In 2020, the number of foreigners who received Russian citizenship sharply increased

Over 11 months of 2020, over 563 thousand foreigners received Russian citizenship, which is 32% more than in the same period of 2019. This was reported by TASS with reference to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The department explained the increase in the number of those who received Russian citizenship with the simplification of the procedure for its acquisition by certain categories of foreigners. First of all, this concerns citizens of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

In addition, every sixth foreigner in Russia has a residence permit or a temporary residence permit, the Ministry of Internal Affairs says. At the same time, the number of foreign citizens living in Russia has decreased in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Of the 6 million foreigners staying here, 1 million people have a temporary residence permit or a residence permit. Previously, 9-11 million citizens of foreign countries lived in Russia.