The law on having a second citizenship does not threaten residents of Crimea with sanctions
Sevastopol, May 27 (Navigator, Alexander Puras) – The State Duma of the Russian Federation approved in the second reading a bill obliging Russian citizens to notify about the presence of a second citizenship or residence permit in another state. Contrary to emerging opinion, this norm cannot, at the moment, have a negative impact on Crimeans.
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The author of the bill, deputy Andrei Lugovoi (LDPR), admitted that the project “is important for the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol.” “Some of them are still thinking about the choice of citizenship and must choose their fatherland,” he believes.
Amendments to the law on citizenship propose to oblige a Russian citizen who, along with Russian citizenship, to notify the FMS in writing within one month from the date of acquisition of foreign citizenship. In addition, the deputies clarified that legal representatives of a Russian citizen under 18 years of age, with the exception of those permanently living abroad, will need to notify the FMS about the presence of a second citizenship.
The draft law stipulates that for residents of Crimea and Sevastopol the law should come into force on January 1, 2016. For all other Russian citizens, the law comes into force within 60 days after official publication.
In addition, the bill provides for the responsibility of a Russian citizen for this act, that is, in order to be the subject of this norm, you must be a citizen of the Russian Federation. Residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, who are currently filling out documents and receiving a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, for the most part, are citizens of Ukraine and, with few exceptions, acquire Russian citizenship as a second one, without renouncing the first one, following the established procedure.
That is, a citizen of Ukraine who applies to the FMS office in Crimea and Sevastopol in order to obtain a passport and citizenship of the Russian Federation is actually notifying the authorized state body, which is what the norm of the adopted law requires.
According to Art. 62 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a citizen of the Russian Federation may have citizenship of a foreign state, but the presence of a second citizenship does not detract from his rights and freedoms and does not relieve him of the responsibilities arising from Russian citizenship. The Law “On State Civil Service” contains a provision that a person who has the citizenship of another state cannot hold positions in the state civil service. According to Art. 6 of the Federal Law “On Citizenship”, a citizen of the Russian Federation who has a second citizenship is considered only as a citizen of the Russian Federation. Exceptions are cases specifically provided for by international treaties of the Russian Federation or federal law.
Secretary of the General Council of United Russia, Vice-Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Neverov said that “the issue of introducing sanctions for concealing information about dual citizenship still needs to be discussed.” In his opinion, the new law should primarily concern civil servants and officials.
The bill proposes punishment not for having dual citizenship, but for concealing such a fact. Ideally, this norm should apply not to average citizens, but to those who have influence in society: those whose desire to “sit on two chairs” can harm the interests of the state and society.
The main problem is that no one forced residents of Crimea who had already received Russian citizenship to renounce their Ukrainian passports. There is no agreement on the recognition of dual citizenship between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and therefore each country considers these people only its citizens. This situation certainly requires a solution.
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