Documents, terms and conditions: who and how can renounce Russian citizenship

In June of this year, the number of people asking Google “how to renounce Russian citizenship” was the highest in the last 5 years. If you are also among the seekers, then this column will be useful to you. I want to say right away that the fact that you have US citizenship (or any other country) and an expired Russian passport does not automatically deprive you of Russian citizenship. There is a special procedure to get out of it.

Screenshot from Google Trends

To begin with, let's resolve the age-old dispute about "dual citizenship" and "dual citizenship". This concept came from the English language, where the presence of two or more citizenships is characterized as “multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality), which is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries.”

Thus, holders of dual or multiple citizenship are people who simultaneously have more than one citizenship. Non-recognition of dual citizenship means that each country of which you are a citizen considers you only its own citizen, and does not recognize you as having another citizenship.

The legal term (“dual citizenship”, and not “second” at all) moved from the field of international law directly into Russian legislation. Article 6 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” dated May 31, 2002 is called “Dual citizenship”, and provides that “a citizen of the Russian Federation who also has another citizenship is considered by the Russian Federation only as a citizen of the Russian Federation, and the acquisition by a citizen of the Russian Federation Federation of a different citizenship does not entail the termination of citizenship of the Russian Federation.”

Similar legal norms are contained in the laws of other countries. But many of their citizens living abroad forget about it or simply do not know. In particular, through my office passed hundreds, if not thousands of nationalized American citizens who preferred to forget that they had a different citizenship. They mistakenly believe that the expiration of their national passport (Russian, Ukrainian, or whatever) terminates their citizenship. This is absolutely not true. Both citizenship and the duties of that person as a citizen are retained. Only the problems associated with the lack of a valid identity document are added.

Therefore, if you have firmly decided that you no longer need the first citizenship, then you need to renounce citizenship, and this does not happen automatically. Many countries have a similar procedure for renunciation of citizenship, but we, guided by indicators in Google Trends, will consider this issue using the example of Russia.

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Package of documents

I draw your attention to the fact that the first and indispensable condition for renunciation of Russian citizenship is the presence of a valid Russian passport.

Withdrawal from the citizenship of the Russian Federation is carried out on the basis of the voluntary will of the citizen. When leaving the citizenship of the Russian Federation, you must provide the following documents:

1. Valid foreign passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation with copies of pages with personal data.

2. If the applicant changes his last name, first name or refuses to patronymic, all documents confirming these changes are submitted. These documents include: marriage certificate; certificate of name change (extract from the act record); a district court decision if you changed your name at the time you became a US citizen; Civil Court decision if you changed your name in a separate procedure. Documents issued by the authorities of the Russian Federation are provided in the form of originals with photocopies attached. Documents issued by the authorities of foreign countries (in particular, any American documents) are provided in the form of originals with an apostille and notarized translations into Russian.

Notarized translations into Russian can be issued either at the consulate or at a Russian translation agency with subsequent certification by a Russian notary - translations executed in the USA and certified by an American notary are not legitimate for the stated purpose.

Our office prepares legal translations of any documents to be presented to the Russian authorities: we execute all translations of documents issued to be presented to the Russian authorities on the territory of Russia.

IMPORTANT: the apostille certifies the authenticity of the document itself, and not its notarized copy or notarized translation. Putting an apostille on copies and translations of documents is not legitimate.

3. Statement of the desire to renounce citizenship (two copies). It is filled in Russian without abbreviations, abbreviations, corrections and dashes, with exhaustive answers to all questions contained in the application form. The names of foreign organizations, cities, streets are written in Russian letters. The field for the stamp and signature of an official should not remain on a separate page.

4. A document confirming the legal residence of a Russian citizen in the territory of another country (passport of this country, residence permit, etc.). These documents, like any other documents drawn up in a foreign language, must be translated into Russian and notarized (as noted earlier, a translation certified by a Russian consulate or a Russian notary is legitimate).

5. Deregistration document at the place of residence in the Russian Federation. This can be a stamp in the internal passport about deregistration, or a notification of the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia about deregistration, or an original departure address sheet with a stamp about deregistration.

IMPORTANT: Registration of Russian citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation is carried out by the migration departments of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Citizens of the Russian Federation who have traveled abroad legally without deregistration at their place of residence in Russia and who have permission from foreign authorities to reside in this state should apply with a personal application for deregistration to the migration unit of the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia place of residence in Russia. The applicant's signature on the application can be certified by an official of the consular institution acting as a notary or by a notary in the United States (with subsequent affixing of an apostille and execution of a notarized translation into Russian).

6. A document of the authorized body of a foreign state confirming that the applicant has another citizenship or guarantees of its provision in the event that the applicant renounces the citizenship of the Russian Federation. Documents must be translated into Russian, the accuracy of the translation must be certified by a Russian notary or a consular officer acting as a notary. Documents containing an Apostille must be translated in full, including the Apostille. The accuracy of the translation of documents is certified by a Russian notary or a consular officer acting as a notary.

7. Three photographs of the applicant passport size, printed on matte photo paper.

8. Document of the tax authority of the Russian Federation on the absence of tax arrears. In accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Taxation No. BG-3-23/192 dated March 12, 2004, a certificate from the tax authority of the Russian Federation on the absence of tax arrears is requested by the applicant independently from the bodies of the Federal Tax Service (Federal Tax Service).

The issuance of a certificate of the absence of tax arrears is carried out by the Interregional Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service for Centralized Data Processing. The following documents must be sent to the tax authority:

• a written statement indicating the purpose and reason for obtaining a certificate;
• copy of the passport;
• in case of change of surname (first name, patronymic) - documents confirming the change and its copies (documents issued abroad must be duly legalized and translated into Russian).

These documents must be sent by registered mail to the address: MI FTS of Russia for the data center at the address: Pokhodny proezd, house 3, Moscow, 125373, tel.: +7-495-913-0760, fax: +7-495-913- 0779.

The certificate of absence of tax arrears issued by the MI of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the DPC is signed by the head of the MI of the FTS of Russia for the DPC and certified with the official seal of this tax authority and sent by mail to the address indicated by the taxpayer in the application. Presentation of the certificate is mandatory for all adult applicants. The certificate must cover the year preceding the year in which the application for renunciation of Russian citizenship was submitted. The certificate is provided free of charge and is required in the original. Certificates provided in the format of an electronic document or in another form are not accepted for consideration.

Terms of consideration and important nuances

A package of documents on issues of renunciation of citizenship of the Russian Federation, together with the corresponding application, is submitted by the applicant personally at the consular office of the Russian Federation. An application for renunciation of Russian citizenship is considered accepted for consideration from the date of submission of all necessary and duly executed documents with the personal signature of the applicant. Applications sent by mail will not be considered. Payment of the consular fee is carried out only after all the necessary documents have been verified by a consular officer.

Applications and documents that are not properly completed will not be accepted for consideration.

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The submission by the applicant of false documents or the communication of knowingly false information is the basis for the rejection of the application, as well as, in appropriate cases, the basis for bringing the applicant to criminal liability.

After the application is accepted, the identity card and original documents are returned to the applicant. According to the law, the decision must be made within six months from the date of filing the application and submission of all necessary documents, duly executed. Upon completion of the procedure, a standard certificate of withdrawal from Russian citizenship is issued. The passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation is subject to withdrawal.

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