Original Russian-language document. Presidential Decree No. 304 of the President of the Russian Federation, signed 25 May 2022. The decree amends the earlier Decree of 24 April 2019 (No. 183), which first established simplified naturalisation for residents of occupied Donbas. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia had been under Russian military control since February–March 2022 but were not formally annexed until 30 September 2022.
Presidential Decree No. 304 of 25 May 2022 extends Russia's simplified citizenship naturalisation procedure to residents of Kherson Oblast and the parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast under Russian military control. The decree amends the original 2019 passportisation decree (No. 183) that had applied only to residents of occupied Donbas, and enables applications to be processed within three months. The decree was issued approximately three months after Russian forces seized Kherson and northern Zaporizhzhia (February–March 2022), and approximately five months before formal annexation (30 September 2022). It is a key step in the passportisation sequence documented across the citizenship collection: the simplified procedure is first offered, then made universal (Decree of 11 July 2022), then made automatic through the annexation acts (30 September 2022), and finally made indefinite (February 2026). The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the measure as "a flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity." Ukraine, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly regard Russian citizenship issued to Ukrainian residents of occupied territories as legally null and void.
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Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 304
On Amendments to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 24 April 2019 No. 183 "On Determining the Procedure for Admitting to the Citizenship of the Russian Federation in a Simplified Manner of Certain Categories of Persons." 25 May 2022.
In order to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of persons permanently residing in the territory of Kherson Oblast and in certain districts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine, I decree:
- To amend the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 24 April 2019 No. 183 "On Determining the Procedure for Admitting to the Citizenship of the Russian Federation in a Simplified Manner of Certain Categories of Persons" by adding to it a provision extending the simplified citizenship admission procedure to persons permanently residing in the territory of Kherson Oblast and in certain districts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine.
- The procedure for admitting to citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified manner as established by the above Decree shall apply to the persons specified in paragraph 1 of this Decree, with applications to be processed within no more than three months from the date of submission.
- This Decree enters into force from the date of its official publication.
President of the Russian Federation — V. Putin. 25 May 2022, Moscow.
Passportisation sequence — context
This decree is step 5 of 10 in the passportisation sequence documented in the citizenship collection. The full sequence runs: (1) Decree No. 183, April 2019 (Donbas); (2) Decree No. 187, April 2019 (former residents); (3) Decree, May 2019 (Crimea-origin Ukrainians in Russia); (4) Decree, July 2019 (all Donbas/Luhansk oblasts); (5) this decree, May 2022 (Kherson/Zaporizhzhia); (6) Decree, July 2022 (all Ukrainian citizens); (7) Annexation acts, September 2022 (automatic citizenship); (8) Decree No. 756, October 2022 (martial law); (9) Decree, April 2023 (deportation for refusal); (10) Decree, February/March 2026 (indefinite procedure). See also DOC-110 (simplified citizenship procedure) and DOC-111 (Transnistria comparator).