Lawmakers tightened up laws on illegal immigrants at the same time as they simplified the naturalization procedure.
Photo: Dmitry Lebedev
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Easier to Move to Russia Now. Hello?!?
The procedure for ethnic Russians to receive Russian citizenship has been simplified, under amendments to several laws passed in their second readings on Friday. Those amendments are improvements in the program begun last year to attract ethnic Russians who are citizens of other countries. Returning Russians had been subject to the same rules as other seeking Russian citizenship, that is, they are required to love in Russia for at least five years, to have a fluent command of the Russian language and have a legal source of income.
Now, returning Russians will be exempt from this requirements. All that will be required is enrollment in one of the 11 state-supported regional programs for returning Russians and to file an application that will be processed within nine months.
Observers interpret the new amendments as a sign of that the programs have been unsuccessful. Chairman of the Duma Committee on Constitutional Law Vladimir Pligin stated that 21,852 people have expressed interest in the program, 3832 people have taken part in it, and 1800 of them have received citizenship. Five thousand people were expected by the creators of the program to receive citizenship in 2007. The Federal Migration Service estimated the number of ethnic Russians waiting for the chance to resettle to Russia at 5-6 million.
Human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, head of the Civic Cooperation committee, predicts the amendments will not have the desired results. She opined that the program is unattractive and requires reorganization.
Simultaneously with those amendments, the Duma passed amendments to other naturalization laws making it easier to deport foreigners who enter the country illegally and barring them from readmission to Russia for five years.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 21, 2008
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