Russia raises renunciation fee to $1,200 as applicants abroad face delays
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Russia raised the consular fee for renouncing citizenship abroad from $130 to $1,200, effective July 22. The state duty also increased from 4,200 rubles to 50,000 rubles. Applicants abroad report years-long waits and document hurdles at Russian consulates.
Key Facts
- The consular fee for renouncing Russian citizenship abroad rose from $130 to $1,200 on July 22.
- The state duty for renunciation increased from 4,200 rubles ($50) to 50,000 rubles ($592).
- The Russian Foreign Ministry has not published nationwide renunciation figures since 2023.
- Finland resident Veronika Mikkonen spent nearly 1,000 euros preparing documents to renounce her citizenship.
Fee Increases
A new law that took effect on July 22 raised the state duty for renouncing citizenship from 4,200 rubles ($50) to 50,000 rubles ($592). A separate government resolution raised the consular fee for applications submitted abroad from $130 to $1,200. The increase adds another obstacle to a process that applicants abroad describe as difficult to navigate.
Applicant Experiences
Vlada Kharebova, a teacher in Latvia, has been trying to renounce her Russian citizenship since 2022 without success. She said the Russian consulate in Riga provides a list of required documents but little guidance on how to obtain them. Her daughter's application was refused because she had not brought a copy of her college diploma from Russia, a requirement Kharebova said was not listed in the instructions. Finland resident Veronika Mikkonen eventually succeeded in renouncing her citizenship but said preparing the documents cost her nearly 1,000 euros. Mikkonen said some required documents are valid for only three months, creating a race against time when appointments at Russian diplomatic missions take months to secure.
Official Statistics
The Russian Foreign Ministry has not published nationwide figures on citizenship renunciations since 2023. Publicly reported figures show 4,356 people renounced Russian citizenship in 2019, 3,877 in 2020, 4,055 in 2021, and 4,306 in 2022. The ministry said the 2022 figure did not represent a significant change in the trend.
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Russia raises renunciation fee to $1,200 as applicants abroad face delays
