The Russian authorities are expected to abolish the status of native speaker of the Russian language for foreigners.
A native speaker of the Russian language is a foreign citizen who is fluent in Russian, can easily communicate in it and uses it in everyday life. This status is assigned to a foreigner by a special state commission after passing an interview.
The status of a native speaker of the Russian language had earlier entitled a foreigner to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified system.
The procedure of recognizing a foreigner a native speaker of the Russian language was abolished last year, but a number of laws contained preferences that the holder of this status could receive. A bill drafted by the government should eliminate them. The bill has already been submitted for consideration to the State Duma (Russia’s lower chamber of parliament), Rossiyskaya Gazeta says.
A gradual change in legislation reportedly allowed people who received the status of native speakers of the Russian language just before the legislation is amended to take advantage of the opportunities provided by law to obtain a residence permit and Russian citizenship.
At the same time, the bill made an exception for potential speakers of the Russian language “on the basis of blood.” That is people permanently in territories that belonged to the Russian Empire or the USSR retained the right to simplified acquisition of Russian citizenship. The explanatory note to the document notes that it is proposed to provide for a simplified procedure for issuing a residence permit for them.
The executive director of the Migrant Service App, Andrey Kladov, says relatives of a foreigner in a direct ascending line can also take advantage of the simplified procedure.
