The State Duma passed a law this week raising the fee for Russian citizenship from 4,200 to 50,000 rubles, a 12-fold increase, and roughly quadrupling the charges for residence permits and related documents. The speaker of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the state wants to “influence the quality of people coming into the country,” favoring those who are already established and successful. The new fees take effect on 1 July.
One carve-out defines the policy. The charges are waived for foreigners who sign a one-year contract to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and for their families. The cheapest route to a Russian passport now runs through military service.
The cheapest route to a Russian passport now runs through the trenches.
Central Asians, above all Tajiks, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, make up the bulk of Russia’s migrant labor force, and the law is the latest tightening since the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack. It sits alongside a register of ‘controlled persons’ that can bar a migrant from banking, marrying or sending money home. Remittances from Russia run at close to half of GDP in Tajikistan and remain central to Kyrgyzstan, which makes the change a household matter across the region, not only a Russian one.