Russians concealing their dual citizenship may have severe problems

On March 31, the State Duma received three versions of the bill stipulating penalties for the Russian citizens, who concealed obtaining a passport of a foreign country from the state.

The proposal to make amendments​to the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation came from the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Legislation, Andrei Klishas. President Putin agreed with the initiative on the whole, but urged senators not to rush with the introduction of criminal responsibility for concealing dual citizenship.

As a result, the State Duma received three different law concerning dual citizenship.

As for the first variant, deputy chairman of the Duma Security Committee, Andrei Lugovoi (LDPR ) proposed to introduce criminal liability for those citizens who do not notify the Federal Migration Service of the receipt of foreign citizenship within the established period. The deputy proposed a fine of up to 200 000  rubles or compulsory work up to 400 hours.

"Imprisonment would be too harsh, I do not propose penalties in the form of imprisonment, but a person will have a criminal record," says Lugovoi.

Deputy chairman of the Committee on State Building Sergei Ivanov is the author of the second variant of the bill.

According to the document, Russian citizens will be required to notify the FMS of the receipt of a second citizenship within a month. Otherwise, they face a fine of up to 2500 rubles. However, Ivanov also introduces criminal penalties for concealing the existence of dual nationality, entailing a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or compulsory labor. The persons who by virtue of their official position have no right to hold two passports may face imprisonment for up to three years.

The third version of the bill was presented by Just Russia Party Alexei Kazakov. He insists that the ban on dual citizenship should be extended to officials and top managers of state corporations, as well as their spouses and minor children. Еhe ban shall remain in force for ten years from the time a person resigns from their position.