Putin signed a decree requiring a criminal record certificate for obtaining citizenship

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree stipulating that foreigners and stateless persons applying for Russian citizenship must submit a document confirming the absence (or presence) of a criminal record.

The document must be issued by a competent authority of a foreign state no earlier than 3 months before the date of submitting the application for admission to the citizenship of the Russian Federation.

In the event of dual or multiple citizenship, the applicant must submit such documents issued in each foreign state of citizenship; in the event of a criminal record, the document must contain information about the crimes for which the applicant was convicted.