Effective August 1, the consular fee for processing an application for Russian citizenship has increased nearly tenfold—from $65 to $600. At the same time, a draft resolution from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that an exception will be made for residents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria—for them, the fee will be reduced to its previous level, returning to $65.
In mid-May, Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of the unrecognized region of Transnistria to obtain Russian citizenship. Now, a number of requirements under the federal law “On Russian Citizenship” do not apply to them.
In particular, they are not required to reside permanently in Russia, speak Russian, or know Russian history and the fundamentals of Russian legislation. Last year, Putin introduced a simplified procedure for obtaining a Russian passport for residents of the partially recognized regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
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