Acquisition of nationality through naturalization Reform of the Federal Law on Citizenship of the Russian Federation By 1999, little time remained for those wishing to acquire Russian nationality through registration as the process was to close at the end of 2000. Aware that many former Soviet citizens remained without regularized status in the Russian Federation, the Government began proceedings to reform the 1991 Citizenship Law and harmonize it with the Russian Constitution of 1993. The complex interplay of nationality laws in the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia had revived the interest of the international legal community, particularly in the Council of Europe, to strengthen legal norms to guarantee the right to a nationality and to prevent statelessness in the context of State succession.57 A Citizenship Commission established by the Russian Government to review the 1991 Citizenship Law invited Council of Europe nationality law experts as well as UNHCR’s statelessness specialist to participate in a series of four meetings in Moscow and Strasbourg. The meetings, conducted between 1999 and 2001, discussed reform of the 1991 Citizenship Law. This consultative process gave UNHCR an opportunity to ensure that the reform process would help to reduce and prevent statelessness. The new Federal Law No. 62-FZ on Citizenship of the Russian Federation entered into force on 1 July 2002 (2002 Citizenship Law). Additional amendments to the law were passed in November 2003, with the objective of facilitating the acquisition of Russian Federation citizenship by former USSR citizens residing in the Russian Federation. The key provision that resulted in the reduction of statelessness concerned Article 14.4,58 which was introduced through the 2003 amendments. It was a temporary measure to facilitate the acquisition of Russian nationality through naturalization of former Soviet citizens on the basis of a temporary or permanent residence permit at the time the 2002 Citizenship Law took effect. This facilitated procedure for naturalization was extended three times by law and was in effect from 2003 through the end of June 57 This resulted in the adoption of the European Convention on Nationality and the Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession. The Russian Federation signed the European Convention on Nationality in June 1997 but has yet to ratify it. 58 Federal Law No. 62-FZ of 31 May 2002 “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” [Russian Federation], 1 July 2002, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ed72d964.html Note that because Article 14.4 was introduced as a temporary measure through an amendment in 2003 and was only valid until 2009, the language of this provision is not included in the current text of the law available on Reword. 44 U N H C R > G P P A C T I O N 1 : R E S O LV I N G E X I S T I N G M A J O R S I T U AT I O N S O F S TAT E L E S S N E S S