A stateless person is an individual who is not a citizen of the Russian Federation and has no proof of citizenship (nationality) of a foreign state.
Who has the right to apply for Russian citizenship without obtaining a temporary residence permit and a permanent residence permit?
4 categories of stateless persons has the legitimate right to regulate their legal status in the territory of Russia by acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation.
Requirements for the first category are as follows:- capability;- availability of USSR citizenship as of September 5, 1991;- arrival to Russia before November 1, 2002 to reside there permanently;- non-acquisition of citizenship of the Russian Federation in the prescribed manner before;- lack of citizenship of another state;- lack of a valid document confirming the right to reside in another state.The second and the third categories include only children of persons of the first category.Reguirements for the second category are as follows:- capability;- the age of 18 and older;- lack of citizenchip of another state;- lack of a valid document confirming the right to reside in another state.
Reguirements for the third category are as follows:- the age under 18;- lack of citizenship of another state;- lack of a valid document confirming the right to reside in another state.
The fourth category consists solely of persons who are under the guardianship of persons of the first category.Requirements for the fourth category are as follows:- incapability;- majority;- lack of citizenship of another state;- lack of a valid document confirming the right to reside in another state.
Attention! In order to submit a relevant application there is no necessity of obtaining a temporary residence permit and a permanent residence permit. Moreover, there is no need to present documents confirming the applicant’s legitimate source of livelihood within Russia as well as his knowledge of the Russian language.
Where should I apply for Russian citizenship and what documents should be presented?
In order to acquire Russian citizenship you should submit in person a completed application form for Russian citizenship to an agency of the Federal Migration Service located in the place of your residence or in the place of your sojourn or in the place of your actual stay.The following documents should be presented together with the application for Russian citizenship:- an identity document (this document will be issued after the identification procedure, on accepting the application for Russian citizenship);- the applicant’s birth certificate;— the birth certificates of the applicant’s underage children (if they are naturalized togehter with the applicant);— the consent of each child aged between 14 and 18 to be a citizen of the Russian Federation;- the birth certificate of an incapabale person, his passport (if available), an act of guardianship authorities appointing the applicant a guardian or a trustee of the incapable person, a court decision declaring a person incapable (if that person is naturalized simultaneously with the applicant);- a document confirming the applicant’s arrival to the Russian Federation before November 1, 2002 in order to reside in Russia permanently as well as confirming the applicant’s residence within the RF territory till the day of submitting the application. One of the following documents may be such a document: a house-register; a passport of the USSR citizen of 1974 model with record of the date of registration; a certificate of registration at the place of residence which was issued to the ID card, or other documents confirming the fact of the applicant’s arrival to the Russian Federation before November 1, 2002. Documents confirming the applicant’s labour activity, his education in Russia, his appeal for medical care etc. serve as indirect evidence. If the above mentioned documents are not available, or if it is impossible to trace the applicant’s permanent residence within Russia by indirect evidence, the migratory agency recommends to lodge an application to court in order to establish the fact of the applicant’s residence within the Russian Federation. A court decision establishing that legal fact will be a confirmation of the applicant’s arrival to Russia before November 1, 2002 and his permanent residence within Russia until the day of submitting the application;- a document confirming the applicant’s citizenhip of the USSR in the past. That fact may be confirmed by the following documents: the applicant’s birth certificate issued by a civil registration office located in the USSR territory, or by a USSR diplomatic mission or a USSR consular office located in the territory of a foreign state. If the birth certificate was issued by a foreign authority, then relevant official data of an authorized body or a certificate of the exchange of the applicant’s passport of the USSR citizen for a document of a stateless person that was issued by an authorized body of another state that was a part of the USSR may serve as documents confirming that the applicant was a citizen of the USSR in the past. A passport of the USSR citizen ia also evidence of Soviet citizenship in the past.A certificate on acceptance of the submitted application for consideration will be issued in the prescribed form together with a list of the received documents.An application for Russian citizenship shall be considered within a period not exceeding 6 months.Attention! If there is a need to identify the applicant, the indicated time limit may be extended (but no longer than for three months).If the applicant has no valid identity papers, the procedure of his identification should be carried out.
What is the identification procedure?
An application for identification should be submitted to the FMS of Russia or its territorial agency in writing. That application should be written in a prescribed form. The authorized body has issued a special application form including the entire complex of data about the applicant that are required to pass a decision and check information about the applicant.Documents on the basis of which one can draw an unambiguous conclusion about the person should be submitted together with the application for identification.You may present the following documents containing your personal data: your expired identity card; your birth certificate; a document that is indicative of the change of your surname, name and (or) patronymic, or other personal data; your marriage certificate; a certificate of dissolution of your marriage; a document on your education; a military ID card; your work record book; your pension certificate; your driving licence; a certificate of your release that was issued by an institution of confinement; other documents containing your personal data. The listed documents should be presented in the originals.An official shall issue a certificate confirming he has accepted your application for identification for consideration. That certificate shall be issued togehter with the list of documents attached to your application for identification. The above mentioned certificate is necessary for you since you are virtually deprived of any identity documents during the whole procedure of the consideration of your application.Thus, that certificate can be considered as a justification for the temporary lack of your ID card and other documents. Moreover, the availability of that certificate is evidence of the legitimate character of your stay within the Russian Federation during the whole period of your identification.The identification procedure includes the questioning of persons indicated by you, your recognition and fingerprinting.
What is the recognition procedure?
When conducting the identification of the applicant a witness must choose a person who matches the declared name and whom the witness is acquainted with, from several candidatures having physical resemblance. The recognizing person must indicate the grounds on which he has recognized a particular subject (moles, birthmarks and other features). Recognition can be performed either in person (by presenting several persons to the recognizing person), or without seeing (by photos).Results of the conducted recognition as well as identification information about the recognizing person shall be recorded. The participants of the recognition procedure are entitled to make changes and additions to the recognition record.If the results of the conducted verifications, the questioning of witnesses and the recognition procedure confirm the accuracy of the applicant’s personal data, then the migration authority will draw up an identification resolution which shall be signed by the head of the territorial migration agency. Then the originals of the presented documents shall be returned.The above resolution shall be kept in a relevant competent authority, but in some cases a copy of the resolution may be issued to the identified person too. Please note that the copy of the resolution may be issued solely at the applicant’s request sent to the relevant competent authority.The law does not give the status of an identity document to that resolution. But in practice it can serve as a reason for issuing such a document, i.e. it is of a preliminary character and aimed at the collection and examination of evidence identifying the stateless person.The term for conducting the procedure of identification of a stateless person shall not exceed three months.
What actions should I take if after my applying to the migration authority for Russian citizenship I was recommended to apply to court in order to establish the fact of my residence within the Russian Federation?
The court establishes legally relevant facts on which the granting, the change or the termination of personal or property rights of individuals depend. An application for the establishment of legally relevant facts (the fact of the applicant’s arrival to the Russian Federation before November 1, 2002 and the fact of the applicant’s residence within the Russian Federation) shall be lodged to the court located in the place of the applicant’s actual residence. The application shall be drawn up in duplicate and include copies of documents.The application shall specify that you have been residing in the territory of the Russian Federation permanently. Describing the circumstances of your residence in Russia, you should specify the addresses to which you lived. In order to confirm the fact of your residence, you should present evidence of your residence in the territory specified in your application, as well as relevant documents (medical certificates, a certificate of employment, a work-book, diplomas of education, letters, acts and other documents that you received during your residence in that territory).The application should also contain names of no less than two witnesses who are able to confirm the fact of your residence within the Russian Federation. Family names, names and patronymics of the witnesses should be written in full. Places of their residence shall also be specified.The application shall also contain information why you need the establishment of the legally relevant fact: «the establishment of the fact of the applicant’s permanent residence within the Russian Federation by the court creates legal consequences for the applicant since in this case the applicant will acquire the right to submit an application for Russian citizenship on the basis of Article 41.1 of the Federal Law of May 31, 2002 No. 62-FZ “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”.In addition, you should note in the application that the establishment of this fact by any other means is not possible since the court establishes legally relevant facts only if it is impossible for the applicant to obtain proper documentation proving these facts in another way, or if it is impossible for the applicant to renew the lost documents (Article 265 of the RF Code of Civil Procedure).You should attached to your application its copies as well as copies of relevant documents in accordance with the number of trial participants (for instance, if 2 persons are involved in the legal proceedings (you and a person concerned), then you shall attach 2 copies of each document except for a receipt on payment of state fee that shall be attached in original and in one copy).The amount of the court fee for the submission of the application is 200 rubles.A court decision on the application will be a document proving the fact of the applicant’s arrival to the Russian Federation before November 1, 2002 as well as the fact of the applicant’s residence within Russia.
Obtaining a permanent residence permit in the Russian Federation
The right to the permanent residence permitStateless persons having the right to submit an application for Russian citizenship according to Chapter VIII.1 of the Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” can regulate their legal status in a different way than it was described in the previous chapter, namely, by applying for a permanent residence permit.A permanent residence permit is a document issued to a stateless person as a confirmation of his right to reside in Russia permanently as well as his right to freely leave the Russian Federation and enter it. The permanent residence permit issued to the stateless person is also his identity document at the same time.After obtaining the permanent residence permit an individual will acquire the status of a stateless person permanently residing in the Russian Federation.
Attention! After obtaining the permanent residence permit the stateless person will acquire a number of the most important rights: the right to carry out labour activities within the whole Russia (in any RF subject) without obtaining a labour permit, as well as the right to pensions, to change the place of his residence voluntarily.
Duties of a stateless person who was issued the permanent residence permitStateless persons who live in Russia under the permanent residence permit must strictly carry out a number of duties set forth in RF laws on the legal status of foreign nationals. Failure to comply with the established duties entails very negative consequences including administrative prosecution or the annulment of the permanent residence permit.The most important duties are as follows:1. to annually notify the territorial migration agency that you confirm your residence in the RF in the place where you were issued the permanent residence permit. You can do it by personal visiting the FMS agency or by sending a mail by post upon presentation of your identity document (your permanent residence permit).2. not to be beyond the borders of the Russian Federation longer than six months.3. to be able to keep yourself and members of your family within the limits not below subsistence line without resorting to the help of the state. This duty does not apply to persons recognized as the disabled.
When submitting the notifications confirming their residence within the Russian Federation, stateless persons having the permanent residence permits have questions about the deadlines for submitting such notifications. To avoid the imposition of administrative sanctions you should understand that if the permanent residence permit was issued in 2012, than the initial notification confirming your residence within Russia shall be submitted to the territorial migration agency before the end of 2013. The second notificaation shall be submitted before the end of 2014.The date on which a person acquires the status of a foreign national residing in the RF temporarily or permanently is the date on which the person was issued the relevant document (a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit). These clarifications apply to stateless persons too.
Attention! The acceptance of the notification shall be confirmed with the signature of an official of the territorial migration agency or an employee of an office of the Federal Postal Service on the notification form and on the tear-off part of the notification form which should be kept by the stateless person.
The time limits for the issuance of the permanent residence permit and the term of its validityThe term of the validity of the permanent residence permit of a stateless person is 5 years, and it it may be extended an unlimited number of times. The validity of the permanent residence permit is extended for a stateless person in all cases for 5 years.
The time limits for the issuance of the permanent residence permit shall not exceed 6 months from the date of the submission of the relevant application and all required documents.
The procedure for registering at the place of residenceAttention! Stateless persons who reside in Russia permanently (who were issued the permanent residence permit) shall be registered at the place of their residence or at the palce of their stay.In order to get registered you shall submit a relevant application to the FMS agency at the location of accommodation facilities.The registration at the place of residence is issued in the form of a relevant note in the permanent residence permit. That note shall contain the address of a specific living accommodation chosen by the stateless person as his place of residence.Attention! A steteless person shall submit an application for registration at the place of his residence within 7 working days from the obtaining of the permanent residence permit or from the date of his actual arrival in a dwelling chosen as his place of residence.
Documents required for registration at the place of residenceWhen submitting an application for registration at the place of residence, the stateless persons shall present:
— a permanent residence permit;
— a document confirming the right to use a specific living accommodation;
— a receipt on payment of the state fee.
If the stateless person has no written confirmation of his right to reside in the living accommodation, his permanent residence permit may be annulled.
The time limits for registration at the place of residenceUpon the presentation of an application and other required documents by a stateless person an official carrying out registration at the place of residence is obliged to put down a relevant note in the permanent residence permit on the same day, i.e. to register the applicant at the place of his residence. And on the next working day the official must fix that information in his registration documents and in the public information system of migration control.If the stateless person has exercised his right not to present a document confirming his right to use the living accommodation on the grounds that information contained in that document is at the disposal of state bodies or bodies of local self-government (see the section under the title «Principle of one window»), then the official will put down the note on the registration at the place of residence in the permanent residence permit only on the next working day following the obtaining relevant information of the mentioned document from those bodies.
SOCIAL GUARANTEES
PensionsStateless persons have the right to labour pension equally with citizens of the Russian Federation if they have a permanent residence permit.An application for pension shall be lodged to the territorial body of the RF Pension Fund located in the place of the applicant’s residence. The following documents shall be attached to the application for labour retirement pension:- documents identifying the applicant, his age, his place of residence and citizenship (for stateless persons – a permanent residence permit);- documents on insurance period issued by a competent authority of the country in the territory of which labour or other activities were carried out;- documents on average monthly earnings for 2000-2001 or for 60 months in succession till January 1, 2002.When necessary, the following documents should be attached:- documents on disabled family members;- documents confirming that disabled family members are the applicant’s dependant;- documents on the applicant’s place of stay or his place of actual residence within the RF;- documents on the change of the applicant’s surname, name and patronymic;- documents on disability and the degree of restriction to work.
Medical care
In the Russian Federation there is a program of providing free medical care to the population. In order to receive free medical care one should obtain a compulsory medical insurance policy.Citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign nationals and stateless persons who reside in Russia permanently or temporarily as well as persons having the right to medical care in accordance with the Federal Law «On Refugees» are considered as insured persons.Therefore, a stateless person having a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit has the right to receive the compulsory medical insurance policy.In order to receive such a policy you should submit an application to an insurance company with a request to issue you a compulsory medical insurance policy.Stateless persons residing in the RF temporarily shall attach the following documents (or the notarized copies of them) to their application for the choice (replacement) of an insurance medical organization:- a document recognized as an identity document of a stateless person in accordance with the international treaty of the RF, with a note on approval to reside in the RF temporarily;- or a document of the established form that is issued in the RF to a stateless person having no identity papers;- the insurance number of individual personal account (if available).
Stateless persons residing in the RF permanently shall attach the following documents (or the notarized copies of them) to their application for the choice (replacement) of an insurance medical organization:
— a document recognized as an identity document of a stateless person in accordance with the international treaty of the RF;- a permanent residence permit;- the insurance number of individual personal account (if available).
Attention! Emergency medical care shall be provided to any person in the Russian Federation who has no medical insurance policy in conditions requiring urgent medical interference (accidents, injuries, poisonongs, acute infectious diseases etc.)
