Citizenship for incapacitated persons

There are categories of foreign nationals who may be admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation under a simplified procedure without obtaining a residence permit (hereinafter, a residence permit). These include incapacitated persons under the guardianship or trusteeship of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a person acquiring Russian citizenship, as well as incapacitated persons placed under supervision at a Russian educational organization, medical organization, organization providing social services, or other Russian organization.

It is important to note that only a permanent guardian or trustee whose powers are not limited to any term may submit an application for admission to Russian citizenship. The same applies to incapacitated persons placed under the supervision of the relevant Russian organizations: their placement under supervision must also not be temporary. Otherwise, the head of such an organization or the guardianship and trusteeship authority cannot submit an application for the incapacitated person to be admitted to Russian citizenship.

Let us consider some examples: 

Suppose a Russian citizen becomes the trustee of a foreign national who has been declared incapacitated. In this situation, the Russian citizen has the right to apply for the incapacitated person under their trusteeship to be admitted to citizenship, without first obtaining a residence permit.

Suppose that in a family of Lithuanian citizens, one of the adult children has been declared incapacitated, and the parents are their guardians. One parent has a residence permit and applies for admission to citizenship. In this case, they may include their incapacitated child in their citizenship application, without the child under guardianship obtaining a residence permit.

Suppose a German citizen is the guardian of their incapacitated parent. This German citizen has grounds to submit an application for admission to citizenship at a Consulate of the Russian Federation. In this case, they may include their parent under guardianship in their citizenship application.

To submit an application and a complete set of documents for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation on the basis of paragraph 1 of part 6 of Article 16 of Federal Law N 138-ФЗ "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation" (the incapacitated person is under the guardianship or trusteeship of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a person acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation), the applicant must apply to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the constituent entity where they are staying (residing), or for the place where the incapacitated person is staying (residing). If the applicant is abroad, they may, if there are grounds, submit an application to a Russian consular office.

To submit an application and a complete set of documents for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation on the basis of paragraph 2 of part 6 of Article 16 of Federal Law N 138-ФЗ "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation" (the incapacitated person has been placed under supervision at a Russian educational organization, medical organization, organization providing social services, or other Russian organization), the applicant must apply to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the constituent entity where the organization or guardianship and trusteeship authority is located, or for the constituent entity where the incapacitated person is staying (residing).

Document Package

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

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship for an incapacitated person

An incapacitated person who is a foreign citizen or stateless person is admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation without regard to the requirements:

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

An incapacitated person who is a foreign citizen or stateless person may be admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation if:

1) the incapacitated person is under the guardianship or trusteeship of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a person acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation, except in the cases provided for by part 1 of Article 12 and part 1 of Article 13 of Federal Law No. 48-ФЗ of April 24, 2008, "On Guardianship and Trusteeship";

2) the incapacitated person has been placed under supervision at a Russian educational organization, medical organization, organization providing social services, or other Russian organization, except for the case provided for by part 4 of Article 11 of Federal Law No. 48-ФЗ of April 24, 2008, "On Guardianship and Trusteeship".

The application and documents required to acquire citizenship of the Russian Federation are submitted by:

a) a parent (adoptive parent) — at the applicant's place of residence, place of stay, or actual place of residence, or at the incapacitated person's place of residence or place of stay;

b) a guardian or trustee — at the applicant's place of residence, place of stay, or actual place of residence, or at the incapacitated person's place of residence or place of stay;

c) the head of the Russian educational organization, medical organization, organization providing social services, or other Russian organization where the incapacitated person has been placed under supervision, or the guardianship and trusteeship authority performing the duties of a guardian or trustee in respect of the incapacitated person — at the location of the organization, at the location of the guardianship and trusteeship authority, or at the child's or incapacitated person's place of residence or place of stay.

An application for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation by a citizen of the Russian Federation, a foreign citizen, or a stateless person located outside the Russian Federation is submitted to a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation.

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

The application for an incapacitated person under guardianship or trusteeship, submitted at the same time as the guardian's or trustee's application, is completed on the guardian's or trustee's application form for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation.

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

All fields of the application that are required to be completed must be filled in, except where the circumstances needed to answer a question do not exist. In that case, enter the word "none" in the relevant field or leave the relevant section blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be complete.

If there is not enough space in an application field to provide all the required information, it must be provided on additional sheets attached to the application, which form an integral part of the application (hereinafter, an attachment). In this case, enter "See attachment" in the relevant application field.

On the attachment sheets, indicate the number of the field being supplemented and provide the required information. All attachment sheets must be numbered. The sheet number and total number of attachment sheets must be indicated in the upper right corner of each attachment sheet. The number of copies of each attachment must match the number of copies of the application. Each attachment sheet must be signed by the applicant in the lower right corner.

2. The applicant's passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (if the applicant is a Russian citizen).

A document identifying the applicant as a foreign citizen or stateless person.

If a foreign citizen does not have such a document, a copy of the finding establishing the foreign citizen's identity, issued by a territorial body of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The document must be valid for at least the processing period of the application on the date of submission (we recommend at least 6 months). 

The passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation belonging to the head of the Russian organization — if applying under paragraph 2).

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 issued by an authorized body of the foreign state in which the applicant was born confirming that the applicant does not hold that state's citizenship).

3. A document confirming the incapacitated person's residence in the Russian Federation

- the incapacitated person's residence permit or temporary residence permit,

- the guardian's or trustee's residence permit, temporary residence permit, or temporary residence permit for educational purposes, specifying information about the incapacitated person,

- a migration card, visa, or other document confirming the incapacitated person's right to stay or reside in the Russian Federation.

If the above documents are not available, a document confirming the grounds for placing the incapacitated person under supervision at a Russian educational organization, medical organization, organization providing social services, or other Russian organization may serve as a document confirming the incapacitated person's residence in the Russian Federation.

4. Migration card and detachable portion of the notification form of arrival of a foreign citizen or stateless person at the place of stay — migration registration.

5. Birth certificate of the incapacitated person.

6. Passport of the incapacitated person.

7. Documents confirming changes to the person's full name.

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

8. Court decision declaring the person incapacitated.

9. Document appointing the applicant as guardian or trustee of the incapacitated person (if the application is submitted by a guardian or trustee). — under paragraph 1).

Document confirming the grounds for placing the incapacitated person under supervision at a Russian educational organization, medical organization, organization providing social services, or other Russian organization. — under paragraph 2).

Document confirming the applicant's authority (if the application is submitted by the head of the relevant organization) — under paragraph 2).

10. Photographs (personal) 3 х4 cm – 3 pcs. (black-and-white or color).

The image of the incapacitated person in the photograph must correspond to their age on the date the application is submitted.

11. 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, easily legible, and contain all the information presented in the original document. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut to the size of the original.

The originals of the applicant's identity document and other required documents submitted by the applicant are to be returned. Copies of these documents are attached to the application; an official verifies that they match the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the authority responsible for Russian citizenship matters, or the seal of its 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 the documents submitted by the applicant and the information provided when filing the application, and to obtain additional documents and information provided for by this Federal Law,  but by no more than three months.

The 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 slips, typographical errors, or other mistakes;

b) the documents required under this Regulation and attached to the application have not been submitted in full.

If the application is refused acceptance for consideration, the official returning it shall state in writing or orally the circumstances that served as grounds for the refusal and how they can be remedied.

At the applicant's written request, the official shall provide written information about those circumstances and how they can be remedied, including a list of missing documents.

All official documents issued by foreign authorities in a foreign language are subject to legalization, translation, and notarization.

For countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention:

• The original document must be certified with an apostille 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 territory of the Russian Federation.

                 For countries that are not party to the Hague Convention:

• Documents are subject to consular legalization through Russian consular offices abroad or the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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 are to be returned. Copies are attached to the application; an official verifies that they match the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the authority responsible for Russian citizenship matters, or the seal of its subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

If a document completed in a language other than Russian has all entries duplicated in Russian, it does not need to be submitted with a Russian translation.

On the basis of part 6 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-ФЗ 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"