Renunciation of Citizenship

Renunciation and Waiver of Citizenship.

The laws of any state in the world provide for the procedure of denationalization and even renunciation of citizenship, just as any state in the world has laws regulating the acquisition of citizenship. As a rule, withdrawal from one nationality is conditional upon the acquisition of another nationality when one of these States prohibits the possession of another nationality. Many countries allow a second or even double citizenship. For example, the US allows its citizens to hold citizenship of any country, and India denies its citizenship if it turns out that its citizens hold another nationality. A citizen of Cyprus cannot be a citizen of Turkey, and citizens of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia are allowed to hold only the citizenship of NATO countries and the European Union, and they are strictly prohibited from having a second citizenship of Russia.

Withdrawal from Citizenship.

Withdrawal from citizenship is both voluntary and forced. And in the second option, to withdraw Russian citizenship, can be a person campaigning for the overthrow of power, anti-constitutional actions, calls for terrorism and other anti-state actions. On the other hand, quitting citizenship on personal initiative can be more difficult, longer and not for free. First, you are checked by the special services and tax authorities; if they have no claims, then a state tax is paid and an "iron-bonded document" is issued, which has no retroactive effect regarding your rights as a citizen - withdrawal from citizenship is terminated. Withdrawal of citizenship is usually processed through the consular office of a foreign state, and deprivation occurs through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with expulsion from the country with further prohibition on entry.

Upon voluntary withdrawal from Russian citizenship, a former citizen has the right to register for residence in Russia indefinitely.

Dual citizenship in the Russian Federation.

Russia does not forbid having a second citizenship. There were even dual citizenship agreements with some countries, but they were unilaterally terminated by both Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Since Russia, like the US, is a multinational federal state, it is allowed to have a second citizenship in the US, but only if this citizenship was acquired as a second citizenship, after that of Russia. After years of prohibition, Germany allowed its citizens to have a second citizenship. Russian Germans living in Germany now finally have the opportunity to return to their roots and acquire Russian citizenship. 

Citizenship notification.

At the same time, if a foreign citizen obtains Russian citizenship, before submitting an application for Russian citizenship he is obliged to notify his state in notary form that he renounces his actual citizenship in favor of Russian citizenship. In practice, such a notification would not deprive you of your citizenship, but it would make your state aware and notify it that you are becoming a citizen of Russia. If you view the application form for RF citizenship, at the end of this declaration it is printed in small print that within 8 months after obtaining RF citizenship, the newly born citizen is obliged to bring a certificate stating that he has dropped out of his previous nationality. In practice, some bring such a document, others do not, because sometimes it is simply not possible to leave their real citizenship. Thus, Ukraine has stopped depriving its citizens of citizenship, who travel to Russia on an AMF and prepare documents for emigration. At the same time, when citizens of Ukraine register for citizenship of the European Union, withdrawal from citizenship is made as simple as possible and takes approximately 6-8 months after payment of all fines and debts to Ukraine.

The lawyers at Vorotagoroda will assist you with all the procedures involved in renouncing foreign citizenship through consular offices and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our specialists will quickly prepare all necessary documents, arrange for their submission to the relevant authorities, and help you avoid wasting time, dealing with rude officials, and other pitfalls. You can schedule a legal consultation by filling out the form or calling us.