Citizenship by birth or residence in the RSFSR

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, residence permit). These foreign nationals include those who were born or permanently resided in the territory of the RSFSR and were citizens of the USSR.

The RSFSR was one of the former union republics that formed part of the USSR. Therefore, to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation, a foreign national must obtain a residence permit and confirm that they were born or permanently resided (were registered) in the territory of the former RSFSR.

If a foreign national was born in the RSFSR, it will not be difficult for them to obtain a residence permit in Russia, since birth in the specified territory is grounds for obtaining one. Immediately after acquiring a residence permit, they may submit an application and the required package of documents for citizenship of the Russian Federation.

If a foreign national was not born in the RSFSR but only permanently resided in its territory, they may submit documents for citizenship after obtaining a residence permit. However, in this case, they must obtain the residence permit on some other grounds.

Consider the following examples:

Suppose a citizen of Israel was born in 1969 in Tomsk Oblast, which was part of the RSFSR. In this case, they are entitled to first obtain a residence permit, bypassing the stage of obtaining a temporary residence permit, and, after obtaining the residence permit, immediately apply for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation under the simplified procedure.

Suppose a citizen of the Czech Republic permanently resided (was registered) in Khabarovsk Krai from 1971 to 1978, which was part of the RSFSR. On this basis, they are entitled to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation, but cannot obtain the residence permit required to apply for citizenship. They may obtain a residence permit, for example, on the basis that their ancestor was born or permanently resided within the present-day borders of Russia before the collapse of the USSR, if they have such an ancestor.

If a citizen of Poland was born in 1954 in the territory of present-day Republic of Moldova, they cannot submit documents either for a residence permit or for citizenship of the Russian Federation on the stated grounds, since the territory of present-day Moldova was never part of the RSFSR but was the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) within the USSR.

To sum up: the right to acquire citizenship of the Russian Federation belongs to persons who have obtained a residence permit in Russia and were born or permanently resided in the territory of the RSFSR while being citizens of the USSR. It is important to understand clearly that the RSFSR and the USSR are not identical concepts.

Document package

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

List of documents for applying for Russian citizenship by birth or permanent residence in the RSFSR

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

1) to permanently reside 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 filing the application for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation;

2) to be proficient in the Russian language;

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

if the foreign national or stateless person in question:

• was born or permanently resided in the territory of the RSFSR and was a citizen of the USSR.

The application and documents required to acquire citizenship of the Russian Federation are 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 ink, or electronically. Each page of the application must be signed by the applicant in the lower-right corner in the space provided. 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 exist. In that case, enter the word "none" in the relevant field or leave the corresponding section blank. Answers to the questions in the application form must be exhaustive.

If there is insufficient space in a field to provide all the required information, provide it on additional sheets attached to the application, which form an integral part of the application (hereinafter, an addendum). In this case, enter "See addendum" in the relevant field.

On the addendum sheets, indicate the number of the field being supplemented and provide the required information. All addendum sheets must be numbered. The sheet number and the 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. A document proving the applicant's identity.

If a foreign national does not have such a document: a copy of the finding 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 remain valid for at least the application processing 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 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 in which the applicant was born.

3. Residence permit.

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

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

5. Birth certificate (including a duplicate) indicating as the place of birth a territory within the administrative borders of the RSFSR as of the applicant's date of birth, as well as a document confirming that the applicant held USSR citizenship in the past.

If there is no birth certificate, a 1974-model USSR citizen's passport containing the relevant information serves as a document confirming that the applicant was born in the territory of the RSFSR.

Documents that may confirm that the applicant held USSR citizenship in the past include

- a birth certificate issued by a civil registry office in the territory of the USSR or by a diplomatic mission or consular office of the USSR in a foreign country, including a duplicate birth certificate issued by those authorities (organizations), or by a civil registry office in the territory of the Russian Federation, or by a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation, or by an authorized body of a foreign state that was part of the USSR,

- a 1974-model USSR citizen's passport,

- a USSR citizen's passport for travel abroad,

- relevant official documents issued by a body responsible for matters of citizenship of the Russian Federation, or

- a certificate from an authorized body of a state that was part of the USSR confirming the exchange of a USSR citizen's passport for a stateless person's document.

Documents confirming permanent residence in the territory of the RSFSR include

• a residence permit bearing a registration stamp for a place of residence in the territory of the RSFSR,
• an extract from the household register,
• a copy of the apartment registration card,
• a document containing information on military registration, a military ID, or another document containing reliable information confirming this fact.

If the above documents are unavailable, the applicant must submit archival certificates, extracts from archival documents, copies of documents from the Archive Fund of the Russian Federation and/or other archival documents issued in the territory of the Russian Federation or the RSFSR, or a court decision establishing the fact that the applicant resided in the territory of the RSFSR.

6. Documents confirming changes to personal details (full name).

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

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

The applicant's (child's, legally incapacitated person's) appearance in the photograph must correspond to their age on the date the application is submitted.

8. Receipt for payment of the state fee.

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

A copy of the original document must be of good quality, easy to read, and contain all the information shown in the original. Copies must be made on standard A4 sheets and must not be cut with scissors to match 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 this with their signature and the seal of the body responsible for citizenship matters of the Russian Federation, 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 required to verify the documents submitted by the applicant and the information provided by them 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 are improperly prepared, including if they contain slips, typos, or other errors;

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

If the 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 they can be remedied.

At the applicant's written request, the official will 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 must be legalized, translated, and notarized.

For countries that are parties 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 endorsement of 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

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 legislation of the Russian Federation.

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

If a document drawn up 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 paragraph 1 of part 2 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" ("Regulations on the Procedure for Considering Issues of Citizenship of the Russian Federation", "Regulations on the Procedure for Taking the Oath of a Citizen of the Russian Federation"