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Number of foreigners obtaining Russian citizenship in 2021 exceeds 656,000 — Ministry

According to Russian Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Gorovoy, such results have been reached thanks to legal regulation introduced within migrant policy

MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. The number of foreign nationals obtaining Russian citizenship this year is more than 656,000, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Gorovoy reported on Monday.

"The number of people who obtained citizenship of the Russian Federation has increased from 498,000 in 2019 up to 656,000 in 2020, this year it will be even more," the article released on the Interior Ministry’s website reads.

According to Gorovoy, such results have been reached thanks to legal regulation introduced within migrant policy. In particular, he recalled that now citizens of Belarus and Ukraine are no longer required to undertake mandatory language testing. The procedure for acquiring citizenship has been simplified for Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Ukraine, and for people married to Russian citizens who have children together. In addition, the requirement for applicants to renounce their existing citizenship has been abolished, the mandatory condition for confirming income has been eliminated, and the application process has been shortened.

At the same time, the procedures for obtaining a residence permit and a temporary residence permit have been simplified for a number of categories, administrative barriers have been removed, including a reduction in the time for processing applications. "Nevertheless, due to the current restrictions on cross-border travel, the number of citizens who received resident status decreased from 429,000 people in 2019 to 349,000 people in 2020," Gorovoy said.

In total, today there are more than 6 million foreign citizens in Russia, among them 800,000 people with the status of resident. Most of them are migrant workers. There is an increase in the number of foreigners receiving secondary and higher education in Russia.