Parent or child

Citizenship through a parent/child who is a citizen of the Russian Federation

Attention!
Presidential Decree of the Russian Federation No. 821 “On the Temporary Procedure for Admission to Citizenship of the Russian Federation and Issuance of a Residence Permit in the Russian Federation” has been in force since 05.11.2025. *

There are categories of foreign nationals who may be admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation under a simplified procedure immediately after obtaining a residence permit (hereinafter referred to as a residence permit), without having to meet the requirements to demonstrate proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation. These foreign nationals include, among others, persons who have at least one parent (adoptive parent), as well as a son or daughter, who are citizens of the Russian Federation and permanently reside in the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the parent or child who is a citizen of the Russian Federation must permanently reside in Russia. This means that they must be registered at their place of residence.

Registration at the place of residence is the registration of a citizen of the Russian Federation at their place of residence, that is, the recording, in accordance with the established procedure, by the registration authority of information about the place of residence of a citizen of the Russian Federation and their presence at that place of residence.

This type of registration for Russian citizens is not limited in duration. For persons aged 14 and over, it is entered as a stamp in their internal Russian passport; for persons under this age, it is issued on a separate sheet (Form No. 8).

Consider the following example:

A Swiss citizen has a daughter who is a Russian citizen and is registered at her place of residence in Perm Krai. In this case, the father has the right to submit an application and the required set of documents for admission to Russian citizenship to the authorized territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation provided he has a residence permit.

Furthermore, the constituent entity of the Russian Federation where the foreign national plans to submit citizenship documents on this basis may differ from the constituent entity where their parent or child is registered at their place of residence. In this case, original documents confirming close family relationship and the parent’s or child’s permanent residence in one of the regions of Russia must be provided.

Example:

A citizen of Turkmenistan has a father who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and is registered at his place of residence in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). For health reasons, the foreign national son cannot travel to a region with such a harsh climate and has chosen Stavropol Krai for filing his documents. He is entitled to do so, but to submit an application for citizenship he will need to provide the original of his father’s internal passport bearing a stamp of registration at his place of residence in the Republic of Sakha. The father is not required to be present in person.

Please note that citizens of the Russian Federation may have registration at their place of stay, which is generally limited in duration and issued on a separate sheet (Form No. 3). This type of registration does not confirm that a Russian citizen permanently resides in the country. If a foreign national’s parent or child has only registration at their place of stay, it is not possible to submit citizenship documents on this basis.

*Under Presidential Decree of the Russian Federation No. 821 of 05.11.2025 “On the Temporary Procedure for Admission to Citizenship of the Russian Federation and Issuance of a Residence Permit in the Russian Federation,” when foreign nationals and stateless persons who are legally competent men aged 18 to 65 apply for citizenship on the following grounds:

• paragraph 3 of part 2 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” (they have at least one parent (adoptive parent) who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation);
• paragraph 4 of part 2 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” (they have a son or daughter who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation),

one of the following documents must also be provided:

a) an extract from the dismissal order from military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or rescue military units of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (hereinafter referred to as military service) before February 24, 2022, on the grounds provided for in subparagraphs “a,” “b,” “c,” and “d” of paragraph 1 of Article 51 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, “On Military Duty and Military Service”;

b) a decision of the joint commission of the contract military service recruitment center and the military commissariat for selecting candidates entering contract military service, or an extract from the minutes of a meeting of the military unit’s certification commission, drawn up at the contract military service recruitment center or military unit, if the foreign national or stateless person has been found unfit for military service upon entering contract military service.

This requirement does not apply to citizens of the Republic of Belarus.

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 a parent (adoptive parent) who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation 

A foreign national or stateless person who has reached the age of eighteen, is legally competent, and permanently resides in the Russian Federation (regardless of the length of residence) is entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation without meeting the requirements to

1) 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 submission of the application for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation;

2) have proficiency in Russian;

3) know the history of Russia and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation;

if the foreign national or stateless person in question:

• has at least one parent (adoptive parent) who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation.

As of November 5, 2025 a temporary procedure for admission to Russian citizenship has been established pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 821.

Legally competent men, foreign nationals and stateless persons aged 18 to 65 (except citizens of the Republic of Belarus) must, in addition to the documents listed below, provide one of the following documents:

- an extract from the dismissal order from military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or rescue military units of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters before February 24, 2022, on the grounds provided for in subparagraphs "a", "b", "c", and "d" of paragraph 1 of Article 51 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, "On Military Duty and Military Service"

- a decision of the joint commission of the recruitment center for contract military service and the military commissariat for selecting candidates entering contract military service,

or

- an extract from the minutes of a meeting of the military unit’s certification commission, drawn up at the contract military service recruitment center or military unit, if the foreign national or stateless person has been found unfit for military service upon entering contract military service.

The application and documents required to acquire citizenship of the Russian Federation must be submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 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 paste (ink), or using electronic means. 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 may not be used when completing the application, except those in common use; corrections and erasures are also not permitted.

All mandatory fields of the application must be completed, except where the circumstances required to answer a question do not exist. In that case, the word "none" is entered in the relevant field or the corresponding section is left blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be exhaustive.

If there is insufficient space in an application field 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, the relevant application field must state "See addendum".

The number of the field being supplemented must be indicated on the addendum sheets, 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 correspond to the number of copies of the application. The applicant must sign each addendum sheet in the lower right corner.

2. Document proving the applicant’s identity.

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

At the time of application, the document must be valid for at least as long as the application review period (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 of a stateless person in the Russian Federation, a non-citizen passport issued by the relevant authority of a foreign state, or documents confirming the applicant’s lack of citizenship of a foreign state, issued by the authorized body of the foreign state in which the applicant was born).

3. Residence permit.

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

In most regions, the Ministry of Internal Affairs requires a stamp in the residence permit confirming registration at the place of residence when an application is submitted.

5. Applicant’s birth certificate,

a document confirming state registration of adoption, if the applicant’s birth certificate does not identify the adoptive parent as the applicant’s parent, and

- a notarized copy, certified in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, of the passport of the applicant’s parent (adoptive parent), who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation, bearing a stamp of registration at the place of residence.

If the parent’s (adoptive parent’s) passport does not bear a stamp of registration at their place of residence within the Russian Federation, the applicant may submit the following documents as proof of the parent’s residence in the Russian Federation, including based on the combined information they contain:

•    certificate of registration at the place of stay,
• arrival (departure) address slip, address certificate issued by territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia,
•  unified housing document,
•  extract from the household register,
•  copy of the apartment registration card,
•  document containing information on military registration, military ID, employment record book and/or employment information, prepared in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation,
•  certificate from the territorial body of the Russian Federation’s Pension and Social Insurance Fund (Pension Fund of the Russian Federation) confirming pension award,
•  certificate of release from a place of detention,
•  extract from the household book, the form of which is used until January 1, 2024.

If the above documents are unavailable, residence in the Russian Federation may be confirmed by an archival certificate, an extract from archival documents, a copy of a document from the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation and/or other archival documents, or a court decision establishing the fact of a citizen of the Russian Federation’s residence in the Russian Federation.

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

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

7. Photographs (personal) 3 x 4 cm – 3 pcs. (black-and-white or color).

The applicant’s (child’s, legally incompetent person’s) image in the photograph must correspond to their age on the day the application is submitted.

8. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

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

Copies of original documents must be of good quality, easily legible, and contain all the information presented in the original. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut with scissors to match the format of the original.

The originals of the document proving the applicant’s identity and other required documents submitted by the applicant must be returned. Copies of these documents are attached to the application; their conformity with the originals is checked by an official and certified by their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters in the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

The public service is provided within 3 months.

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

An application will not be accepted for review and will be returned to the applicant together with its accompanying documents if:

a) the application and documents are improperly completed, including if they contain clerical, typographical, or other errors;

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

If an application is refused for review the official returning it shall indicate, in writing or verbally, the circumstances that served as grounds for the refusal and how they may be remedied.

At the applicant’s written request the official shall provide these circumstances and methods of remedy 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.

For countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention:

• The original document must be apostilled 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 endorsement by a notary in the territory of the Russian Federation.

                 For countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention:

• Documents must undergo consular legalization through consular offices of the Russian Federation abroad or the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

All documents not drawn up 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 these documents must be returned. Copies are attached to the application; their conformity with the originals is checked by an official and certified by their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters in the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

If all entries in a document drawn up in a language other than Russian are also reproduced in Russian, a Russian translation of the document is not required.

Under paragraph 3 of part 2 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ of 28.04.2023 "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation"

Presidential Decree 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")

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship through a son or daughter who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation

A foreign national or stateless person who has reached the age of eighteen, is legally competent, and permanently resides in the Russian Federation (regardless of the length of residence) is entitled to apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation without meeting the requirements to

1) 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 submission of the application for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation;

2) have proficiency in Russian;

3) know the history of Russia and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation;

if the foreign national or stateless person in question:

• has a son or daughter who is a citizen of the Russian Federation and resides in the Russian Federation.

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

As of November 5, 2025 a temporary procedure for admission to Russian citizenship has been established pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 821.

Legally competent men, foreign nationals and stateless persons aged 18 to 65 (except citizens of the Republic of Belarus) must, in addition to the documents listed below, provide one of the following documents:

- an extract from the dismissal order from military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or rescue military units of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters before February 24, 2022, on the grounds provided for in subparagraphs "a", "b", "c", and "d" of paragraph 1 of Article 51 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, "On Military Duty and Military Service"

- a decision of the joint commission of the recruitment center for contract military service and the military commissariat for selecting candidates entering contract military service,

or

- an extract from the minutes of a meeting of the military unit’s certification commission, drawn up at the contract military service recruitment center or military unit, if the foreign national or stateless person has been found unfit for military service upon entering contract military service.

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

The application must be completed in Russian by hand using black, blue, or purple paste (ink), or using electronic means. 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 may not be used when completing the application, except those in common use; corrections and erasures are also not permitted.

All mandatory fields of the application must be completed, except where the circumstances required to answer a question do not exist. In that case, the word "none" is entered in the relevant field or the corresponding section is left blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be exhaustive.

If there is insufficient space in an application field 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, the relevant application field must state "See addendum".

The number of the field being supplemented must be indicated on the addendum sheets, 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 correspond to the number of copies of the application. The applicant must sign each addendum sheet in the lower right corner.

2. Document proving the applicant’s identity.

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

At the time of application, the document must be valid for at least as long as the application review period (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 of a stateless person in the Russian Federation, a non-citizen passport issued by the relevant authority of a foreign state, or documents confirming the applicant’s lack of citizenship of a foreign state, issued by the authorized body of the foreign state in which the applicant was born).

3. Residence permit.

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

In most regions, the Ministry of Internal Affairs requires a stamp in the residence permit confirming registration at the place of residence when an application is submitted.

5. Applicant’s birth certificate.

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

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

7. Birth certificate of the son or daughter, adoption certificate if the child’s birth certificate does not identify the adoptive parent as the son’s or daughter’s parent,

- certificate of the child’s registration at the place of residence (for children under 14),

- a copy of the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (for children aged 14 and over) bearing a stamp of registration at the place of residence, notarized in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

If the passport of the applicant’s son or daughter who is a citizen of the Russian Federation does not bear a stamp of their registration at their place of residence within the Russian Federation, the applicant may submit the following documents as proof that the applicant’s adult son or daughter resides in the Russian Federation, including based on the combined information they contain:

• certificate of registration at the place of stay,
• arrival (departure) address slip, address certificate issued by territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia,
• unified housing document,
• extract from the household register,
• copy of the apartment registration card,
• document containing information on military registration, military ID, employment record book and/or employment information, prepared in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation,
• certificate from the territorial body of the Russian Federation’s Pension and Social Insurance Fund (Pension Fund of the Russian Federation) confirming pension award,
• certificate of release from a place of detention,
• extract from the household book, the form of which is used until January 1, 2024.

If the above documents are unavailable, residence in the Russian Federation may be confirmed by an archival certificate, an extract from archival documents, a copy of a document from the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation and/or other archival documents, or a court decision establishing the fact of a citizen of the Russian Federation’s residence in the Russian Federation.

8. Photographs (personal) 3 x 4 cm – 3 pcs. (black-and-white or color).

The applicant’s (child’s, legally incompetent person’s) image in the photograph must correspond to their age on the day the application is submitted.

9. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

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

Copies of original documents must be of good quality, easily legible, and contain all the information presented in the original. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut with scissors to match the format of the original.

The originals of the document proving the applicant’s identity and other required documents submitted by the applicant must be returned. Copies of these documents are attached to the application; their conformity with the originals is checked by an official and certified by their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters in the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

The public service is provided within 3 months.

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

An application will not be accepted for review and will be returned to the applicant together with its accompanying documents if:

a) the application and documents are improperly completed, including if they contain clerical, typographical, or other errors;

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

If an application is refused for review the official returning it shall indicate, in writing or verbally, the circumstances that served as grounds for the refusal and how they may be remedied.

At the applicant’s written request the official shall provide these circumstances and methods of remedy 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.

For countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention:

• The original document must be apostilled 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 endorsement by a notary in the territory of the Russian Federation.

                 For countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention:

• Documents must undergo consular legalization through consular offices of the Russian Federation abroad or the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

All documents not drawn up 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 these documents must be returned. Copies are attached to the application; their conformity with the originals is checked by an official and certified by their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters in the Russian Federation, or the seal of a subordinate enterprise (authorized organization).

If all entries in a document drawn up in a language other than Russian are also reproduced in Russian, a Russian translation of the document is not required.

Under paragraph 4 of part 2 of Article 16 of Federal Law No. 138-FZ of 28.04.2023 "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation"

Presidential Decree 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")