Putin signed a law stipulating that maternity capital will be paid only to parents who are citizens of the Russian Federation, and only if their children are also Russian citizens by birth. Related document sent on the website of the official publication of legal proceedings.
Parents applying for maternity capital must have Russian citizenship at the birth of the child. It doesn’t really matter where they live. An exception is made for residents of the DPR and LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. They will retain the right to maternity capital even if they were not citizens of the Russian Federation at the birth of their child.
The child of parents who are Russian citizens automatically becomes a Russian citizen at birth. This also happens if one of the parents is a citizen and the other is not, but the child did not acquire foreign citizenship from birth or was not born in Russia.
The law will come into force on January 1 next year. In 2024, maternity capital will be almost 631 thousand for the first child and approximately 834 thousand for the second child. Funds can only be spent on specific purposes, such as child education or improving living conditions. Matkapital is issued in the form of a personal certificate and cannot be converted into cash.
If a couple gave birth to their first child without being a Russian citizen, and at the birth of the second child the parents have already received citizenship, maternity capital will be paid for the second child in the same way as for the first child. explained Ministry of Labor.
“If parents acquired Russian citizenship at the birth of their second child, then they will receive maternity capital only for the child who was a citizen of the Russian Federation at birth. That is, in obtaining the right to maternity capital, the child born on the territory of the Russian Federation and whose mother was a citizen of the Russian Federation at the time of birth will be taken into account first. Accordingly and Certificate funds will accrue for firstborns“, the department explained.
Why was a new law needed?
It eliminates the “loophole” in which immigrants who gave birth to a child in another state, but moved to Russia and received a Russian passport, can apply for maternity capital. Now the number of applicants for maternity capital will decrease by about 100 thousand people and the state will save tens of billions of rubles, believes Alexander Safonov, Professor at the Financial University of the Russian Government.
Maternity capital was created “to increase the birth rate of Russians”, but turned into “a nutrition channel for immigrants” stated Mikhail Matveev, deputy of the State Duma of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. At the end of November, he proposed further tightening the legislation and taking maternity capital from parents with dual citizenship, not just Russian. In addition, according to the attorney’s opinion, in order to receive the payment, one of the parents must be a Russian citizen by birth. Matveev submitted the relevant amendments to the Duma.
at the end of october entry The new law on Russian citizenship came into force. It expanded the list of crimes for which citizenship could be lost (if not acquired by birth). Such crimes include actions that threaten Russia’s national security and territorial integrity, calls for extremism, sabotage, desertion, fake news about the military, and discrediting the armed forces. In addition, applicants for a Russian passport now need to study not only the language, but also the history of the country.
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Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.