New rules for issuing Russian passports caused panic on the Web: what has really changed

The Russian-speaking Internet was excited by the news that Russian citizens will no longer be able to obtain foreign passports abroad - for this they will supposedly have to return to their homeland. The panic that arose on the Internet was in vain: a passport can be obtained in another country.

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It all started with the fact that on May 28 "Parlamentskaya Gazeta" published an article on the new order No. 186 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated March 31, 2021, which entered into force on May 30 and regulates the issuance of passports to Russian citizens (now the text has already been updated).

In this material, the Parliamentary Gazette itself concluded that Russians living abroad will no longer be able to obtain foreign passports in the countries where they are located, and they will have to come home for this purpose.

This paragraph is quoted on the Internet: “At the same time, the passport of a Russian citizen, necessary for obtaining a foreign identity card, will still need to be presented to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for migration issues or to the MFC in person.”

After the publication on social networks, panic arose, Russian-speaking groups vigorously discussed the innovation for several days.

According to RBC, later the message was changed, specifying that Russians living abroad can still obtain a passport outside Russia, and the innovations concerned only obtaining a document in the territory of Russia.

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On the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation appeared comment the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova in connection with the information in the media. Here's what it says:

“In connection with recent media reports about an allegedly changed procedure for issuing foreign passports by citizens living outside the territory of the Russian Federation, we would like to inform you that the procedure for issuing and issuing foreign passports is established by Federal Law of August 15.08.1996, 114 No. XNUMX- Federal Law “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation.” In accordance with this document, foreign passports are issued to citizens of the Russian Federation living outside the Russian Federation by diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Russian Federation in foreign countries and no changes in this order have occurred... The Russian Foreign Ministry and Russian consular missions abroad, in the current difficult circumstances, are doing everything possible to timely document fellow citizens with foreign passports.

The reports that appeared in the media about the allegedly adopted changes of this order do not correspond to reality and are caused by an insufficiently careful study of the new administrative regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on the provision of public services for issuing foreign passports on the territory of the Russian Federation, which will enter into force on May 30 this year.

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This document allows citizens living abroad and temporarily arriving in the territory of the Russian Federation to apply for a replacement of their foreign passport to the migration department of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. However, if you have a valid foreign passport, you will not need to first obtain an internal passport. This measure is intended to ensure the rights of our citizens living outside the Russian Federation and to give them the opportunity to return to their country of permanent residence without delay.”

In addition, the changes affected the cost of issuing passports. They touched upon cases of loss of a foreign passport. Now the right not to pay the state duty for a lost or worn-out document can only be obtained by Russians in an emergency. The rest will have to pay 2 thousand rubles for the restoration of an old-style passport and 5 thousand for a new document.

Read about what you need to do to get a Russian passport if you are in the United States. on the official website of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the USA.

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