The number of Russian citizens who want to apply for Estonian citizenship doubled last year but the process of changing citizenship now is delayed because the Russian embassy has stopped providing certain services, writes ERR News.
In 2021, 291 Russian citizens applied for Estonian citizenship, but in 2022 there were already 726 candidates. At the moment the processing of applications has been suspended, as the Russian Embassy stopped providing services related to the renunciation of Russian citizenship.
Renunciation of Russian citizenship is a mandatory prerequisite for applying for Estonian citizenship. Siiri Leskov, the representative of the Estonian Interior Ministry, informed: at the moment it cannot be done in Tallinn, but the embassy reported that the work will be resumed as soon as the workflow is organized.
The Estonian police and border guards informed that exemptions for those Russian citizens who have already applied for a change of citizenship remain in effect for crossing the border.
Another problem that has come to light is the passports of Russian citizens, which have expired. In this case, those who have a residence permit in Estonia will not face restrictions while in the country, but problems will arise if it is necessary to travel.
To obtain Estonian citizenship, the candidate must pass a relatively simple Estonian language exam, answer questions about the Estonian Constitution, and renounce the citizenship of other countries. If citizenship is obtained through naturalization, dual citizenship is not possible. The citizenship of other countries does not have to be renounced by those persons who are entitled to Estonian citizenship by a blood relationship if one of their parents is an Estonian citizen.
Estonia has a relatively large number of persons, mostly Russian speaking, who have non-citizen passports.
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