The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has drafted an order which would oblige Russians living in other countries to notify embassies of the receipt of documents confirming the right of residence.

The Ministry has posted the draft departmental order on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts (regulation.gov.ru).

The draft order states that Russians who have received or lost a residence permit, citizenship or other document confirming the right to permanent residence in a foreign country must notify the Russian consulate or embassy within 60 days.

The period for notification is counted from the date of receipt of the documents and differs for those living in Russia and those living abroad. If a citizen is present in Russia when obtaining citizenship or residence permit in another country, the notification must be submitted within 60 days.

If a citizen when obtaining citizenship or residence permit in another country is not present in Russia, but will come to Russia within 60 days, the deadline is also 60 days.

If, on the other hand, a citizen obtains documents outside of Russia and will not enter the country for the next 60 days, the notification will have to be submitted within 30 days from the date of entry into Russia.

The draft order is under public discussion until July 27, 2023, and it is expected that the order will enter into force on October 26, 2023.

The Ministry's order describes the procedure for notifying diplomatic missions. The relevant provisions were previously introduced in the Law on Citizenship, which will enter into force in October 2023.

Article 11 of this law establishes the obligation to notify citizens living abroad of the receipt of foreign documents.

Citizens are now obliged to notify the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation about obtaining a residence permit and citizenship of another country within 30 days. Under the current legislation, this can be done in person, through a representative under a power of attorney, through the portal of state services or the Russian Post.

The Law on Citizenship, which will come into force in October 2023, preserves the necessity of submitting these notifications to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs authorities, which was introduced in 2014.

According to the Ministry, the order under discussion is designed to simplify the data transfer procedure for citizens of the Russian Federation who are abroad.

If a citizen fails to notify the state, there is a chance that he may face criminal liability under Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, if the citizen notifies late, he may face administrative liability under Article 19.8.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation.

However, such liability will only arise in the event of failure to fulfill the obligation to submit a notification to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs after arrival in the territory of the Russian Federation, as provided for by the current legislation.

Russians who are abroad and have not exercised the right to submit a notification to a foreign agency within the prescribed time limit will not incur any administrative or criminal liability.

We will follow and monitor all developments on the approval of the draft order.

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