BISHKEK -- A special Russian-Kyrgyz agreement on a simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship by Kyrgyz nationals has been annulled.
Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry spokesman Nurjigit Kadyrbekov told journalists that Russia's Federal Migration Service had revoked the agreement on November 9.
Under the agreement, signed in 1996, Kyrgyzstan nationals had been eligible to obtain Russian citizenship three months after obtaining a long-term visa, bypassing the need for a five-year residence permit.
The head of Russia's Federal Migration Service, Konstantin Romodanovsky, said earlier this year that the procedure for rescinding the agreement had been started.
Hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz labor migrants have obtained Russian citizenship in the last several years.
Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry spokesman Nurjigit Kadyrbekov told journalists that Russia's Federal Migration Service had revoked the agreement on November 9.
Under the agreement, signed in 1996, Kyrgyzstan nationals had been eligible to obtain Russian citizenship three months after obtaining a long-term visa, bypassing the need for a five-year residence permit.
The head of Russia's Federal Migration Service, Konstantin Romodanovsky, said earlier this year that the procedure for rescinding the agreement had been started.
Hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz labor migrants have obtained Russian citizenship in the last several years.
