Russian citizenship: requirements, process, and oath

This page is for Turkish citizens living in Russia with a residence permit (ВНЖ) who are considering applying for Russian citizenship. Russian citizenship is granted under the Citizenship Law No. 138-FZ dated April 28, 2023. Below you will find the general requirements, cases in which you can apply without waiting five years, required documents, the 2026 fee, decision times, and the citizenship oath. For retaining your Turkish citizenship and dual citizenship, see R4.5; for military-service consequences, see R4.6.

• Be at least 18 years old and legally competent
• Have lived continuously in Russia for 5 years from the date of the residence permit (ВНЖ) decision until the application date
• Know Russian
• Know Russian history and the fundamentals of law
• Have none of the grounds for refusal set out in the law (below)
• Undertake to comply with the Constitution of Russia and take the citizenship oath
• Persons aged 70 and over and persons with a Group I disability are exempt from the language and history requirements.
• For the documents with which you can prove the language and history requirements, see R4.3. A certificate at the ВНЖ level is sufficient for both.

• The 5-year, Russian-language, and history requirements do not apply (living in Russia with a ВНЖ is sufficient; its duration is irrelevant):
  • Persons who have a parent who is a Russian citizen and lives in Russia
  • Persons who have a son or daughter who is a Russian citizen and lives in Russia
  • Persons who are married to a Russian citizen living in Russia and have a common child (including an adopted child)
  • Persons who have completed full-time accredited higher education in Russia and received a diploma with honors
  • Persons who have completed an accredited vocational or higher-education program in Russia and worked in that field for at least one year in total before applying
  • Former citizens of the USSR who were born or lived in the RSFSR, and persons whose ancestors were born or lived in these territories
• Only the 5-year requirement does not apply:
  • Persons who have signed a service contract of at least one year with the Russian Armed Forces or military formations
  • Refugees and persons granted political asylum who have lived in Russia for at least one year
  • Participants in the resettlement program for compatriots living abroad
• Children: If one of the parents is a Russian citizen or is acquiring citizenship, the child may also be granted citizenship.
• The President may establish other categories and requirements.

• Advocating the forcible alteration of the constitutional order or threatening state security
• Having participated in armed conflicts or acts of terrorism or extremism
• Serving in the military service, security service, or law-enforcement authorities of a foreign state (unless an international treaty provides otherwise)
• Being subject to criminal prosecution in Russia or abroad, or serving a prison sentence
• An uncleared criminal record for an intentional offense
• Not meeting the general or special requirements
• Submitting false or invalid documents or providing untrue information
• Being prohibited from entering Russia
• Reapplying: Persons refused because of false documents or a security threat may reapply after one year; for other grounds, they may reapply once the reason has ceased to exist.

1. Check the requirements: The date of the ВНЖ decision, the five-year calculation, or the special circumstance exempting you.
2. Prepare your language and history documents (see R4.3).
3. Obtain the Turkish criminal-record certificate. It must have been issued no more than 3 months before the application. The Embassy in Moscow sends this document by mail in Russian and Turkish.
4. Have documents from Turkey apostilled and translated into Russian. The accuracy of the translation or the translator’s signature must be notarized.
5. Complete the application form (Decree No. 889, Annex 1). The form is completed in Russian in 2 copies.
6. Make an appointment and apply. The application is submitted in person to the Ministry of Internal Affairs migration office at your place of residence or temporary registration. An appointment can also be made through Gosuslugi. Your fingerprints are taken during the application.
7. Wait for the decision. The Ministry of Internal Affairs decides within 3 months from the day it accepts the application for review; the period may be extended to verify documents.
8. Take the oath. You will be notified of the oath date after the decision. The decision takes effect on the day you take the oath.
9. Obtain your Russian passport and register for military service (see R4.6). Your ВНЖ becomes invalid upon acquiring citizenship.
10. You may appeal decisions of Ministry of Internal Affairs offices to a higher authority within 3 months from the day you learned that your rights had been violated.

• Application form, 2 copies. Completed in Russian, by hand (in black, blue, or purple ink) or electronically; each page is signed in the lower right corner; no abbreviations, corrections, or stains. If there is not enough space, use a numbered supplementary page.
• Passport (identity and citizenship document)
• Document showing your residence or temporary-registration address
• Residence permit (ВНЖ)
• Document proving knowledge of Russian and document proving knowledge of history and law (see R4.3)
• Birth certificate, if available
• 3 photographs measuring 3 × 4 cm
• Criminal-record certificate issued in Turkey (issued no more than 3 months earlier). If you have multiple citizenships, a separate document is required from each country.
• Documents showing all changes if your first or last name has changed
• Fee receipt (optional when applying in Russia)
• If applying through a special procedure, documents proving this: marriage certificate, child’s birth certificate, passport of a Russian-citizen relative, diploma, etc.
• All documents not in Russian must be submitted with a notarized Russian translation. Turkish official documents must be apostilled.

• Naturalization fee: 50,000 rubles (under Law No. 190-FZ dated June 26, 2026). The renunciation-of-citizenship fee is the same amount.
• If you need to take separate exams for citizenship purposes: Russian, 2,950 rubles; history and law, 2,950 rubles.
• Decision period: 3 months for an application submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Russia; 6 months for an application submitted to a Russian diplomatic mission abroad. The period may be extended to verify documents.
• Time limit for taking the oath: 1 year from the decision.

• Text of the oath (Turkish translation): "I, (surname, first name, and patronymic, if any), voluntarily and consciously accepting citizenship of the Russian Federation, swear to comply with the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation and the rights and freedoms of its citizens; to fulfill the duties of a citizen of the Russian Federation for the benefit of the state and society; to defend the freedom and independence of the Russian Federation; and to remain loyal to Russia and respect its culture, history, and traditions."
• How it is performed: You read the text aloud in Russian before the Russian State Flag. You then write your name, the date, and your signature by hand on the oath form. An official certifies the form with a seal and signature.
• Notification: You will be notified of the oath date within 10 business days from the decision.
• Location: It may be a Ministry of Internal Affairs building, another state or municipal building, or a historic site.
• Exempt persons: Persons under 14, persons declared legally incompetent, and persons who cannot read or sign the text for health reasons.

• Yes. Citizenship ends in the following situations:
  • renouncing citizenship voluntarily
  • It is established that the undertaking to comply with the Constitution and laws was untrue; the law gives the following examples: committing a crime, actions threatening national security, or failing to register for initial military registration (воинский учёт)
  • It is established that the documents underlying the citizenship decision were false or that knowingly false information was provided
• For the military-registration obligation, see R4.6.

• In Russia: The migration office of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs at your place of residence or temporary registration. If you have no registration, the office at the place where you actually live.
• Abroad: The law directs certain applications to Russian diplomatic missions; under the general rule (Article 15), applications are submitted to a Ministry of Internal Affairs office in Russia.
• For Turkish documents: A criminal-record certificate and population-registration extract may be requested from the Embassy in Moscow by mail through online.konsolosluk.gov.tr. For contact information of diplomatic missions, see R3.5.

• Not knowing that the five years must be calculated from the date of the ВНЖ decision, not from the date the ВНЖ was delivered.
• Applying with a criminal-record certificate more than 3 months old.
• Bringing Turkish documents without an apostille or with a translation that has not been notarized.
• Leaving even one correction or abbreviation in the form.
• Missing the oath invitation and exceeding the one-year time limit.
• Men failing to register for military service within 2 weeks after acquiring citizenship.
• Failing to report multiple citizenships to the population registry in Turkey (see R4.5).

• Do I need to renounce Turkish citizenship to become a Russian citizen? The general requirements of Law 138-FZ do not include renouncing existing citizenship. Turkey also permits multiple citizenships (see R4.5).
• I have a Russian-citizen spouse. Do I need to wait five years? No, if you have a common child with your Russian-citizen spouse who lives in Russia and you live in Russia with a ВНЖ; the language and history requirements also do not apply. If you have no child, the general rule applies.
• I graduated from a university in Russia. Do I have an advantage? If you graduated with honors or have worked for at least one year in the field in which you graduated, the five-year, language, and history requirements do not apply.
• How long does the process take? The decision is made within 3 months; afterward, you are notified of the oath date. Plan for several months including document preparation.
• How much is the fee? 50,000 rubles in 2026.
• Can my child acquire citizenship with me? Yes. If one of the parents acquires citizenship, the child may also be granted citizenship.

• Citizenship Law 138-FZ (full text, ConsultantPlus)
• Official text of 138-FZ (Kremlin)
• Decree No. 889: Citizenship Regulations, application forms, and annexes
• Tax Code Article 333.28: citizenship fee
• ФИПИ – sample sets for citizenship exams
• Gosuslugi – Russian government services portal
• Republic of Türkiye consular e-services (criminal-record certificate by mail)