Russia eases citizenship rules for ex-Soviet residents
Iran Press TV
Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:41PM GMT
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a law making it easier for Russian-speaking residents of former Soviet states to acquire Russian citizenship.
According to the legislation, a foreign citizen or stateless person who is fluent in Russian and lives or has lived in the Soviet Union or the Russian Empire within the country's present borders will be eligible to be allowed to become a Russian citizen.
'In order to create favorable conditions for the acquisition of Russian citizenship for such people, certain concessionary terms of entry into the Russian Federation are introduced, as well as new grounds for extension of their temporary stay in the Russian Federation and a simplified procedure for obtaining a residence permit,' the law states.
Reports say the rule will affect people coming from Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, and central Asian countries.
The changes follow the reunion of the autonomous Ukrainian region of Crimea with Russia and tensions in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which almost 97 percent of the participants voted for rejoining Russia, with a turnout of over 83 percent.
In the past weeks, pro-Russian activists have taken control of government buildings in more than ten cities in the eastern parts of the country. They have been demanding local referendums on independence.
SSM/AB
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