Stateless person in Russian Federation is a person who came to the Russian Federation and does not have citizenship of any country.

A stateless person in the Russian Federation is legally endowed with certain rights and a list of obligations. Without mandatory compliance with the obligations established for stateless persons, their stay in the Russian Federation is impossible. First of all, what a stateless person in the Russian Federation must necessarily do is comply with the current Russian migration and other legislation. If a stateless person in the Russian Federation violates laws, then he may not only be subject to appropriate liability for this, but also be expelled from the territory of the Russian Federation.

Acquiring citizenship of any state is not a person’s obligation, but a right provided for by international legal norms. That is, every person who was by birth a citizen of the country where he was born can renounce this citizenship in his adult life. Then such a person will be officially considered a stateless person. A person without citizenship of any country will not have some state-imposed responsibilities, and will also not have corresponding rights. For example, a stateless person in the Russian Federation and not only in the Russian Federation cannot be forcibly conscripted into the army. However, this is possible voluntarily for a stateless person.

A stateless person in the Russian Federation is a person who in the past had Russian or other citizenship, or a person who did not officially belong to any country in the World. The rights and legally established obligations of stateless persons in the Russian Federation are similar to the rights and legally established obligations of foreigners in the Russian Federation. Firstly, a stateless person must be registered accordingly with the Russian migration authority. It must register at the address of its home. This is required to be able to record the presence of a stateless person in the Russian Federation.

Stateless persons in the Russian Federation have social and general civil rights and obligations. Thus, stateless persons in the Russian Federation can officially find employment and must necessarily pay tax on their earnings to the Russian state. It is the responsibility of a stateless person to maintain property purchased in the Russian Federation. They can also use official government services of the Russian Federation, receive medical help, enter educational organizations, and acquire professions in Russia.

Therefore, in general, the status of a stateless person in the Russian Federation does not greatly affect the quality of his life in the Russian Federation. However, naturally, the lack of Russian citizenship does not allow a person living in the Russian Federation to fully realize themselves. He is not allowed to run for Russian office, or to choose his own candidates in the elections. In addition, only foreigners and stateless persons living in the Russian Federation are subject to sanctions regarding their possible deportation from the Russian Federation. This is an extremely unfavorable outcome of an offense committed by a foreigner and a stateless person in the Russian Federation. They may be recognized, depending on the consequences of the offense they have committed, as undesirable for living in the Russian Federation. Then they may be subject to an official ban on entry into the Russian Federation for a decade or more.

To prevent such consequences, it is worth consulting with experienced lawyers regarding your stay in the Russian Federation and the activities carried out by a stateless person.

Editor: Igor Reshetov

The feeling of belonging to a particular state is one of the basic human needs. A stateless person has no legal connection with any of the world powers, has no rights and has no obligations. Today, according to rough UN estimates, there are fifteen million such people in the world, and they also live in Russia.

Grounds for loss of citizenship

Civil status gives a person and the state mutual rights, duties and responsibilities. Russian citizens can live freely in their country and abroad without losing their status. Citizens who do not have an official national affiliation with any country cannot travel, study, or marry. In addition, they are deprived of a number of other life-supporting rights. Let's figure out what a stateless person is called and what reasons there may be for such status.

A person deprived of his homeland is called stateless, which is a literal translation of this concept from the Greek language. In international law, a stateless person is a person who does not have any citizenship. In Russia, it is impossible to forcibly deprive someone of citizenship. This principle is enshrined in law. A citizen can be deprived of Russian citizenship only on a voluntary basis. You can renounce Russian civil status only in writing. There are only two reasons for refusal.

1. Registration of citizenship of another state. Many countries require that the applicant renounce their previous citizenship when granting their citizenship status.
2. The choice of a different citizenship by parents or guardians leads to a change in the status of their minor children.

Those who are looking for an answer to the question of how to become a stateless person should take into account the fact that when making a decision to terminate Russian citizenship for a particular person, the authorized bodies will take into account whether he has confirmation of another citizenship or guarantees of obtaining it. Otherwise, termination of Russian citizenship will lead to the person becoming stateless, which will violate his rights. Such consequences are unacceptable, so the applicant will most likely have his request denied.

An application for termination of Russian citizenship will be refused if the applicant has no obligations to the country: he has not paid his military debt, he has tax debts. A negative decision will be made to deprive the defendant of a defendant in a criminal trial or an applicant serving a sentence from citizenship of the Russian Federation.

The difference between a stateless person and a foreigner

Often the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation is identified. It should be noted that this is the wrong approach. A citizen who has national affiliation with another country, living or traveling in Russia, is under the legal protection of two powers: the civil status of which he has, and the one in which he lives or travels, that is, the Russian Federation. A stateless person, having no legal connection with any other state, is under the jurisdiction only of Russia.

For regulatory purposes migration flows, Russia keeps records of visitors with foreign civil status and stateless persons. The Federal Law on stateless persons and foreigners states that upon arrival in the country, these persons are required to register for migration. The same requirements apply for former Russians who live in the country but have lost their Russian citizenship.

After acquiring Russian state status, foreigners, stateless persons and stateless persons are removed from the migration register. Russian constitutional norms allow foreigners and stateless persons to apply for refugee status. These persons, according to the laws of Russia, are not transferred to other states if they are prosecuted for actions that do not constitute a crime in the Russian state.

Rights of stateless persons in the Russian Federation

How do the rights of a stateless person in Russia differ from the rights of foreign representatives who have citizenship of their country? Despite their different statuses, stateless people on Russian soil enjoy the same rights as foreigners with a certain state affiliation. Conventionally, stateless people can be divided into separate groups.

1. Those who, for objective reasons, did not manage to receive this status. In fact, this is every newborn until the moment when the baby’s citizenship is recorded on a birth certificate. Considering that such a document is issued immediately, the baby is considered stateless for only a few days. When the parents of a newborn are stateless, the child does not automatically become a Russian. If a person is born without any citizenship, then this requires that after receiving the birth documentation, the civil status of the newborn must be formalized according to all the rules.
2. Persons who have renounced their civil status. Many countries require you to renounce your previous nationality in order to obtain a new one. If it is impossible to have a second citizenship, a person leaving abroad for permanent residence will lose all his documents and, as a result, become stateless.
3. Deprived of citizenship. Today it is impossible to forcibly terminate Russian citizenship. However, the authorities can cancel the decision to obtain Russian civil status for a foreigner if there are grounds for doing so.
4. People who lost their civil status as a result of the disappearance of the state. For example, after the collapse of the USSR, many lost their civilian status. Now there are only a few of them left, and they can obtain Russian civil status using a special procedure.

Stateless persons and foreigners bear the same responsibilities to the state as citizens of the country and have rights, minus the exceptions established by law. This category of Russian residents does not have voting rights and a number of other rights of a political nature. Stateless persons cannot serve in the army or work in certain fields. Stateless persons, like citizens of foreign powers, cannot visit border zones or military settlements.

When studying the question of whether it is possible to live without citizenship, it should be understood that a stateless person does not have social Security, he will not be able to apply for a pension either for disability or for old age. However, a stateless person can claim his right to civil status in the Russian Federation in accordance with the Citizenship Law. Foreigners and persons who do not have national affiliation with any of the world powers can obtain a temporary residence document in Russia, and after that a residence permit.

Document for traveling abroad

According to the Constitution, a stateless person can study, work in Russia, and use free medicine. However, in an educational institution and when applying for employment, you will need to present an identity card. An employer will not hire you without a certain package of documents, and the clinic will not accept a person without a medical insurance policy. How to obtain identification documents for a stateless person?

To be legalized in Russia, a stateless person must go through several lengthy stages. According to Russian legislation, a person who has state affiliation with a foreign state or is stateless can obtain Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure if he is a native speaker of the Russian language and had USSR citizenship.

The standard scheme for obtaining Russian citizenship by a stateless person consists of several stages:

1. Identification.
2. Applying for a temporary residence permit.
3. Obtaining a residence permit.
4. Registration of Russian citizenship.

The first stage is to present identification papers of the stateless person. This could be an expired passport document, a foreign ID card, or a birth certificate. At the same time, a petition and autobiography are submitted to the migration department (GUVM of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation). Payment of state duty is also mandatory.

Authorized persons are responsible for checking submitted papers. Since various types of requests will need to be sent, this period can be quite long. If the test results are positive, the stateless person will be issued a temporary identity card. Obtaining a biological passport for a stateless person with a temporary document is impossible. You will need to go through the following stages on the path to obtaining Russian citizenship, which we will discuss in more detail below.

The long road to obtaining Russian citizenship

You can become a citizen of Russia by birth and in the general manner. In the first case, the following categories of the population become citizens of the Russian Federation:

• persons whose parents belong to the Russian state. The place of birth does not matter;
• one of the parents has the civil status of the Russian Federation, and the second is a foreigner. A child born in Russia becomes its citizen, and in other cases this will require the consent of a foreign parent;
• one of the parents - Russian citizen, and the second is stateless (or missing);
• if the baby’s parents live in Russia, being foreigners or stateless persons. In the situation under consideration, when a child was born in the Russian Federation, and another country cannot give him its civil status, he becomes a citizen of Russia.

Grounds for acquiring Russian citizenship are available to adult and legally capable stateless persons and foreign citizens if they meet the following conditions:

• have lived in the country with a residence permit status for five years or more. The break in this period cannot exceed 3 months a year;
• the applicant for Russian citizenship has a legal source of income;
• knows Russian;
• complies with the requirements of Russian legislation.

The specified period may become shorter if the person is stateless or foreign citizen is a refugee, has significant achievements in his professional field, and special services to Russia. In addition, if a stateless person or foreign citizen previously lived on the territory of the USSR or belongs to an ethnic group traditionally living in Russia, he can become a participant in the state program for the return of compatriots.

TRP for a stateless person

Now let’s find out how a stateless person can obtain Russian citizenship if he has no reason to use the simplified scheme. Upon completion of the procedure for establishing the identity of a stateless person, he needs to issue a permit, giving him the opportunity to temporarily reside in the Russian Federation. To issue a temporary residence permit, a petition is submitted to the migration authority at the place of residence of the stateless person or foreigner. You must have:

• passport, temporary identity card of a stateless person;
• photographs 35x45 mm, 4 pcs.;
• migration card;
• confirmation of payment of state duty;
• medical confirmation of the absence of dangerous viral diseases. The document is valid for 1 month.

The Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs studies the submitted materials for 2 months, after which they either issue a temporary residence permit or refuse the applicant. In the first case, the stateless person or foreign applicant must arrive at the migration office. A citizen of a foreign country will receive a stamp confirming the temporary residence permit in their passport. The stateless person will be issued a temporary residence permit as a separate document. The RVP is valid for 1 year and cannot be extended.

Residence permit for stateless persons

After obtaining temporary residence permit A stateless person can submit documents in order to obtain the following status - a residence permit. You cannot delay this application, since it takes up to six months to review the documents, and the temporary residence permit cannot be extended. A residence permit gives a stateless person the opportunity to enjoy almost all the rights that Russian citizens have.

Employment of persons without Russian citizenship who have a residence permit is possible without acquiring a patent. A stateless person with a residence permit status can freely cross the border, study at higher educational institutions, enjoy free healthcare. To become a residence permit holder, a stateless person must submit an application to the Main Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. To obtain this status, you will need the same set of documents as for a temporary residence permit; you will only need to add a notarized copy of the temporary permit.

If a positive decision is made, the residence permit will be issued for 5 years. Questions also arise about how a foreign student can obtain Russian citizenship, and whether there are any concessions or special features. For stateless persons or foreigners studying at Russian universities, the procedure for obtaining citizenship is standard. Students who have become participants in the state program for compatriots and who have married a holder of Russian citizenship have the right to benefits.

Main reasons for refusal

The consideration of a package of documents submitted by a stateless person for a residence permit does not always end with a positive decision and registration of status. If inconsistencies are identified in the provided papers, the documents are invalid or forged, the migration authority will refuse to issue a residence permit.

Russian citizenship

Now let’s look step by step at how a stateless person can obtain Russian citizenship. At this final stage, the stateless person will need to meet the following conditions:

• possession of residence permit status;
• employment or other source of official income;
• fluency in Russian;
• permanent residence in the Russian Federation for 5 years with the status of a residence permit.

If the applicant for Russian citizenship meets all the above conditions, you can apply for Russian citizenship and prepare the documents listed below.

1. Take 4 passport size photographs.
2. Collect copies of existing temporary residence permits and residence permits and have them certified by a notary.
3. Birth document.
4. Diploma of higher or secondary specialized education. In the absence of otherwise - a certificate.
5. Medical papers confirming the absence of HIV and drug addiction.
6. Russian language test results.
7. Paper confirming payment of state duty.

The study of papers submitted by a stateless person can last up to 12 months. If no false information or forged documents are found, the applicant will become a full citizen of Russia.

There is also a simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship. It can be used by stateless former citizens of the USSR and refugees. In this case, there is no need to go through the stage of obtaining a residence permit; after six months of being in temporary residence status, you can apply for citizenship.

If a stateless person has been married to a Russian for three years, he also receives the right to apply for Russian citizenship. Stateless persons will also be helped by the fact that they do not need to formalize a renunciation of their previous citizenship and wait for many months for a decision.

What stateless people need to know: Video

Stateless persons are a special category of residents of any state, and there are quite a lot of its representatives on the territory of Russia. Most often these are citizens of the USSR who, after the collapse of the country, never received new citizenship. In 2015, about 14 thousand stateless people lived in the Russian Federation, but every year their number is decreasing, as the laws are becoming more loyal to such people and allowing them to legally settle in the country.

Who are stateless persons: international status

A stateless person or stateless person is a person who does not have the status of a citizen of any country in the world. In 1961, the UN adopted the “Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness”, so world policy has recently been aimed at reducing the number of such people, and citizenship is already interpreted as an obligation, and not as a voluntary choice of a person.

Pros and cons of being a stateless person

The positive aspects include the fact that citizens of the country and stateless people have almost equal rights to the most necessary things. First of all, these are the rights to education, medical care and employment. Also, stateless persons can freely cross the border of the Russian Federation with visas and other permits.

There are quite a few disadvantages of not having citizenship:

• there are restrictions on acquiring property;
• To visit other countries you will need to apply for a visa;
• the security forces of the state, if necessary, can limit the movement of a stateless person throughout the country;
• a stateless person has fewer rights than a citizen;
• a stateless person cannot benefit from the diplomatic protection of any country (this differs from foreign citizens);
• lack of social benefits and payments (for example, pensions);
• For violation of laws, expulsion from the state may be chosen as a punishment.

Video: methods of acquiring and losing citizenship, bipatrids and stateless persons

Reasons for loss of citizenship

There are a number of grounds for a person to lose citizenship:

1. At birth in a stateless family. When both parents are stateless, the child does not inherit any nationality from them. In such cases, he can obtain citizenship only on the condition that he was born on the territory of a country in which the principle of acquiring citizenship by the law of soil, and not by the law of blood, works. Most often, people become stateless precisely for this reason.
2. Upon voluntary renunciation of citizenship. If a person no longer wants to be a citizen of the state, he submits an application to the competent authorities and goes through the procedure for renouncing citizenship. As a result, the person is deprived of his passport and birth certificate, which were issued in the country, and becomes stateless. Most often, this situation is only temporary, since renunciation of citizenship was necessary for a person to obtain the status of a citizen of another state.
3. Upon deprivation of citizenship. This procedure is most often carried out when a person is a threat to the safety of society or when citizenship was obtained illegally. Usually after this the person is expelled from the country.
4. As a result of a certain legal process, when it becomes the reason for depriving a person of all privileges, including citizenship. Most often this happens if a person received citizenship through a fictitious marriage. When the deception is revealed, the state begins the process of annulment of the marriage, accordingly, the person loses the basis for maintaining citizenship.
5. When the state disappears. When a state changes its status (for example, merges with another) or disappears, its citizens automatically become stateless. Most often, they can obtain a passport from a new state using a simplified procedure.

After the collapse of the USSR, citizens of the country became stateless until they received Russian passports

Rights, duties and responsibilities of stateless persons

The rights of stateless persons and state citizens are almost equal, however, the former are deprived of the following opportunities:

• vote in elections, join political parties and other associations;
• apply for public office;
• perform military service;
• work in positions with high level responsibility and authority (for example, the captain of a ship or aircraft).

According to the laws of Russia, a stateless person can receive education, medical care and get a job.

The responsibilities of stateless persons primarily include compliance with the laws of the country in which they are located, as well as payment of taxes and contributions, and respect for the Constitution of the country.

Administrative and legal status of stateless persons

Lack of citizenship does not mean falling out of the legal field.

Crossing the Russian border

Stateless persons have the opportunity to cross the border of the Russian Federation if they have a visa, for which they need an identity document. These include:

• invalid passport,
• birth certificate,
• TRP (temporary residence permit),
• Residence permit (residence permit in the country).

If there is no such document, then the person is considered an illegal immigrant and, by law, must leave the territory of the Russian Federation within 3 months. If he does not do this, he will be deported.

After arriving in Russia, a stateless person must register with the Federal Migration Service within the first 3 days.

Departure is carried out using the same document with which entry was made, and at the checkpoint on the border you need to hand over your migration card.

Identity documents

To confirm the identity of a stateless person in Russia, the following are accepted:

• a document issued by a foreign state, recognized in the Russian Federation as identification;
• other documents that, according to treaties of the Russian Federation with other countries, can be recognized as identification (specified in Articles 27 and 28 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons).

According to UN estimates, about 10 million people in the world are stateless

Legalization of a stateless person in Russia

The process of legalization of stateless persons consists of several stages.

The first stage is identity confirmation. If the candidate does not have necessary documents, then you should ask for an identification procedure. To do this, a person must contact the nearest branch of the Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. You will need to provide an application and all available papers with any personal data (education document, marriage certificate, invalid passport, driver’s license, etc.). You will also need:

• candidate's birth certificate;
• parents' passports;
• a certificate of registration in the Russian Federation or a certificate of departure from the territory of a foreign state;
• autobiography of a stateless person.

You will need to pay a state fee to confirm your identity.

The next stage is obtaining a temporary residence permit (TRP) and dactyloscopy (fingerprinting). It is the temporary residence permit that allows stateless people to enjoy benefits on an equal basis with citizens of the country: take out a medical policy, find a job, get an education. Every year, the government of the Russian Federation sets quotas for issuing this document, and the number of applicants greatly exceeds them, so, unfortunately, not everyone has time to obtain permission. To apply for the issuance of a temporary residence permit, a stateless person must appear at the Federal migration service and write a corresponding statement. When submitting documents for a temporary residence permit, a fee of 1,600 rubles is charged.

A temporary residence permit in Russia allows a stateless person to enjoy the rights of a resident of the country

The last stage is obtaining a residence permit. It is issued one year after the stateless person has issued a temporary residence permit. It is worth starting the process in advance, at least six months before the expiration of the temporary residence permit. To apply for a residence permit, you must personally appear at the office of the Federal Migration Service of Russia and provide a number of documents:

• application for a residence permit,
• any identification document,
• 4 standard photos 3*4 cm,
• a certificate of income that is not lower than the subsistence level (for the working population at the end of 2016 it was about 10,600 rubles),
• a document proving the availability of a place of residence,
• medical certificate confirming the absence of diseases dangerous to others.

An application for a residence permit for minors is submitted by parents or other legal representatives.

A person residing in the country on the basis of a residence permit is required to appear at the Federal Migration Service every year and confirm his presence in the country, as well as notify if he has left it. Stateless persons are issued a residence permit for 5 years.

The fee for obtaining a residence permit is 3,500 rubles. It takes no more than 6 months to process the application.

Video: Russian citizenship, status of foreigners

How can a stateless person become a citizen?

The required period of continuous residence to obtain a passport is 5 years. Preferential conditions The following persons can use the acquisition of citizenship (they can obtain citizenship after 6 months):

• native Russian speakers;
• those born in the USSR or those who received education there;
• legal spouses of Russian citizens who have lived together for more than 3 years.

There are a number of requirements for candidates wishing to obtain citizenship:

• know Russian;
• have a legal source of income;
• pay the state fee (3500 rubles).

Knowledge of the language is checked through testing, the cost of which is about 5,500 rubles.

Documents are submitted to the Federal Migration Service at the place of residence. It takes about a year to consider such an issue, after which the president makes a decision.

Stateless people are a separate category of people, which differs from both citizens of the country and foreigners. They have the opportunity to use medical care, find a job and get an education, but this requires a temporary residence permit or residence permit. The legalization of stateless persons in the Russian Federation consists of several sequential steps, with the careful implementation of which a stateless person can become a full-fledged citizen of the country.