The spouse of a Russian citizen permanently living in the Russian Federation may apply for a temporary and permanent residence permit in the same manner as other migrants (see 8.4 - migrant rights and entitlements) but may be asked to produce extra documents proving the status of their family member. Article 6(3) of the Federal Law on the legal position of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation provides that temporary residence permits may be allocated to the spouse of a Russian citizen without reference to the framework of government quotas on such permits. In order for the family members to obtain a permanent residence permit independently they would have to have resided in the country on a temporary permit for one year. The period of residence on permanent residence permits necessary to apply for Russian citizenship under Article 13(1)(a) of the Federal Law On Citizenship of the Russian Federation of 2002 may be reduced for the spouse of a Russian citizen, under Article 13(2)(b) of the Law.

More

Refugees may be granted refugee status on the basis of a family member’s refugee status; this is stated in Article 3(4) of the Russian Federation Law on Refugees (1997). However any family member under the age of 18 should make an independent application for refugee status under Article 3(4). Priority is therefore given to independent refugee status for family members. The law does not define the family or provide a definition of dependents. The Courts have instead had to interpret these provisions.

In the 2001 case of Sadiya Adbdul Kahir v Moscow region RMS, which concerned a rejected asylum seeker, the Moscow Municipal Court accepted that a single woman returning to Afghanistan could not live alone and would have to live with a male-headed family in order to have rights and security guarantees. They further stated that the particular applicants life was very closely linked to her brothers with whom she shared a common household. However the Court concluded that the applicants links to her brother did in fact constitute sufficient grounds for her to be recognised as a refugee in her own right.

Analysis provided by: Anisa Niaz LLM (Public Law), United Kingdom.

Hide