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Russia/Kazakhstan: Whether an individual born in Tatarstan in 1961 who moved to Kazakhstan in 1983 and acquired Kazakh citizenship after the break-up of the Soviet Union may acquire Russian/Tatar citizenship after returning to Tatarstan; automatic right of this individual to reside in Tatarstan; acquisition of citizenship in Tatarstan (2000-May 2002)

No information on whether an individual born in Tatarstan in 1961 who moved to Kazakhstan in 1983 and acquired Kazakh citizenship after the break-up of the Soviet Union may acquire Russian/Tatar citizenship after returning to Tatarstan could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

No information on the acquisition of citizenship in Tatarstan nor on the right to reside in Tatarstan could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, which was adopted in 1992 (Republic of Tatarstan n.d.a) states that:

The Republic of Tatarstan shall have its own citizenship. Reasons, procedures of acquiring and renouncing the citizenship of The Republic of Tatarstan shall be established by the Law on the Citizenship of The Republic of Tatarstan.

Citizens of The Republic of Tatarstan shall be admitted to the citizenship of the Russian Federation - Russia.

Citizens of The Republic of Tatarstan may aquire the citizenship of other states under conditions determined by treaties and agreements between The Republic of Tatarstan and other states. Citizens of The Republic of Tatarstan may keep dual citizenship or renounce it.

Each person shall have the right to choose the citizenship and the right to change it. Deprivation of citizenship or of the right to change the citizenship shall be prohibited (ibid. n.d.b).

In Paragraph 10, Article 111 of the Constitution indicates that the president of the Republic of Tatarstan "in accordance with the law, makes decisions upon the citizenship of the Republic of Tatarstan ... " (ibid.).

Article II of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan "On Delimitation of Jurisdictional Subjects and Mutual Delegation of Authority between the State Bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan" states that "the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan shall execute the authority of state power and shall: ... 8) decide issues of the republic citizenship;" (Republic of Tatarstan 15 Feb. 1994).

No mention of a treaty allowing dual citizenship between the Republic of Tatarstan and Kazakhstan could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

According to the Russian Regional Report published by the East West Institute, an independent not-for-profit organization founded in 1981 with registered branches in Belgrade, Brussels, Kyiv, Prague, Moscow and New York (EWI n.d.a) whose mission is "to defuse tensions and conflicts that threaten geopolitical stability while building democracy, free enterprise and prosperity in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and other states of Eurasia" (ibid., n.d.b), the law on citizenship of the Republic of Tatarstan was adopted on 16 April 1998 (ibid., 14 Jan. 1999). No further information on this law could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Commenting on a draft new Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan adopted in first reading by the republic's State Council, Mintimer Shaymiyev, Tatarstan's president, stated that Tatar citizenship is "symbolic in nature" and only reflects the Republic's status of state, but in reality, Tatarstan does not have any "real" regulations in this field (Izvestiya 1 Mar. 2002).

On 20 February 2002, the State Duma voted against an amendment submitted by Tatarstan's legislative body that allows Russian citizens to have citizenship of a Russian republic as well (ITAR-TASS 20 Feb. 2002).

For information on the acquisition of Russian citizenship by citizens of Kazakhstan, please see ZZZ29440.EX of 27 May 1998.

For recent information on the acquisition of Russian citizenship, please see RUS38625.E of 19 March 2002.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

East West Institute (EWI). Russian Regional Report. 14 January 1999. Vol. 4, No. 1. "Governors Grow Stronger, Face Domestic Challenges." <http://www.iews.org/rrrsample.nsf?OpenDatabase> [Accessed 29 May 2002]

_____. n.d.a. "EWI at a Glance." <http://www.iews.org/about.nsf/dd5cab6801f1723585256474005327c8/a4680bbf1bd12c8b852566b000665793?OpenDocument> [Accessed 29 May 2002]

_____. n.d.b. "EWI Mission Statement." <http://www.iews.org/about.nsf/dd5cab6801f1723585256474005327c8/a37de723a65e0216852566b00065d643?OpenDocument> [Accessed 29 May 2002]

ITAR-TASS [Moscow, in English]. 20 February 2002. Diana Rudakova. "Russia: Duma Approves President's Law on Citizenship in Second Reading." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0220 20 Feb. 2002/WNC)

Izvestiya [Moscow, in Russian]. 1 March 2002. Yuriy Nikolayev. "Adoption in First Reading of New Constitution of Tatarstan Examined." (FBIS-SOV-2002-0305 1 Mar. 2002/WNC)

Republic of Tatarstan, Department of Foreign Affairs to President of Tatarstan. 15 February 1994. Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan "On Delimitation of Jurisdictional Subjects and Mutual Delegation of Authority between the State Bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan."

<http://mirror-kcn.unece.org/politics/dfa/inform/treaty.htm> [accessed 29 May 2002]

_____. n.d.a. "Politics." <http://mirror-kcn.unece.org/politics/dfa/inform/inf.htm> [Accessed 29 May 2002]

_____. n.d.b. Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan. "II. The Person and the State." <http://mirror-kcn.unece.org/politics/dfa/inform/const2.htm> [Accessed 29 May 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Unsuccessful attempts to contact the head of the consular section of the embassy of the Russian Federation in Ottawa.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact the chief of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Tatarstan under Russian Trade Mission in the United States of America.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact a scholar specialized in Russian law with the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law.

Internet sites including:

Legislationline.org

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Tatar/Bashkir Report (2002)

Rossiiskoye Zakonodatelstvo (Database of Russian legislation)

Tatarstan Online

Tatarstan on the Net

UK Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). Country Assessment-Russian Federation.

US Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001.

Zakonodatelstvo Rossiiskoy Federatsii

Search engines including:

Aport.ru (in Russian)

Fast Search

Google

Topics: Tatars,