permit in Russia is required. A diploma will help you obtain Russian citizenship. Another condition that makes it easier to obtain Russian citizenship on a general basis is a diploma of higher or secondary vocational education received at a Russian educational institution after July 1, 2002.

It should be noted that the deadlines provided for by law for reviewing materials on citizenship and making decisions on them are maximum and cannot be adjusted by employees of migration departments in the direction of increasing them. Reducing these deadlines is quite possible with a clear organization of the work of these departments and strict control by management over the work of their subordinate employees. Often, it is the violation of the deadlines for consideration of materials on admission to Russian citizenship, as well as the deadlines for the execution of decisions made on them, that becomes the cause of complaints from applicants for Russian citizenship.

Obtaining citizenship in the general manner

At the moment, the legislation establishes that the period for granting citizenship is exactly 1 year from the date of submission of the application and documents. Only here there is one important nuance - the countdown begins from the moment when correctly executed documents are submitted.

Important! If you submitted, for example, a photocopy of a passport that has expired, then this document will not be counted.

You can also check out:

Documents for Russian citizenship

How long does it take to obtain Russian citizenship after submitting documents?

What are the deadlines? Depending on the grounds for the request, it is customary to allocate several deadlines within which you will receive a response:

In general, if you are not a program participant and submit a complete set of documents and photographs, it may take up to one year;
In a simplified procedure, the procedure takes less time - up to six months, this applies to obtaining citizenship by marriage or on other legal grounds;
According to the program for the resettlement of compatriots - 3 months, this period is set for a citizen of Ukraine who previously lived in the country or has relatives;
For native speakers – 3 months;
For citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus – 3 months.

Keep in mind that these terms are maximum, their increase is not provided, but reduction is quite possible.

Foreign representatives and stateless persons are often interested in the time frame for obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation. In 2018, it was planned to make a number of changes and simplify the procedure for obtaining citizenship by persons from the CIS countries, but this issue was never resolved. In this text, we will consider the main available periods for obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation, and also clearly consider the reasons that can significantly speed up the process of obtaining citizenship. Main aspects Currently, it is possible to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation on a general basis or in a simplified manner. Each of the options provides for certain requirements that the authorized body of the Federal Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia puts forward to applicants for Russian citizenship.

What are the deadlines for obtaining Russian citizenship in 2018?

Constitution of rights and obligations to the state Dual citizenship Nationality of two different states with the provision of powers, rights and obligations of each country Stateless person Applicant with the status of “Stateless” who does not have citizenship in any state for a number of reasons Competent authority Government apparatus responsible before the population for the settlement of a particular issue regarding the powers, rights and obligations to the state and the law TRP Permission for temporary stay on the territory of the Russian Federation for the purpose of earning money or another type of activity Residence permit Residence permit, which is granted to foreign representatives or stateless persons if they have a this is grounds. The period for consideration of an application for Russian citizenship in a simplified manner and on a general basis is the same and is a period of 30 calendar days.

Deadline for obtaining Russian citizenship

From this point of view, everyone who wants to obtain the status of a citizen of our state is divided into 3 categories: - those who can obtain citizenship only in a general manner; - for whom a simplified procedure is available; - persons who do not require a residence permit. The third category is the smallest, since cases of registration without prior registration of a residence permit are rare.

Important For this, the migrant must have some merit to the Fatherland. The decision to grant such persons the status of a citizen of the Russian Federation is made exclusively by the president of the country (as well as the decision regarding those who receive it in the general manner).

Legal basis and methods of obtaining

The main regulatory document that regulates the acquisition and deprivation of citizenship is the Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” No. 62-FZ, adopted on May 31, 2002. According to this regulatory act, Russian citizenship can be obtained by a foreign person after a standard procedure and the fulfillment of a number of conditions. Taking into account the fact that, legally, citizenship is the final stage of a person’s move to a state for permanent residence, initially the applicant must enter the territory of the Russian Federation legally and live here for a certain time.

The easiest way to quickly obtain citizenship is to give the task to a lawyer

To legally get a job and live in Russia without this status, you will need a document - a residence permit (abbr. residence permit), which gives the right to carry out labor activities and officially reside in the country. After 5 years of continuous stay on the territory of the Russian Federation with a residence permit document, a person can submit an application for Russian citizenship and attach the relevant documents to it. However, what are the requirements for an applicant to obtain a Russian passport? They are set out in Art. 13 Federal Law 62-F3, according to which a person must meet the following requirements:

Be over 18 years of age (item “a”).
It is good to know the Russian language (item “d”).
Have a permanent source of income - an official job (clause “c”).
Renounce your original citizenship, except in cases provided for by international treaties between the Russian Federation and third countries, and also if renunciation is impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the person (clause “d”).
Accept obligations to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation (clause “b”).

There is also a simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship, thanks to which, to obtain a Russian passport, it is enough to live in the territory for only 6 months, after which you collect the necessary package of documents and correctly submit an application to the Migration Service of the Russian Federation. A simplified procedure for obtaining it is set out in Art. 14, according to which the right to do so is acquired under the following conditions:

-If one of the parents or both parents have the status of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
-The person was born on the territory of the RSFSR.
-The person has been married to a citizen of the Russian Federation for at least 3 years.
-Is an individual entrepreneur and has been working in the Russian Federation for 3 years.
-The person is a major investor who has invested in the activities of a Russian enterprise.
-Citizens of the Republic of Belarus and Kazakhstan (an agreement has been concluded between these countries and the Russian Federation).
-A person who speaks Russian well and is a native speaker.
-Participant of the Second World War.

It should be noted that depending on the status of the person submitting the application and the circumstances, the period for consideration and making a decision regarding citizenship can range from 3 months to 1 year. People initially residing on the territory of the Russian Federation receive a citizen’s passport upon reaching the age of 14 if they were not previously citizens of other states (this is possible if the child’s parents are citizens of a foreign state). Thus, you can apply for Russian citizenship if you meet the above requirements.