Putin orders Ukrainians in Russia: Legalize or leave by 2025
Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring Ukrainians living in Russia to regularize their legal status by September. The Ministry of Internal Affairs considers them a security threat without this regulation.
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Vladimir Putin signed a decree stating that Ukrainian citizens who do not have legal grounds to stay in the Russian Federation must leave the country or "regulate their legal status" by September 10, 2025.
Putin instructed authorities not to pursue Ukrainians staying in the country illegally. They are to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs independently to request legalization.
According to the decree, foreigners and "stateless" individuals in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic, as well as in the occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, must undergo medical examinations by June 10 to check for HIV infection. They will also be checked for drug dependency.
Ukrainians a threat?
In May 2024, a decree was issued allowing Ukrainians to stay in Russia indefinitely and work without special permits if they submit to fingerprinting, photography, and medical examination. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs indicated that most have not regulated their status. According to the ministry, such individuals are not interested in this, which, according to Russia, threatens national security.
In July 2022, Putin signed a decree expanding the possibility of simplified Russian citizenship for residents of all of Ukraine. Previously, in July 2019, he simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, and in May 2022, for residents of the occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
