Russia is a diverse country with a variety of different people, cultures, and histories. Many people dream of living in Russia to enhance their quality of life. Do you want to go to Russia? Here’s all the information you need!

No country is perfect so there are some advantages and disadvantages of residing in Russia. In Russia, you can enjoy the cold arctic tundra if you are living in the Northern region. To your surprise, Russia also enjoys beautiful summer months and there are parts of the country that enjoy tropical weather. The hilly green landscape of Russia makes it a beautiful country. Russia also possesses diverse and historic architecture that is a great attraction for tourists. People are also attracted to Russia because of the low cost of living concerning the high salaries paid by global companies.

At present, startups and tech communities are booming in Russia, and many people want to get citizenship to pursue their personal and professional dreams. To get Russian citizenship is a lengthy process. Some people go for permanent residence instead of citizenship. For this, you need to know the difference between citizenship and permanent residence.

Difference between Citizenship and Permanent residence

There is not much difference between holding a permanent residence and citizenship in Russia. Permanent residents have equal rights that are enjoyed by Russian citizens. Giving permanent residence permits is very beneficial for Russian entrepreneurs over hiring citizens. The permanent residence is valid for five years and you can get it renewed multiple times. Apart from Russian PRP, Russian citizenship never needs to be renewed and there is no fear of losing visas. Russian citizenship allows visa-free and visas on arrival entry to 105 countries without a passport, especially in the UK and America. Many ex-pats choose to remain in the country on a PRP basis instead of Russian citizenship. This is because many nations in the world don’t allow for dual nationalities. There are no strict travel restrictions in Russia. The other main difference between Citizenship and PRP is that Russian citizens can easily travel to military restricted areas where PRP holders can’t. They need to take special permission from government officials or need an official invitation to visit those areas. If you want to travel to Europe, then no matter if you are a Russian citizen or not, you need to register yourself if you want to live there for over 90 days. If you are visiting Russia, the Russian government wants you to be registered with the immigration registry for a stay of 7 or more days.

How to get Russian Citizenship

To get Russian citizenship, you need to start with the local consulate. They provide you with all the information that is required to fulfill the citizenship documentation. You can also check it through their website to get proper information regarding immigration. Moreover, information can be taken from local offices that are specific to your situation. There are also some agencies and firms that help you in the processing of Russian citizenship.

Different Ways to get Russian Citizenship

There are different ways to get Russian citizenship and it also depends upon your prevailing circumstances. These methods are:

  • Citizenship by birth.
  • Citizenship by ancestry
  • Citizenship through marriage
  • Citizenship through naturalization
  • Citizenship through investment

Getting Russian Citizenship by Birth

The foremost way of getting Russian nationality is by birth. If you are not born in Russia but one of your parents is Russian, then you will be given a Russian nationality. Article 12 of Russian law states different points necessary to qualify for Russian nationality. Some points are:

  1. Anyone from the parents should be a Russian citizen regardless of the birthplace.
  2. Both parents living in Russia are non-citizens, but their child is born in Russia.
  3. The child found in Russia has unknown parents and the parents do not show up for 6 months after the child is discovered.

Anyone under any of these conditions can get Russian citizenship by birth.

Getting Russian Citizenship through Ancestry

As per article 14 of the Russian federation, if you are a foreign national and you are over 18 years old then you can apply for Russian citizenship but for this, one of your parents should be living in Russia.

If you are under the age of 18, then you can get citizenship if one of your parents is a Russian national and another parent gives its permission. Secondly, if your single parent is a Russian citizen, you can get citizenship. Another case is that if your parents are non-Russian but one of your parents becomes a Russian citizen and your family resides in Russia before you are 16 years of age. It is called citizenship by lineage and helps families to get citizenship at once.

Getting Russian Citizenship through Marriage

Russian citizenship can be attained swiftly if you are married. You need to get a temporary residence permit TRP first before marriage. Once you get married, then there is no need to get TRP from the required quota of granting citizenship. Even if this quota gets finished, then you can still apply for and get temporary residence when you are married to a Russian citizen.

You can get Russian citizenship if you are living in Russia for 5 years and you have a TRP. During these 5 years, you can’t travel outside Russia for more than 3 months per year. On the other hand, if you are married to a citizen of Russia for around 3 years., you can get Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure. This shows that you don’t have to wait for 5 years and you can start for the procedure once you have TRP. You can submit your application to the local federal migration service office or the Russian diplomatic mission or consular located in the home country. The process of obtaining Russian citizenship is faster for married people, but documentation takes time.

Getting Russian Citizenship through Naturalization

There are two types of naturalization processes: general and simplified. No doubt their names are different, but there is a little difference between them.

In a simplified process, you need to be a resident of Russia and should hold TRP. All this process takes a minimum time of 2 to 2.5 years. If you are following the simplified process for naturalization, then you need to meet the following conditions.

  • A person should be born in Soviet Russia and should have been a former Soviet citizen.
  • He/She should be married to a Russian citizen for not less than 3 years.
  • One parent of the person should be a Russian citizen and who lives in Russia.
  • If a person is disabled and his disability doesn’t let him perform work and if he has an adult child who is a Russian citizen and can sponsor him.
  • The child who is born in Russia but one of his parents dies and he has no guardianship.
  • A former citizen of the Soviet Union who is residing in a soviet country without having citizenship. He does not hold any citizenship worldwide.

The general process includes:

  • You should have a permanent residence permit PRP.
  • You must be living in Russia for 5 years without spending any time abroad for 3 months each year.
  • A high school diploma or certificate showing the skill of the Russian language.
  • A stable income in Russia.
  • Application for giving up your current citizenship if your country doesn’t allow for dual citizenship.

Getting Russian Citizenship through Investment

Getting Russian citizenship through investment is simple if you want to move your business to Russia or you want to do investment in Russia. To fulfill the requirements for getting Russian citizenship through investment, one should meet these conditions:

  • You should have a business in Russia that is working for 3 years without including the year of application.
  • Paying the insurance and taxes to the Pension fund and it should be 1 million rubles for three years.
  • 10 % of business shares should be invested in a government-specified economic field. The total share capital should equal 100 million rubles and yearly insurance and taxes should be equal to 6 million rubles that need to be paid by the business.

Wrapping Up

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