ALMATY, August 23. /TASS/. Almost half of the Russians who relocated to Almaty in 2022 have now returned to Russia, Russian Consul General in Almaty Yevgeny Bobrov told TASS.

"According to our estimates, out of all the Russians who arrived in Almaty in 2022, more than 100,000 people, or almost half, have deliberately returned to their homeland. Some have relocated to other countries. Approximately 50,000-55,000 people have settled here [in Almaty]," he said, emphasizing that "the situation with demand by [Russian] citizens for our consular services remains acute."

According to Bobrov, the most popular consular services in Almaty are requests to obtain police certificates affirming the applicant has no criminal record and applications for Russian foreign passports for traveling abroad.

"Most of the [Russian expatriates] entered Kazakhstan on the basis of their internal [Russian] passports and now want to file applications with the Kazakh immigration authorities to obtain temporary residency permits or full residency permits," the consul general explained.

He noted that the Russians who arrived in Almaty include a large number of former Kazakhstan citizens or their descendants who had previously moved to Russia.

According to the Kazakh authorities, around 400,000 Russian nationals arrived in the country in September 2022 after the announcement of military mobilization in Russia. Overall, as reported by the Russian Interior Ministry, approximately 2.9 million Russians visited Kazakhstan last year, with the bulk of visitors traditionally coming during the summer vacation season.