Short overview of the Russian migration legislation

Short overview of the Russian migration legislation

Obtaining of a Temporary Residency Permit (TRP)

TRP is a stamp in your passport that allows a foreign citizen to live in Russia for up to 3 years and work in the region where it was issued without a work permit. TRP is issued to foreign citizens on the basis of a quota, which is approved annually for each region of Russia, or without a quota. Citizens of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova can apply for TRP without a quota. Citizens of Belarus can apply immediately for a residence permit. One of the most common grounds for applying for a TRP without a quota is marriage to a Russian citizen. You can apply for a temporary residence permit in the region where the Russian spouse is permanently registered. Processing time 4 months

TRP by quota

Foreign citizens who have no ground to apply for a temporary residence permit without taking into account the quota (marriage with a citizen of the Russian Federation) can apply to the migration authorities to obtain a quota for the temporary residence permit. Quotas are set annually for each region of Russia, depending on the needs of each region. Submission of documents is possible at the beginning of each month, the result can be found at the end of the month. The decision to issue a quota is valid for subsequent submission for TRP until the end of the calendar year in which the quota was approved. It is possible to apply for a temporary residence permit only in the region where the quota has been approved.

Obtaining a residence permit by foreign citizens in Russia

Current legislation provides for the following main grounds for obtaining a residence permit by foreign citizens in Russia:

• Having a child who is a citizen of the Russian Federation

• Graduation from a Russian university with red diploma (diploma with honors)

• Work for at least 6 months in a position from the list of qualified positions approved by the Ministry of Labor 

• Having a work permit as a highly qualified specialist (HQS)

Obtaining Russian citizenship by foreign citizens from visa countries

Currently, there are two grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship by foreign citizens - on general grounds and simplified.

The general procedure applies to foreign citizens who do not have grounds for applying for citizenship in a simplified way (birth on the territory of the RSFSR, spouse, child, parent - citizen of the Russian Federation, and some others). The general period for obtaining citizenship in the general procedure is about 8 years and includes the following steps:

• Submission of documents for granting a quota for a temporary residence permit (TRP). The quota is set for each region, for example, for Moscow, the quota is set at 1,200 people for 2022.

• Submission of documents for TRP

• One year after receiving the TRP, submitting documents for a residence permit

• 5 years after obtaining a residence permit, filing documents for citizenship

The simplified procedure provides grounds for applying for citizenship if you have a residence permit without the need to live in Russia for 5 years. The total period for obtaining citizenship, depending on the specific ground (birth in the territory of the RSFSR, the presence of a spouse or child, a parent - a citizen of the Russian Federation, and others) is from one to two years.

The new law on citizenship, submitted to the State Duma, will simplify the acquisition of Russian citizenship for "compatriots", but will exclude several important grounds for obtaining citizenship in a simplified manner for citizens that have no family ties to Russia. The new law, which passed the first hearing in the Russian Parliament, proposes to remove the following grounds:

• marriage with a Russian citizen for at least three years

• work for at least 12 months in the position of a qualified specialist from the list approved by the Ministry of Labor

• obtaining the status of a native speaker of the Russian language

In fact, the new law will leave only two grounds for obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner having a Russian child and graduation from a Russian university with red diploma (diploma with honors). In case this law is passed this will be one of the worst immigration connected decisions.