A record number of Russian passports were issued in the first half of 2023

From January to June 2023, a record number of internal and foreign passports of the Russian Federation were issued – this is evidenced by the official statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the migration situation. In just six months, 5,038,400 people received internal passports. This is the result of the “automatic” issuance of documents to residents of the DPR, LPR, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin is sure. Foreign passports received 2,819,860 people – according to migration expert Vyacheslav Postavnin, more and more Russians issue them “just in case.”

According to website statistics MIA, in the first half of 2023, 7,858,260 Russian passports were issued: 5,038,400 domestic and 2,819,860 foreign. This is a record figure since 2016, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to publish such data on migration. For example, in the first six months of 2022, 5,907,088 people received passports, of which 3,434,465 were domestic (47% more).

“It is quite natural that in connection with the arrival of new territories (DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.— “b”) there were opportunities to issue passports to those who, together with these territories, became part of the Russian Federation. In addition to them, those who went through the state program of voluntary resettlement also received passports,” said Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

Migration expert Vyacheslav Postavnin believes that the peak of issuing passports has already been passed and will soon decline: “There will be growth, but not the same. Everyone who needed passports, I believe, has already received them.

At the same time, Mr. Zatulin noted that in May of this year, a draft presidential decree on the establishment of an institution of repatriation was published. It can simplify the acquisition of Russian citizenship and, accordingly, increase the number of internal Russian passports.

The number of foreign passports issued also increased, but not so significantly. Thus, in the first half of 2021, 1,702,911 people received a Russian foreign passport, in January-June last year – 2,472,623 people, and in the first six months of 2023 – 2,819,860 (+ 14%). “Previously, passports were issued for almost one reason – for travel on vacation or for work. I think today, to a greater extent, the Russians do it “just in case,” – Mr. Postavnin commented on the growth.

It is interesting that the number of citizens of other countries wishing to acquire citizenship of the Russian Federation has decreased. January to June last year 287,503 foreigners received Russian citizenship, and in the same period of 2023 – only 204,988 (29% less). Among others, a Russian passport was acquired by:

• 39,053 Ukrainians (104,168 in the same period in 2022),
• 13,876 Kazakhstanis (previously 21,647),
• 7,457 Azerbaijanis (12,329 in the first half of 2022),
• 4,557 Belarusians (previously 8,853),
• 1,182 Georgians (a year ago it was 1,840).

As “b” wrote, in the first quarter of 2023, an increase in the number of “new Russians” was recorded due to immigrants from Tajikistan. They accounted for 42% of the total number of those admitted to Russian citizenship from January to April 2023, a year ago this share was 23%, and in the same period of 2021 – only 12.5%. According to statistics, this trend continues: in just the first half of 2023, 86,964 Tajiks received Russian citizenship (in the first half of 2022, only 74,162). “Kommersant” failed to get an operational comment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Emilia Gabdullina