Question by Irish: Can an EU national who’s married to a Russian national move to Russia permanently & apply for citizenship?
Both reside in the EU and both husband and wife (also an EU national through naturalisation) would move from the EU to Russia of course. Thanks.
Answers and Views:
Answer by Slivan
Naturalization is usually granted if the following requirements are met:
the person has been a permanent resident of Russia for not less than 5 years
promises lawful behaviour
has a legal source of income
applied for termination of another citizenship (though the actual loss of foreign citizenship is not required)
speaks Russian
not that different from acquiring citizenship of any other EU state.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
F T says
Go for temporary residency and see how you feel after a few years. Life in Russia is very hard without a really good income.
Alexandra says
Marriage does not guarantee a foreign spouse permanent residency. Applying for citizenship is really a pain without bribes. The system is totally different from EU countries. The best bet for you if you don't find a job there. Only working visas and student visas guarantee you a long term stay in Russia, and I think it's the best solution in the beginning if you want to stay together. You may enroll in a University Russian Language course and get one year to two year permit to stay. But you really have to attend classes because the police scrutinizes everything. It's not a bad plan I guess, since you need to speak the language to really live there and find a decent job.