Russian citizenship on the basis of citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Belarus, and Republic of Moldova.

There is a category of foreign nationals who may be admitted to Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure on the basis of their citizenship. This category includes citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Moldova.

To be admitted to Russian citizenship, persons who hold citizenship of the above-mentioned states must first obtain a residence permit (hereinafter, “residence permit”) in the Russian Federation. They may do so under a simplified procedure, bypassing the stage of obtaining a temporary residence permit (hereinafter, “temporary residence permit”).

After obtaining a residence permit, citizens of these three states may apply for admission to Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure in accordance with Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 962 of December 18, 2023, “On the Admission to Russian Citizenship of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Moldova.”

Citizens of the Republic of Belarus are exempt from confirming their proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and knowledge of the fundamentals of Russian Federation law when applying for Russian citizenship. Citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Moldova must confirm their proficiency in Russian in accordance with subparagraph “b” of paragraph 1 of the above-mentioned Decree.

Consider the following examples:

A citizen of the Republic of Belarus who has obtained a residence permit in the Russian Federation is entitled to apply for admission to Russian citizenship without providing documents confirming proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and knowledge of the fundamentals of Russian law.

After obtaining a residence permit, a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan is entitled to submit an application and the required package of documents for Russian citizenship to the territorial body of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the constituent entity where they are staying, providing a document confirming proficiency in Russian. There is no requirement to confirm knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of Russian Federation law.

Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Moldova submit an application for admission to Russian citizenship on the basis of Part 9 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ of 28.04.2023 (as amended on 31.07.2025) “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation.”

It is important to note that a decision on an application for admission to Russian citizenship submitted to a territorial body of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs is made within three months from the date it is accepted for consideration. If necessary, this period may be extended, but by no more than three months.

Document package

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

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship on the basis of citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan or Moldova

Foreign nationals who have reached the age of eighteen, have legal capacity, and reside permanently in the Russian Federation (regardless of the length of residence) are entitled to apply for admission to Russian citizenship without meeting the requirements to

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

2) know the history of Russia and the fundamentals of Russian Federation law;

if the foreign national in question:

• is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan or the Republic of Moldova. 

The application and documents required to acquire Russian citizenship are submitted to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs or its territorial body.

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

The application must be completed in Russian, by hand using black, blue, or purple ink, or electronically. The applicant must sign each page of the application in the designated field in the lower-right corner. Handwritten text must be legible. Abbreviations and acronyms, except those in common use, as well as corrections and erasures, are not permitted when completing the application.

All mandatory fields in the application must be completed, except where the circumstances needed to answer a question do not apply. In that case, enter the word "no" in the relevant field or leave the corresponding section blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be exhaustive.

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

The number of the field being supplemented must be indicated on each addendum sheet, along with the required information. All addendum sheets must be numbered. The page number and total number of addendum sheets must be indicated in the upper-right corner of each sheet. The number of copies of each addendum must match the number of copies of the application. The applicant must sign each addendum sheet in the lower-right corner.

2. A document identifying the applicant.

If a foreign national does not have such a document, a copy of the conclusion establishing the foreign national’s identity, issued by a territorial body of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in accordance with Russian Federation law.

The document must remain valid for at least the application processing period at the time of application (we recommend at least 6 months). 

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 confirming that the applicant does not hold citizenship of a foreign state, issued by the authorized body of the foreign state where the applicant was born).

3. Residence permit.

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

In most regions, to accept an application, the Ministry of Internal Affairs authorities require a registration-at-place-of-residence stamp in the residence permit.

5. Birth certificate.

6. Documents confirming changes to the applicant’s full name.

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

7. One of the documents confirming *

- proficiency in Russian:

• a document in the prescribed form (or its duplicate) confirming that the applicant received an education (at least basic general education) in the territory of a state that was part of the USSR before September 1, 1991,

or

• a document on education in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), or a document on education and qualifications in the prescribed form (or its duplicate), confirming that the applicant received an education in the Russian Federation after September 1, 1991;
• a document on education and/or qualifications issued in a foreign state by a higher education institution that was jointly administered by the Russian Federation and the foreign state under an international treaty of the Russian Federation, where instruction was conducted in Russian;
• a document confirming that the applicant received an education (at least basic general education), issued in a foreign state where Russian is one of the official languages (for citizens of that state);
• a certificate confirming the level of proficiency in Russian required for the purposes of acquiring Russian citizenship, issued in the Russian Federation or a foreign state by a state institution included in the list of state institutions established by the Government of the Russian Federation that administer the examination in Russian as a foreign language, Russian history, and the fundamentals of Russian Federation law. The procedure and criteria for including such state institutions in the list, the procedure for maintaining the list, the procedure and grounds for removing state institutions from it, the format and procedure for conducting the Russian language examination for the purposes of acquiring Russian citizenship, the Russian proficiency requirements for the purposes of acquiring Russian citizenship, the examination fee, and the procedure and periods for storing examination materials are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The format of the certificate confirming the level of proficiency in Russian required for the purposes of acquiring Russian citizenship, the procedure for issuing it, and the technical requirements for the certificate are approved by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Information about the certificate is entered by the issuing state institution into the federal information system “Federal Register of Information on Documents on Education and/or Qualifications, and Documents on Training”;
• a certificate of proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and the fundamentals of Russian Federation law at the level corresponding to the purpose of obtaining a residence permit;
• a decision recognizing a compatriot as proficient in Russian, adopted by a commission of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs or its territorial body for recognizing compatriots as proficient in Russian;

* Foreign nationals and stateless persons who have reached the age of 70 or are disabled persons in Group I are exempt from confirming their proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and knowledge of the fundamentals of Russian Federation law when submitting an application.

8. Personal photographs, 3 x4 cm — 3 pcs. (black and white or color).

The applicant’s (child’s or legally incapacitated person’s) image in the photograph must correspond to their age on the date the application is submitted.

9. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

All of the listed documents must be submitted as photocopies, together with the ORIGINALS.

A copy made from the original document must be of good quality, easy to read, and contain all the information provided 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 must be returned. Copies of these documents are attached to the application; an official verifies that they correspond to the originals and certifies them with their signature and the seal of the authority responsible for Russian citizenship matters, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

The period for providing the public service is 3 months.

The period may be extended for the time needed to verify the documents submitted by the applicant and the information provided by them when submitting the application, and to obtain additional documents and information provided for by this Federal Law, but by no more than three months.

An 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 are improperly completed, including if they contain clerical errors, typos, or other mistakes;

b) the documents attached to the application that are required under this Regulation are incomplete.

If an application is refused acceptance for consideration, the official returning the application will indicate, in writing or orally, the circumstances that served as grounds for the refusal and how to remedy them.

At the applicant’s written request, the official will provide these circumstances and ways to remedy them in writing, including a list of missing documents.

All official documents issued by foreign authorities in a foreign language must be legalized, translated, and notarized.

All documents not in Russian must be submitted with a Russian translation. The accuracy of the translation or the authenticity of the translator’s signature must be notarized in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation.

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

If a document completed in a language other than Russian has all entries duplicated in Russian, no Russian translation is required.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 962 of 18.12.2023 “On the Admission to Russian Citizenship of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Moldova”

On the basis of Part 9 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ 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”