RF Citizenship” does not envisage any procedure for former Soviet citizens who entered Russia after November 1, 2002. The remaining stateless people who arrived after this date are in the exact same situation. Even though they officially have the right to submit documents for citizenship, they cannot even obtain temporary permanent residence because this requires a valid identity document and a document confirming legality of stay in Russia (a visa or migration card), which can be easily lost over years of living in Russia. On July 4, 2018, the Central Migration Department of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that it was working on a bill57 that, if adopted, will give the opportunity to obtain identity documents to people with an unregulated legal status and no documents, or who have a Soviet passport following the 1974 template or a Soviet birth certificate who do not fall under the effect of Chapter VIII.1. According to this draft, this document can be obtained from the Central Migration Department. In the future, this form of identification will be a ground for acquiring Russian citizenship. However, this bill has not yet been considered by the State Duma, even though the draft amendment was submitted and public hearings were held in August 2018. Litigation and Advocacy in Cases of Unenforceable Expulsion and the Migration-Related Detention of Stateless Persons While neither Russia nor Ukraine has a procedure for identifying stateless persons, which means that these people cannot obtain an identity document or regulate the lawfulness of their stay, the laws of both countries stipulate administrative liability for violating residence rules on their territories, i.e. undocumented residence or residence under invalid or expired documents. Thus, stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness face administrative sanctions for reasons depending on the government and not on themselves (lack of a procedure to identify stateless persons, complicated administrative procedures, defects in the law). In Ukraine, violation of residence rules entails a fine ranging from 100 to 300 tax-free minimum incomes.58 In addition, stateless persons found to be violators face the risk of migration detention at a temporary residence center for foreign nationals and stateless persons. 57 https://regulation.gov.ru/projects#npa=81993 58 Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/ show/80731-10 34

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