The meeting was attended by deputies and aides of the plenipotentiary presidential representatives in the federal districts, heads of federal executive authorities, Magadan Region Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belozertsev and Sverdlovsk Region Deputy Governor Vasily Kozlov.
Opening the meeting, Vladimir Kolokoltsev informed the participants about the entry in force of the new citizenship law. It allows participants in the national programme to acquire citizenship without first obtaining a temporary or permanent residence permit. To become Russian citizens, they will only need to present documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, history and the foundations of Russian law.
The Interior Minister emphasised that the law expanded the list of crimes resulting in the termination of citizenship.
The participants discussed ways of helping compatriots that would like to move to Russia from the territory of unfriendly states. It was noted that since May 2022, one third of the over 5,000 applications have been submitted by compatriots living in unfriendly countries.
The established feedback mechanisms make it possible to promptly amend the current legislation to reflect the needs of potential immigrants. Thus, Presidential Executive Order No. 547 signed on August 12, 2022, granted compatriots from unfriendly countries the right to use the national programme and submit their applications in the country of their stay rather than residence, as is the rule for other categories of compatriots living abroad. This amendment almost doubled the number of potential immigrants.
Speakers noted the importance of upgrading mechanisms of the national programme to improve the conditions for the relocation of compatriots. On November 22, 2023, the President signed his Executive Order No. 872 on introducing the institution of repatriation since January 1, 2024. It simplifies the relocation of compatriots to the territory of any Russian region, including Moscow, St Petersburg and the Moscow Region without approval of authorised regional bodies.
The meeting participants deemed it expedient to continue work on improving the process of the relocation of compatriots as part of implementing the State Migration Policy Concept of the Russian Federation for 2019–2025.