Old Believers
Foreign citizens and stateless persons who are Old Believers and hold the status of participants in the State Programme to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation of Compatriots Living Abroad, or the status of family members of such Programme participants, and who have arrived from abroad for permanent residence in the territory of constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are part of the Far Eastern Federal District, are entitled to apply for Russian citizenship under the simplified procedure.
The list of required documents is similar to that for other categories of compatriots, except for the document confirming successful completion of the examination on knowledge of the Russian language, the fundamentals of the history and legislation of the Russian Federation, since Old Believers are exempt from this procedure.
In addition, when applying to acquire Russian citizenship, a special petition from the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church must be attached to the standard set of documents.
Legal basis:
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 1 April 2025 No. 201 Title of the act: “On the Admission to Citizenship of the Russian Federation of Old Believers Participating in the State Programme to Assist the Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation of Compatriots Living Abroad”
