“The Weak against the Strong, Is
\nAlways in the Wrong”<\/p>\n
Lawyer Olga Pavlovna Tseitlina shares
\nher opinion on the migrant situation in Russia.
\n<\/p>\n
Have there been any serious changes After legislation was adopted with But at least for This is truly a very serious situation. But certainly
\nwith respect to the status of migrants in Russia in recent years?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nrespect to the legal status of foreign citizens, thereby forcing at
\nleast a certain amount of transparency upon all of the subordinate regulatory
\nacts and bylaws, it is now clear, at the very least, what the rules
\nare.\u00a0 Now, the main problem is actually initiating the process
\nof legalizing one\u2019s status, in the event that someone has this right
\nunder the law.\u00a0 For instance, let\u2019s say that a certain person
\nwas born on the territory of the Russian Federation, or he or she has
\ndirect relations who are Russian citizens.\u00a0 Or there is a mixed
\nmarriage, one involving a citizen of a foreign country and a Russian
\ncitizen, and there is a child.\u00a0 These people have the right to
\na fairly preferential regime when applying for citizenship.\u00a0 However,
\nin cases in which the necessary, current documentation is missing, or
\nif visas are missing, or if the period for staying legally on the territory
\nof the Russian Federation has run out, then there is a vicious circle:
\nthese individuals may not be kicked out of the country, but nor can
\nthey begin the process of acquiring citizenship.\u00a0 The second serious
\nproblem is quotas.\u00a0 This is completely confidential information!
\nFor example, I have a client, a citizen of Ukraine, whose husband is
\nalso a Ukrainian citizen:\u00a0 she lived for a long time in Russia;
\nher grandparents live here.\u00a0 She has been trying to gain citizenship
\nthrough the quota allotments, but it has already been several years
\nthat she has been told that the quota has already been met, and there
\nwas not enough room for her.\u00a0 However, if one attempts to acquire
\ncitizenship via quotas through a commercial firm, then he or she can
\njust pay money, and room will be “found” within the quota.
\nThe money required, though, is no small sum:\u00a0 not everyone can
\nafford this.<\/p>\n
\nthose people there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel.
\nThere are many people on the territory of Russia without citizenship.
\nWho is waiting for them?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nFor example, let\u2019s say a certain person has a Soviet passport issued
\nin 1974 that is no longer a valid document (confirming the identity
\nof that person) because the owner is not officially registered.
\nIn the Krokovidov case, the Russian Supreme Court refused to accept
\na petition when we tried to contest the norm for the set period of validity
\nfor passports, saying that the norm for the expiration period is set
\nfor the benefit of various internal affairs bodies, not for citizens
\nthemselves, inasmuch as a passport is a document whose purpose is to
\nofficially attest to a citizen\u2019s identity.\u00a0 That is to say, internal
\naffairs bodies will accept an expired passport as confirmation of an
\nindividual\u2019s identity, which is the official purpose of the passport;
\nthe fact that the person\u2019s registration has expired because the passport
\nis officially expired is the citizen\u2019s own problem.\u00a0 Indeed,
\ncitizens who have such invalid passports cannot in practice do anything:
\nthey are not sold tickets with their passports, when they want to leave,
\nthey are not able to cross the border, and they do not have any other
\nform of identification.\u00a0 There is a particular problem with Georgia,
\nwherein people are not able to either enter or to exit if the period
\nof their legal stay in Russia has expired.<\/p>\n
\nit is no longer that difficult to get registered?