Skip to main content

Russia plans to lower citizenship fees for residents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria to $65, down from $600

Source: Federal Portal of Draft Regulatory Legal Acts

Russia plans to lower the fee for citizenship applications filed by residents of partially recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia and unrecognized Transnistria, according to a draft government resolution prepared by the Foreign Ministry. The independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo drew attention to the document.

The consular fee for reviewing a citizenship application rose nearly tenfold on August 1, from $65 to $600. The draft resolution would carve out an exception for residents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria, restoring the fee to its previous level of $65.

Vadim Krasnoselsky, the head of unrecognized Transnistria, said earlier that residents of the republic had run into trouble after the fee rose to $600.

“This issue is in the process of being resolved: everything will be decided in people’s interests. I am confident that through joint efforts, processing the documents related to Transnistria residents obtaining Russian citizenship will become even more accessible, convenient, and efficient,” he told the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia.

Vladimir Putin signed a decree in mid-May simplifying the process for residents of unrecognized Transnistria to obtain Russian citizenship, exempting them from several requirements under Russia’s citizenship law. They no longer need to reside permanently in Russia, speak Russian, or know Russian history and the basics of Russian legislation. Putin introduced a similar simplified procedure last year for residents of partially recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia seeking a Russian passport.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.