The government's plans include amendments to the federal law on citizenship, which will require foreigners to provide a certificate of the presence or absence of a criminal record to the migration service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs when applying for temporary residence, citizenship, or a residence permit in Russia.
Furthermore, the presence of an unexpunged or unserved criminal record, regardless of the nature of the crime and the location where it was committed, will be grounds for denial of these documents. However, previously issued documents obtained before the introduction of the new rules will remain valid. Children under the age of 14 will be exempt from the requirement to provide such a certificate.
