Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law according to which foreigners will be able to obtain a temporary residence permit in a simplified manner only after three years of marriage with a Russian citizen.
In the Russian Federation, the number of foreigners deprived of temporary residence permits due to fictitious marriages has doubled in six years.
The corresponding document was published, which is aimed at counteracting fictitious marriages with migrants.
Amendments are being made to the laws “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation” and “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”. As noted in the accompanying documents, foreigners sometimes resort to such marriages in order to obtain migrant status and with no real intention of starting a family. Until now, the legislation has not established the period of marriage for applying for a temporary residence permit in a simplified way.
The following conditions are now defined: under a simplified procedure, a permit may be issued to a foreigner who has been married for at least three years to a Russian citizen permanently residing in the Russian Federation. It can also be granted if there is a common child with a spouse who is a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Furthermore, if the marriage is terminated or declared invalid by the court, if the foreigner is deprived of parental rights, limited in them or removed from the child's birth certificate, the permit may be revoked.