Is it possible to obtain citizenship without a residence permit after a temporary residence permit?

Rights of foreigners with temporary residence permit

• RRVP

What rights do foreign citizens with a temporary residence permit receive?

• Elena Voropaeva
• 23.01.2020

First, let's understand the phenomenon of RVP itself. A temporary residence permit is the first stage of the standard naturalization procedure in Russia. It looks like a stamp in a passport and allows you to live in Russia for 3 years. The validity of the temporary residence permit is limited to the region of issue and is not extended after the expiration date.

A temporary residence permit is available under a quota, and if there are certain grounds, outside it. From November 1, 2021, these grounds are:

• age under 18 years , if the parent already has a temporary residence permit, or the mother/father is in the process of obtaining status;
• incapacity when registering a temporary residence permit by parents, guardians or trustees;
• marriage with a Russian citizen;
• for citizens of Ukraine - refugee status or temporary asylum ;
• for citizens of the former USSR - graduation from an accredited Russian university ;
• participation in resettlement programs;
• service in the Russian army;
• investing in the economy of the Russian Federation.

From November of this year, you can refuse a temporary residence permit by writing an application to the Department of Internal Affairs. A temporary residence permit can be canceled for a number of reasons:

• actions that pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation or its citizens;
• support for extremist and terrorist activities;
• history of administrative expulsion or deportation from the Russian Federation;
• an outstanding or unexpunged conviction for a serious or especially serious crime;
• falsification of documents, provision of false information about oneself;
• bringing to administrative responsibility at least 2 times a year;
• inability to legally support yourself and your family within the subsistence level;
• after three years, lack of rights to use residential premises;
• stay outside Russia for more than 6 months in total;
• departure for permanent residence in another country;
• drug addiction, positive HIV status (not in all cases), the presence of an infectious disease dangerous to others.

A temporary residence permit gives the right to apply for a residence permit. Paragraph 1 of Article 8 of Federal Law N115-FZ tells us this:

However, in some cases, a residence permit can be obtained without a temporary residence permit. You can read more about this here.

In most cases, a residence permit is a necessary condition for acquiring Russian citizenship. But, as you know, there are exceptions to the rules.

Citizenship without a residence permit under the resettlement program

Russia has adopted a State Program for the resettlement of compatriots in the Russian Federation. A simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship within a year is provided for them. Not everyone can apply for participation in the program. You need to know Russian, be prepared to move for permanent residence, and not temporarily.

Benefits of participation:

• legal employment in the Russian Federation and receiving higher wages;
• “lifting” plus moving fees;
• no requirement to obtain a residence permit (a temporary residence permit is sufficient);
• the right to re-register a pension;
• registration in the Russian Federation and a faster procedure for obtaining citizenship.

Participation in the State Program involves going through a separate procedure and receiving a Participant Certificate. If you have such a document, then you are allowed not to apply for a residence permit and immediately apply for citizenship.

Program participants have the right to:

• move as a family, not individually;
• receive unemployment benefits and other payments;
• obtain a work permit, a patent, and enroll in a Russian university.

To become a participant in such a project, you do not have to live in the Russian Federation, but submit documents to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in your country. When living in Russia, the package is sent to the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

They consider an application with a request to be included in the number of participants in the program for about three months, but there are many complaints on the Internet from people who waited much longer. If the decision is received in favor of the applicant, then he is issued a certificate.

Further, the applicant’s responsibility includes registration and registration of a temporary residence permit. Immediately after receiving a temporary residence permit, you can begin the procedure for obtaining citizenship. Migrants are not required to comply with naturalization deadlines.

What are the conditions?

Compatriots include mainly residents of the former Soviet republics who know Russian and maintain common traditions. They are also required to have relatives in the Russian Federation (in a direct ascending line).

Applicants are also assessed from the point of view of their ability to live in Russia at a level not lower than the subsistence level. Persons with in-demand professions and businessmen have advantages. A positive aspect is the presence of relatives in the Russian Federation and ownership of real estate.

Interesting article: Conditions for foreigners with a residence permit to travel outside the Russian Federation

The procedure for obtaining citizenship under the program

The main difficulty in obtaining citizenship by resettlement is mandatory participation in the program. Failures on the part of the state often occur.

Procedure for obtaining citizenship:

1. Receive a certificate of participation in the State Resettlement Program from the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (valid for up to three months).
2. Prepare a package of documents for citizenship (plus a certificate of participation).
3. Pay the state fee and submit official papers for consideration.

Participation in the resettlement program is beneficial in many ways. From the Russian budget, foreigners receive money to compensate for the costs of tickets, transportation of things, as well as lifting expenses, which can be very large when moving to the northern regions of the Russian Federation.

Where to go?

IDPs go through the application process just like other foreigners. This is done in ter. department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the place of residence or place of stay.

MFC (“My Documents”) and other intermediaries do not deal with citizenship issues. But you can make an appointment with the Ministry of Internal Affairs through the Moscow State Budgetary Institution “Migration Center”.

What documents are needed?

If you have migrant status, you must collect your package of documents. The list is the same as everyone else’s with the only difference being that you fill out an application form for a simplified procedure for considering the application and confirm your migrant status.

You will need:

• application (see sample above);
• State program participant certificate;
• RVP;
• photo;
• passport.

If a migrant has reached the stage of obtaining citizenship, then he will receive it with almost one hundred percent probability. The only exceptions are persons who provided false information in the application form or whose status as a program participant was cancelled.

Deadlines and state fees

Citizenship under the simplified scheme for migrants is issued on average in 3 months. You will have to pay a state fee of 3,500 rubles (less than in the case of a residence permit). A receipt with details can be downloaded from the website of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Immigrants have the right to compensate for their costs of paying state fees when going through all procedures (obtaining a temporary residence permit, citizenship).

Even without a residence permit, it is quite possible to obtain Russian citizenship if the candidate is included in the preferential category of applicants. But you have to collect documents and pay the state fee, like all other applicants. The time frame for receiving a response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs is several months.

Who can obtain citizenship immediately after temporary residence permit?

At the very beginning of the article, we talked about “loopholes” that make it possible to simplify the process of obtaining citizenship. They do exist, but are not available to everyone. There are several categories of foreign citizens who can immediately obtain citizenship after temporary residence permit.

• GCitizenship

How to obtain Russian citizenship under the resettlement program

• Elena Voropaeva
• 19.07.2019

The first is participants in the state resettlement program. Foreigners recognized as compatriots can, if they wish, obtain a residence permit, but in their case it will not be mandatory.

Having arrived in the chosen region, participants in the Compatriots program receive a temporary residence permit outside the quota, register at their place of residence and have the right to begin obtaining citizenship.

In this case, the list of documents will be small:

• 2 copies of the completed application;
• 3 photos 35x45 mm;
• passport with certified translation;
• a copy and source of the migrant’s certificate;
• receipt of payment of state duty.

The second category is military contractors from the countries of the former USSR who have served in the Russian army for more than 3 years . According to Article 13 of Law No. 62-FZ, they have the right to obtain citizenship after registration of a temporary residence permit. However, for this to become possible, they need to request a petition from the Ministry of Defense and renounce their original citizenship.

Article 13 of Federal Law N 62-FZ

The third are foreign citizens who have a Russian spouse and a child in common with him/her . From 2020, such applicants can apply for citizenship with only a temporary residence permit.

Who else can obtain citizenship without intermediate steps?

Foreigners who obtain Russian citizenship without leaving their country have the right to do this. Registration of Russian citizenship through the consulate is available to those foreigners who:

• once had citizenship of the USSR , live on the territory of one of its former republics, but never acquired a new citizenship ;
• permanent residents of the DPR and LPR.

Read more about obtaining citizenship through the embassy in this article.

Among those who are already within the Russian Federation, there are also people who can avoid unnecessary worries associated with the multi-stage naturalization process:

• WWII veterans who held Soviet passports can obtain Russian citizenship without a temporary residence permit or residence permit;
• disabled former citizens of the USSR , registered for permanent residence in the Russian Federation as of July 1, 2002 , also may not apply for temporary residence permits and residence permits;
• Citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons who were born and had permanent residence in Crimea or Sevastopol , but left there before March 18, 2014 , can apply for citizenship on the basis of any document confirming the legality of their stay in the Russian Federation (visa, migration card, temporary residence permit, residence permit, etc. .d.);
• Citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons who permanently resided in certain territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions at the time of 04/07/2014 and 04/27/2014 , respectively, have the right to obtain citizenship on the basis of a temporary residence permit, residence permit, refugee certificate and other permitting papers. Read more about obtaining citizenship for the Lugansk and Donetsk regions here.

The procedure for obtaining citizenship under a simplified scheme

The procedure for submitting documents generally does not differ from the usual one. The above persons apply to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The nuance is to fill out an application that sets out the circumstances for the preferential procedure.

Interesting article: About further actions after receiving a residence permit

To obtain citizenship without a residence permit:

1. Collect a package of documents, including certificates confirming your right to a simplified procedure for considering the application (see below).
2. Pay the state fee.
3. Submit documents in person (remote submission is not currently available).

Unlike other foreigners, applicants for citizenship under the simplified procedure have the right to expect faster processing times.

Documentation

When submitting an application, a large package of documents is prepared. These are originals or notarized copies.

For registration the following are submitted:

• application for citizenship in a simplified manner (sample can be downloaded here);
• passport of your country;
• RVP, if required;
• medical certificate confirming the absence of infectious diseases, including HIV, COVID;
• 3 photographs (color, size 3 × 4 cm).

Additionally, the right to a simplified procedure is confirmed:

• certificate of marriage, birth of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation;
• certificate of participant in the state resettlement program;
• WWII certificate, certificate of disability;
• passport of the LPR, DPR, Ukrainian passport and other documents.

Necessary procedures

To obtain citizenship, apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the “Migration Center” in the capital. You need to have a completed package of official papers with you. A civil service employee will issue a coupon notification of acceptance of documents.

You can find out about the status of the service:

• by telephone (call the territorial migration department);
• During the period, periodically visit the department in person.

Viewing information remotely is not possible. You are required to send a notice of the decision by mail within 10 days from the date of admission to citizenship.

If after the expiration of the deadline no message has been received from the department, you should ask what caused this. The question can be asked online through the appeal service on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at https://mvd.rf/.

Step-by-step algorithm:

1. Go to the section for receiving requests in the service catalog.

2. Check the box next to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Click “Continue” further down the page.

3. Read the information → check the box for familiarization → go to the page for writing a request.

4. Fill the form. In the special field, describe the essence of the problem or attach a photo/scan of the application.

5. Send a request.

Deadlines and state fees

Even with a simplified procedure, you will have to pay a state fee of 3,500 rubles. The exceptions are:

What is your registration?

Registration at the place of residenceRegistration at the place of stay

• orphans and minors left without parental care;
• people who previously had USSR citizenship and who came from former Soviet republics.

Interesting article: Russian citizenship and residence permit: main differences and common features

The decision-making period is 3–6 months. For people from the LPR and DPR, the procedure has been reduced strictly to three months.