Putin tightens legal status requirements for Ukrainians in Russia
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree requiring Ukrainians living in Russia to regularise their legal status by September. The Ministry of Internal Affairs considers them a security threat without this regulation.
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Vladimir Putin's decree states that Ukrainian citizens who do not have legal grounds to stay in the Russian Federation must leave the country or "regularise their legal status" by 10 September 2025.
Putin instructed that Ukrainians residing in the country illegally should not be pursued. They are to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs independently to request legalisation.
According to the decree, foreigners and "stateless" individuals in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic, as well as in the occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, must undergo medical examinations by 10 June to check for HIV infection. They will also be assessed for drug dependency.
Ukrainians a threat?
In May 2024, a decree was issued permitting Ukrainians to stay in Russia indefinitely and work without special permits if they submit to fingerprinting, photography, and medical examination. The Ministry of Internal Affairs indicated, however, that most have not regularised their status. According to the ministry, such individuals are not interested in this, which, according to Russia, poses a threat to national security.
In July 2022, Putin signed a decree expanding the possibility of simplified Russian citizenship for residents of all of Ukraine. Previously, in July 2019, he simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, and in May 2022, for residents of the occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
