RUSSIALINK: “Center for issuing Russian passports to LPR residents starts working in test mode in Rostov region” – Interfax

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NOVOSHAKHTINSK. April 29 (Interfax) – A center for issuing Russian passports to residents of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) has opened in Novoshakhtinsk, Rostov region.

“The center begins operation in test mode today. We are now accepting documents from authorized persons of the LPR. We will increase the number of such points as the number of applications increases,” Kirill Alzinov, an official with the Russian Interior Ministry’s main Directorate for Migration Affairs, told reporters on Monday.

LPR residents may receive Russian citizenship using facilitated procedures, enabling them to bypass some stages, he said.

The center can issue up to 200 statements a day.

“The new decree provides different procedures for reviewing citizenship applications, bypassing the temporary residence permit and permanent residence permit stages,” Alzinov said.

A migration point where passports will be issued to DPR residents will open on Tuesday, he said. He did not say; however, where that center would be located.

Ruslan Naida, deputy head of the LPR migration service, in turn, told reporters that LPR residents now do not need to go to Russia to file documents, “they file them on the territory of the republic and an authorized person takes them to Novoshakhtinsk.”

“Applicants will need to come to collect their passports in person when we get information from our colleagues that a positive decision has been made on a specific person,” Naida said.

Alexander Savrasov, an official with the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for the Rostov region, said applications will be considered “for up to three months.”

“The application package [for applying for Russian citizenship] is fairly simple: a citizenship application form, a properly certified ID, document on name change, and a document on the payment of the state duty and photos,” Savrasov said.

Police Maj. Anatoly Ignatenko, an official with the passport issuance point, said that “if a positive decision on the issuance of a Russian passport is made, applicants may immediately apply for foreign travel passports.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 24 signed the decree ‘On determining categories of individuals entitled to apply for Russian citizenship in line with a simplified procedure for humanitarian purposes,’ which grants this right to those permanently residing in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

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