How to become a Russian citizen

Article as at 28 October 2026

Before collecting documents, establish which citizenship route you qualify for. This determines whether you need several years of permanent residence, which requirements apply and what evidence you must provide. The following steps explain where to begin.

1. CHOOSE YOUR ROUTE

A) The ordinary procedure

Under the ordinary route, applicants must be at least 18, have legal capacity and have lived permanently in Russia for 5 years. They must also demonstrate knowledge of Russian, Russian history and the basics of Russian law. The five-year period starts from the decision to issue a permanent residence permit (also known as a VNZh).

B) Routes with reduced requirements - without a VNZh

The following statutory categories can apply without first obtaining a permanent residence permit:

• State Resettlement Programme participants and their officially included family members who are lawfully staying or living in Russia.

• Contract servicemembers who have signed a contract for at least 1 year with Russia’s Armed Forces or military formations. The requirement concerns the contract’s duration, rather than 1 year of service already completed.

• Certain stateless residents: former Soviet citizens registered as resident in Russia on 1 November 2002, and their adult stateless children without a foreign residence document.

• Former child citizens: people whose Russian citizenship ended at their legal representative’s request, applying within 5 years after their 18th birthday.

Passports issued in error: a special route covers those who received a Russian internal passport before 26 October 2023, although they had not legally acquired that citizenship. This addresses administrative mistakes, incl. cases following the breakup of the Soviet Union, when officials issued passports without properly completing the citizenship procedure.

Separate presidential decrees provide additional routes:

• Military service and families — Decree No. 821. Certain foreign nationals who serve or have served under contract in Russia’s armed forces or the Emergencies Ministry’s military rescue units can apply without residence. Their spouses, parents and children may also qualify, as may those of Russian participants in the “special military operation”. Eligible family members can apply even if the servicemember has died.

• Ukraine and related cases — Decree No. 11. Ukrainian citizens and stateless people who previously lived permanently in Ukraine may apply without a a VNZh. This route also covers certain former residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, and Afghan, Iraqi, Yemeni or Syrian citizens born in the Russian Soviet republic who held Soviet citizenship. Applicants still need documents confirming lawful stay in Russia.

• Abkhazia and South Ossetia — Decree No. 328. Eligible adults must have held the relevant citizenship on 26 August 2008 and retain it when applying.

• Transnistria — Decree No. 330. This covers people permanently resident there on 15 May 2026.

C) Routes with reduced requirements - with a VNZh, but without the five-year wait

Article 16(2) provides eight grounds:

• Former Soviet citizenship combined with birth or permanent residence in the RSFSR.

• A direct ancestor born or permanently resident in territory of the RSFSR, Russian Empire or USSR lying within Russia’s present borders.

• A Russian parent or adoptive parent living in Russia.

• A Russian son or daughter living in Russia, regardless of their age.

• Marriage to a Russian citizen living in Russia and a shared child, including an adopted child. It does not matter whether the child was born before or after the couple married.

• Completion of an accredited, full-time higher-education programme in Russia with honours.

• A qualifying Russian vocational, higher or postgraduate qualification, plus at least one year’s work in Russia in the corresponding field.

• Statelessness combined with former Soviet citizenship.

These grounds also waive the language, history and legal-knowledge requirements.

Additional grounds requiring a VNZh are:

• Citizenship of Belarus, Kazakhstan or Moldova — Decree No. 962. Foreigners may apply without a minimum period of permanent residence. Kazakh and Moldovan applicants must still demonstrate Russian-language proficiency; Belarusian applicants are exempt.

• A special route for citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Under a 1999 agreement, you can qualify through a close Russian relative living permanently in Russia - a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild. Certain former Soviet citizens who were born or lived in Russia before 21 December 1991 can also qualify. You need a VNZh and documents confirming your departure from your previous country to settle permanently in Russia.

• Recognised refugees and people granted political asylum. They require a VNZh and at least one year of permanent residence. Temporary asylum alone does not establish this ground.

• People unlawfully deported from the Crimean ASSR and the family categories specified in Decree No. 11.

Important conditions for male applicants

Presidential Decree No. 821 of 2025 imposes additional military-related conditions on legally capable men aged 18-65 using the ordinary and specified family-based routes. Belarusian citizens are exempt. Covered applicants usually need either the military-authority decision finding them unfit for contract service or evidence of qualifying discharge from Russian military service before 24 February 2022. A separate procedure applies to qualifying service members and certain relatives.

This is a temporary measure, but no expiration date has been set; it will cease to apply once a decree repealing it is issued.

These conditions do not affect every route equally. Check their application before relocating.

2. OBTAIN THE NECESSARY RESIDENCE STATUS

For many applicants, the broad sequence is:

Lawful stay on a visa or without it if the law allows it → temporary residence permit (RVP) → permanent residence permit (VNZh) → citizenship.

We also recommend that you read the above articles separately.

Some categories can obtain permanent residence without first holding an RVP.

Throughout this stage, keep your residence status and required notifications in order. For further details, see our guide to foreign residents’ rights and responsibilities.

3. CHECK REQUIREMENTS AND PREPARE YOUR DOCUMENTS

The exact checklist depends on your route, but usually, it looks like this:

• Application form, in 2 copies
• Passport
• Documents recording all changes to your name, if applicable
• Proof of lawful stay or residence
• Proof of your address or registration. If unavailable, state your actual address in the application
• Documents confirming your can apply for citizenship
• Proof of Russian-language ability and knowledge of Russian history and law, unless exempt
• Criminal-record certificate(s), unless exempt, issued no more than 3 months before applying. Obtain one from each country whose citizenship or residence you hold.
• 3 photographs 3 × 4 cm
• Medical documents issued no more than 12 months ago: HIV, syphilis, leprosy, and tuberculosis-negative certificates, as well as confirmation of negative drug test results. If you hold a temporary residence permit (incl. educational), a permanent residence permit, a refugee certificate, or a certificate of temporary asylum in Russia, you do not need to provide these documents.The exception also applies to those who have Russian citizen family members who reside permanently in Russia.

Documents issued abroad generally require an apostille or consular legalization - read more about this here. Documents not in Russian must be translated, and the translation must be notarized.

Obtain the current checklist for your specific route, and check names, dates and spelling across the entire package before submission.

4. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AND BUDGET FOR COSTS

Most applicants in Russia apply through the relevant Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) office. Embassies and consulates accept only specified categories of applications.

As of now, the standard state fee for admission to citizenship is 50,000 rubles. Exemptions exist, e. g., compatriot resettlement programme participants and family members.

The usual MVD decision period is up to 2 months after the application is accepted for consideration, with a possible extension of up to another 3 months. Consular applications generally take up to 6 months.

5. TAKE THE OATH AND OBTAIN YOUR PASSPORT

Following approval, applicants generally take the Oath of Citizenship, now required from age 14.

For applicants required to take it, citizenship normally takes effect on the oath date. If you are required to take the oath, refusing it or failing to attend the oath ceremony within one year of the citizenship decision means that the decision is treated as invalid from the date it was issued.

An adult living in Russia then needs to obtain an internal Russian passport, the principal domestic identity document. A separate international (travel) passport is used for foreign travel.

6. CONSIDER YOUR FAMILY AND FUTURE OBLIGATIONS

Your existing nationality. Russia generally does not require renunciation as a condition of naturalisation. Nevertheless, check whether becoming a Russian citizen affects your nationality under the other country’s law. As a rule, Russia treats dual nationals solely as Russian citizens for Russian-law purposes.

Your children. A child may qualify through a parent who is Russian or is acquiring citizenship. Children aged 14–17 need to give their own written consent.

Military registration. Note that Russian citizen men should check their military registration («постановка на военный учёт») and service obligations. This also applies to women who have a military occupational specialty – e. g., medical professionals


Need legal help? Feel free to contact us:
Tel: +7 909 961-19-09
Email: legalsolutions@inbox.ru
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