Draft law liberalizing rules for Ukrainian refugees obtaining Russian citizenship submitted to State Duma
MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) - The A Just Russia parliamentary faction has submitted for consideration to the State Duma a draft bill to stipulate a liberalized procedure for those Ukrainians wishing to obtain Russian nationality, faction leader Sergei Mironov said.
"Our faction is submitting to the state Duma a draft legislation to substantially simplify the process of obtaining Russian nationality by Ukrainian refugees. We propose canceling several general requirements that are mandatory for those wishing to be granted Russian citizenship," Mironov told reporters on Tuesday.
The proposed amendments imply cancelling the requirement that foreign nationals must continuously reside in Russia for at least five years and have legal sources of livelihood. The party also proposed that the condition that all applicants must renounce their other nationality, the Ukrainian one in this case, be lifted.
In addition, the amendments suggest that a decision to grant Russian citizenship to any Ukrainian nationals be made more swiftly than usual, within two months of the application submittal.
"This is about thousands of people speaking our language and keeping the same traditions and for this reason, being persecuted in their home country. They should see a minimum of red tape and a maximum of involvement on the part of Russia. Those pinning their hopes on our country should be given an opportunity to live and work normally in Russia," Mironov said.
The amendments are being proposed to Articles 14 and 35 of the Federal Law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation".
The question of easing legal procedures of settling in Russia for Ukrainian refugees was raised earlier during Russian President Vladimir Putin's televised Q&A session.