The State Duma proposed to raise the birth rate at the expense of those who went abroad

The State Duma will consider amendments to the Law “On Citizenship”, which propose to grant Russian citizenship to a child if one of the parents had a Russian passport at the time of his birth, regardless of where the child was born. The initiative was presented by the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia Tatyana Moskalkova, RIA Novosti reports.

Previously, such a law applied only to children born in Russia. Regardless of the place of birth, a child becomes a Russian citizen only if both his parents or the only parent are Russian.

The amendment also abolishes the requirement for the other parent of a foreigner to present a written and notarized consent for the child to obtain a Russian passport, if one of the parents already has Russian citizenship or acquires it.

“The need for changes is due to the fact that now, in the event of a family conflict, the requirement of the mandatory consent of the foreign parent often becomes an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining Russian citizenship by a child,” the amendment says.

Amendments to the law were proposed in connection with the growing demographic crisis in Russia. In December 2022, Rosstat reported that the decline in birth rate in Russia has become the strongest since at least 2020 – by 10.7% year on year. The relative birth rate in Russia has become the lowest since 2001, at 9 children per 100,000 inhabitants.

The President’s draft law “On Citizenship” provides for simplified obtaining of a Russian passport for more than 20 categories of persons. It will be considered at second reading in late March or April.