In accordance with Article 10 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan" (hereinafter: Law) citizenship is acquired:
Pursuant to Article 15 of the Law, foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan may, at their request, be conferred to the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with this Law.
Decision on request for conferment into citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan is made by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Pursuant to Article 16 of the Law "On Citizenship", citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan can be conferred to:
Pursuant to Article 16-1 of the Law, citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan can be conferred under a facilitated (registration) procedure:
Consideration period of materials on acquisition of citizenship under a facilitated (registration) procedure should not exceed three months from the date of request submission.
General procedure for admission to the citizenship of the RK
Foreigners who do not have the right to acquire citizenship under a facilitated procedure, and who wish to take citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, should apply with a request to the territorial divisions of migration service at a place of permanent residence. A request is submitted to the name of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A request should indicate the reasons for citizenship acquisition.
According to the Rules for the Reception, Formulation and Consideration of Petitions (Applications) for the Issues of Admission to Citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan for consideration by the internal affairs bodies of the RK of issues related to the citizenship of the RK, the following documents are attached to the application:
The following is also submitted in addition to the documents stated above:
Procedure for consideration of requests
The district (city) internal affairs bodies transfer the materials on conferment to citizenship to the Police Departments of the regions and cities of Almaty, Astana and Shymkent, which verify the materials, make a statement and transfer them further to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs makes a statement and sends materials to the State Legal Department under the Presidential Executive Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The moment of acquisition of citizenship
To determine the time from which a person is a citizen of the RK, it is necessary to use Article 37 of the Law, according to which the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan is acquired on the day of:
Submission of petitions from minors and incapacitated persons
In respect of children under the age of 18, as well as citizens recognized as incapacitated, a notarized request for citizenship is submitted by their legal representatives (parents, adoptive parents, guardians). A copy of a child's birth certificate, a document confirming incapacity and a document confirming the powers of a legal representative of an incapacitated person are attached to a request. For a child between the ages of 14 and 18, his/her consent is required signed by a child or certified by a notary public.
In accordance with paragraph 2 , subparagraph 11 of the Rules for the Reception, Formulation and Consideration of Petitions for the Issues of Admission to Citizenship of the RK for consideration by the internal affairs bodies of the RK of issues related to the citizenship of the RK the time for consideration of applications in local bodies of internal affairs and national security, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RK and other state bodies of the RK, shall not exceed one month in each of these bodies, and in aggregate - six months.
Upon receipt of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Police Department notifies applicants on the results of request consideration within 5 calendar days through district internal affairs authorities at the place of residence of applicants.
A certificate is issued to foreigners and stateless persons conferred to the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is the basis for issuing them a national ID card and a passport of a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with the established procedure.
Simplified procedure for admission to the citizenship of the RK
Simplified (registration) procedure for admission to citizenship is carried out in accordance with international agreements concluded by the RK. At present, the simplified procedure applies to the following persons:
The simplified procedure operates in accordance with the Agreement between the Republic of Belarus, the RK, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation "On the simplified procedure for the acquisition of citizenship" of 26.02.1999, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women of January 29, 1957. Each of the above countries has pledged to grant its citizens who are coming to permanent residence in the territory of another country a simplified (registration) procedure for acquiring citizenship under one of the following conditions:
A facilitated procedure applies to citizens of the countries permanently residing in the territory of another country, regardless of the period of residence in the territory of a country of citizenship acquisition.
To do this, citizens of these states apply to a head of Police Department in the regions and at the same time to official of a country of arrival making decisions on citizenship issues with a notarized written refusal of foreign citizenship, and submit them to the migration service units of internal affairs bodies at the place of permanent residence.
The following documents must be attached to the application:
If necessary, a document confirming one of the conditions necessary for conferment of citizenship under a facilitated manner is also submitted. Copies of birth certificate, passport, other document confirming birth in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a copy of passport page with a note on registration at the place of residence before December 21, 1991 on the territory of the countries participating in the treaty or a certificate issued by a competent authority about it, a copy of marriage certificate, birth certificate or other document confirming family ties with a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Pursuant to the Law, a facilitated (registration) procedure is applied to kandas permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan on legal grounds, regardless of the period of residence; rehabilitated victims of mass political repression, as well as their descendants, deprived or lost citizenship without their free will, permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan on legal grounds, regardless of the period of residence; ethnic Kazakhs studying in higher educational institutions.
To acquire citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan under a facilitated (registration) procedure, a request (application) is submitted to the name of head of Police Department of a regions. The following documents are attached to a request (application) for conferment to the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
Kandas who do not have permanent registration apply to a head of Police Department for obtaining a permanent residence permit and taking citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan under a facilitated (registration) procedure and at the same time to an official of the state of arrival making decisions on citizenship issues with a notarized written refusal of foreign citizenship. The following documents are attached to a request (application):
- application form for the issuance of a permanent residence permit and registration of conferment to citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the form according to Appendix 7-1 to the Rules;
- notarized application for renunciation of former citizenship;
- liability to comply with the conditions provided for in Article 1 of the Law;
- copy and original (for verification) of national passport or a document of a stateless person;
- copy and original (for verification) of the birth certificate or other identity document of a child under the age of sixteen, when jointly applying;
- personal autobiography in Kazakh or Russian;
- written consent of a country of citizenship, which can serve as a departure certificate, or other document confirming permission to leave for permanent residence abroad (except for foreigners and stateless persons who are recognized as refugees or who have been granted asylum in the Republic of Kazakhstan and ethnic Kazakhs from the People's Republic of China, unless otherwise provided by international treaties);
- a document on criminal record (no criminal record) in a country of citizenship and or permanent residence issued by a competent authority of a relevant state (except for ethnic Kazakh citizens of the People's Republic of China, unless otherwise provided by international treaties);
- notarized contract or a notarized consent with an individual or legal entity to provide an applicant with accomodation for residence and permanent registration;
--certificate of medical examination of a foreigner on the absence of diseases, whereas presence of the such prohibits the entry of foreigners and stateless persons into the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with the Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of September 30, 2011 No. 664 "On approval of the list of diseases, availability of which prohibits the entry of foreigners and stateless persons into the Republic of Kazakhstan" (medical certificate in 028/y form) (registered in the Register of State Registration of Laws and Regulations under No. 7274);
- minors aged from 14 to 18 years attach their notarized written consent to a parents' application;
- four photos (35x45 mm).
In accordance with Article 619 of the Tax Code, kandas are exempt from payment of the state duty - for all notarial acts related to the acquisition of citizenship of the RK.
Indicated exemption from payment of state duty is granted once.
List of documents for a foreign citizen woman who is married to a Kazakhstani
In accordance with clause 5-23 of the Rules for the Reception, registration and consideration of petitions (applications) for conferment to the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the internal affairs bodies, including under a facilitated (registration) procedure, renunciation of citizenship, loss of citizenship and determination of belonging to the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the Convention on the citizenship of married women, a foreign citizen permanently residing on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and married to a citizen of Kazakhstan, submits an application for admission to citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan under a facilitated manner addressed to a head of Police Department of region as well as to an official of state making a decision on citizenship issues with a notarized written refusal of foreign citizenship and submits them to a migration service division at a place of permanent residence.
The following documents must be attached to the application:
Nationality of a child
A child whose both parents were citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the time of his/her birth is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan regardless of the place of birth.
Citizenship of the child with different citizenship of the parents
With different citizenship of the parents, one of whom was a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the time of a child's birth, a child is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan if he/she was born:
With different citizenship of the parents, one of whom was a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the time of a child's birth, if at that time both parents had permanent residence outside the Republic of Kazakhstan, citizenship of a child born outside the Republic of Kazakhstan is determined by the agreement of the parents expressed in writing.
A child, one of whose parents was a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the time of a child's birth and the other was a stateless person, or his/her citizenship is unknown, is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan regardless of the place of birth.
In case of establishing the paternity of a child whose mother is a stateless person, and a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan is recognized as the father, a child under the age of 14 becomes a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, regardless of the place of birth. In case of permanent residence of a child outside the Republic of Kazakhstan, his/her citizenship is determined by a written application of the parents.
If parents could not come to an agreement on the citizenship of a child, the citizenship is determined in court.
Citizenship of a child whose parents are unknown
A child located in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, both parents of whom are unknown, is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan by a child of stateless persons
A child born in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan to stateless persons who have permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Grounds for refusal to admit citizenship of the RK
The list of such grounds is given in Article 17 of the Law "On Citizenship of the RK". An application for admission to Kazakhstan citizenship is rejected if the person applying for this: