Russia: Whether the consent of both parents is required for a child to be listed and/or pictured in one of the parents' international passports; whether the consent of both parents is required for a child to obtain his or her own passport
1. Child Registration on a Parent's Passport
According to the website of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ottawa, a parent can apply to have his or her child included in his or her international passport if the child is under the age of 14 (Russia n.d.a). The website notes that the child must be a Russian citizen, and also indicates that if both parents are Russian citizens, a written request signed by both parents can be submitted to the embassy by one or both parents (ibid.). If the request is submitted by one of the parents, it must be accompanied by written consent of the other parent (ibid.). If one of the parents is a foreign citizen, his or her consent is not required (ibid.).
The following documents are required when applying to register a child on a parent's passport:
- a written request;
- the parent's passport and a copy;
- the child's birth certificate and a copy;
- two photographs; and
- a fee (ibid.; ibid. n.d.f).
According to the website of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington D.C., parents must submit a document confirming the child's Russian citizenship in addition to the above listed requirements (ibid.).
According to the website of the Russian embassy in Ottawa, a child cannot be included in the parent's biometric passport (Russia n.d.a).
2. Obtaining a Passport
2.1 Children Under the Age of 14
The website of the Russian embassy in Ottawa indicates that a parent may obtain a separate international passport for his or her child under 14 years of age who is a Russian citizen (Russia n.d.b). In order to obtain this passport, a parent must submit the following to the embassy:
- an application form (ibid.; ibid. n.d.d);
- the parent's passport and a copy (ibid.; ibid. n.d.b);
- the child's birth certificate and a copy (ibid.; ibid. n.d.d);
- a document confirming the child's legal status in Canada and a copy (ibid. n.d.b);
- four photographs of the child and four photographs of the parent (ibid.);
- a document confirming the child's Russian citizenship (ibid. n.d.d); and
- a fee (ibid. n.d.b; ibid. n.d.d).
According to the website of the Russian embassy in Ottawa, parents must also submit a written request that a child be issued a passport; if the request is submitted by one of the parents, it must be accompanied by the written consent of the other parent (ibid. n.d.b). The embassy's website indicates that processing is completed between two (ibid. n.d.d) and three months (ibid. n.d.b).
2.2. Children Between 14 and 18 Years of Age
The website of the Russian embassy in Ottawa and the website of the Russian embassy in Washington D.C. both list the same requirements for obtaining a passport for children between 14 and 18 years of age as for children under the age of 14 (ibid. n.d.c; ibid. n.d.e).
For more information regarding procedures and requirements for obtaining Russian passports, please see Response to Information Request RUS103842.
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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Russia. N.d.a. Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada, Ottawa. "Vpisanie detei v pasporta roditelei." <http://www.rusembassy.ca/ru/node/239> [Accessed 11 Sept. 2013]
_____. N.d.b. Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada, Ottawa. "Oformlenie pasportov detyam do 14 let." <http://www.rusembassy.ca/ru/node/236/> [Accessed 10 Oct. 2013]
_____. N.d.c. Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada, Ottawa."Oformlenie pasportov detyam ot 14 do 18 let." <http://www.rusembassy.ca/ru/node/238/> [Accessed 10 Oct. 2013]
_____. N.d.d. Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States of America, Washington, D.C. "Dlya grazhdan do 14 let." "<http://www.russianembassy.org/ru/page/%D0%B4%D0%BB%D1%8F-%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D0%BE-14-%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82> [Accessed 11 Oct. 2013]
_____. N.d.e. Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States of America, Washington, D.C. "Dlya detei ot 14 do 18 let." "<http://www.russianembassy.org/ru/page/%D0%B4%D0%BB%D1%8F-%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%BE%D1%82-14-%D0%B4%D0%BE-18-%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82> [Accessed 11 Oct. 2013]
_____. N.d.f. Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States of America, Washington, D.C. "Vnesenie svedenii o rebenke v passport roditelya." <http://www.russianembassy.org/ru/page/%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D1%81%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D0%BE-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B1%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B5-%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82-%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F> [Accessed 21 Oct. 2013]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following organizations were unsuccessful: Consulates General of the Russian Federation in Toronto and Montreal; Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ottawa; Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation.
Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Argumenti i Fakry; ecoi.net; Factiva; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; Moscow Helsinki Group; The Moscow News; The Moscow Times; Rossiyskaya Gazeta; Russia – Consulates General of the Russian Federation in Toronto and Montreal, Federal Migration Service, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Vancouver, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; United Nations – Refworld; United States – Department of State.