Visa's, citizenship, I need to know

Hi People
I need to know a really important piece of information here. I know that you hear a lot about Russian women who emmigrate to the western countries, but you dont hear much about us western people who would like to live in the East, Russia to be precise. If I come to Russia for a month and decide that I would very much like to marry the lady of my dreams and actually stay with her there in her own country so she can be with her friends and family, how do I go about getting citizenship.........actually, I quite like the idea of it, as I find Russian people the warmest and friendliest that I have come across (dont worry, I like Americans as well lol!) Any advice and information would be much appreciated.
Thanx

Well that was dissappointing. Usually your posts have funny things in them like those "thick" people haha, or people that are in some kind of "state" whatever that is supposed to mean. But that was perfectly normal.

Sorry I can't be of any help though. I'm just wasting your time telling you that I think you talk funny---but its fantastic of course :D

Thanx for the reply, I would love to hear your accent, I bet it sounds sexy as well!!
anyway, stay tuned, Im sure I shall do more funny brit moments before long!

First you need to get through the ordeal of getting married in Russia (not so easy for a non-Russian) before you even THINK about getting citizenship there. After the wedding you are looking at a complicated, frustrating process that takes about 5 years of standing in lines at government offices (I'm not kidding).

What if you just want to go there for a while and mess around. Get a crappy little job...is it hard to get a job at the McDonalds (do they have two yet?)? How expensive are substandard apartments with strange odours? It'd be great fun. :D

Edit: Why is crappy censored?

Can Brits maintain Dual Citizenship with Russia? I know that we (Americans) can't... Just curious.
-Fantom

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Originally Posted by TriggerHappyJack

What if you just want to go there for a while and mess around. Get a cra@@y little job...is it hard to get a job at the McDonalds (do they have two yet?)? How expensive are substandard apartments with strange odours? It'd be great fun. :D

Edit: Why is cra@@y censored?

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I had a teacher get mad at me once for saying it in a speech :lol:

Just 5 years? Now, that's what I call unfair. Our lot have to go through a much greater ordeal when settling down in the UK. On the other hand I know someone who did it in I think 3 years. Gotta ask her again. Anyway, it won't be an easy ride.

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Originally Posted by VendingMachine

Just 5 years? Now, that's what I call unfair. Our lot have to go through a much greater ordeal when settling down in the UK. On the other hand I know someone who did it in I think 3 years. Gotta ask her again. Anyway, it won't be an easy ride.

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I believe the U.S. requirements are only 5 years, so were not that mean at least :-)

After marriage the foreign spouse must apply for temporary resident (must enter Russia on a private visa and have a lot of documents and test results from his own country and Russia)which takes 3-6 months. Next step after temporary residency is issued is to wait in Russia (without an exit visa) for one year (you will receive a work permit with temporary registration). After the year is almost up you must apply for permanent residency (again all new paperwork and health tests and background checks). After the permanant residency is issued you must wait 3 years to apply for citizenship (this is where the paperwork and standing in lines gets REALLY fun). To do this requires that you know Russian language and government system/culture or else you will end up spending an endless amount of time trying to get through the process (and maybe not succeeding).

TriggerHappyJack, as for going to Russia for a while to just "mess around", You can do it but don't expect to find a job without a work permit, especially at any of the hundreds of McDonald's. And apartments in Moscow cost foreigners upwards of $350/month for a room in a shared flat.

doesn't it take 7 years for Russians to get citizenship in America? Don't they also have the option to just marry an American and be done with it? I remember when My x-boyfriend, a russian dude, was getting his citizenship here, and he had to take some test which asked questions about the government and history that I don't even know. Then again, I'm not exactly a wiz at those subjects.

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Originally Posted by TheAmerican

I believe the U.S. requirements are only 5 years, so were not that mean at least :-)

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I wasn't talking about the US. I was talking about Europe, of course.

American Immigration and Naturalization Service rules for obtaining citizenship require 3 years after marriage to a US citizen (different rules and time for permantent residents/non-citizens). But I've read that since 9/11 the screening process has slowed down and it can realistically take 5 or more years.

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Originally Posted by VendingMachine

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Originally Posted by TheAmerican

I believe the U.S. requirements are only 5 years, so were not that mean at least :-)

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I wasn't talking about the US. I was talking about Europe, of course.

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A Russian in the UK on a marriage visa is free to apply for citizenship 3 years after first entering the country, whether or not they were married at that time, so long as they haven't been out of the country for more than 9 months in total in those three years, and three month in total in the final year, and they have already been granted indefinite leave to remain.

You guys should just drop the whole idea of getting russian citizenship anyways. Unless you were born in Russia and one of your birth parents has russian citizenship, or lived in the USSR. You can't become a russian citizen.

Now, you can get a sort of permanent residency visa, but even that needs to be renewed about every 5 years i think.

So, long story short you wont ever become a russian citizen, but there are 3 or 4 ways you can get some befits of residency.

1, marry, like you said. But good luck finding true love in a month, most girls want to marry westerners to escape russia, once she finds out you want to stay in russia she'll probly start lookin for someone else.

2, Join the russian army. They now accept foreigners to serve in the ranks, and if, and i mean IF you can survive the 5 year minumum of enlistment in the russian ranks, you get yet again, a pretty crappy deal... But at least it lets you live there.

3, Own a work for a company in russia and get some sort of working visa. This will let you stay for years at a time.

But i'd give up your dreams of voting for the next russian president, or being apart of the next socialist revolution, cuz it just ain gunna happen.

There are 2 ways to get Russian citizenship that I've read of
1. Marry a Russian citizen
2. Invest some BIG bucks in the country or a business in the country (this requires a lot of cash and friends in the right places)

Permanent Residency is not a visa but does allow you to enter and exit Russia without a visa. It can be applied for after you complete one year of temporary residency (which can be done even if you are not married to a Russian I think but you must have a business and own property in Russia). Permanent Residency must be renewed every 5 years (which can be very motivating factor to seek Russian citizenship).

I don't know about Russian women but I married a Russian guy who is thrilled that I want to live in Russia with him :wink: .

You can actually BECOME a russian citizen? They probly say you can but its like one of those things that no one does because its next to impossible.

And yea, permanent residency isnt a visa, drr. But yea u still have to renew it.

I read on the russain govt's website all the ways to become a citizen and i think if u were born outside of russia and have non russian parents its just not happening.

It's kind of depressing.

Yes it is possible to become a Russian citizen as long as you are married to a Russian citizen. But it is a long and frustrating process that most expats don't attempt. Those that do are usually very committed to stay in Russia for the rest of their lives.

I`m just wonder, why it`s so complicated...may be they just forget to change laws since cold war :)