At the State Duma of the Russian Federation, during a government hour, the situation of residents of the former USSR who want to become citizens of Russia was again discussed. After two bills simplifying the procedure for granting Russian citizenship to citizens of the former Soviet Union were rejected one after another, Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin addressed the deputies. He voiced the government's opinion on the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship. According to the deputy head of the Interior Ministry, no one will change the new law "On Citizenship" or simplify the granting of Russian citizenship to CIS residents in the near future.
“I consider it inexpedient to introduce amendments to the law ‘On Citizenship of the Russian Federation’ at the moment,” Chekalin stated. “It still has to last for another 10-15 years.” However, according to him, the authorities intend to make life easier for CIS residents seeking to come to Russia by another means: “All the nuances of the law will be regulated by a separate interdepartmental instruction, which will have to be registered with the Ministry of Justice to ensure compliance with federal laws and the Constitution.” It is in this instruction that certain privileges for former citizens of the Soviet Union will be prescribed.
Instead of privileges for obtaining citizenship, the Russian authorities want to give CIS residents privileges in obtaining a residence permit. The President tasked the Interior Ministry with developing measures to regulate the legal status of citizens of CIS countries and former USSR citizens who currently have no citizenship back on February 6, 2003. The instruction directly concerned those who were formerly citizens of the USSR and came to Russia before the law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in Russia" came into force.
According to Chekalin, the government has managed to cope with the problem: foreigners who have registration at their place of residence in Russia will be able to obtain a residence permit without a temporary residence permit and without five years of residence in Russia. True, the privileges will only apply to representatives of the three states with which Russia has concluded bilateral agreements - Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. However, both those who came to Russia before the new law came into force and those who arrive after its adoption will receive the privilege. For example, if a person exchanges his apartment for housing in Russia, he will automatically receive a residence permit. “And a residence permit provides the same social guarantees as citizenship itself,” Chekalin explained.
When the interdepartmental instruction will be developed, when it will come into force and how it will work is still unclear. But, judging by the words of the deputy head of the Interior Ministry, the executive branch is not yet going to change its position on the new law "On Citizenship," which was adopted specifically to tighten the acquisition of Russian citizenship for many categories of citizens.