Renouncing Russian citizenship now far pricier in Estonia

Since August this year, the cost of renouncing Russian citizenship in Estonia has risen sharply, becoming several times more expensive than before. Interior Minister Igor Taro said it remains too early to determine whether the higher fee will lead to fewer people applying.

Andrei Malaškin, a former Russian citizen, began pursuing Estonian citizenship in 2022, a process that took nearly three and a half years and was completed only last year. He said that once the war started, holding Russian citizenship no longer felt appropriate to him. The most time-consuming part was renouncing his Russian citizenship: he waited roughly four months in line at the Russian consulate, and when some of his supporting documents expired in the meantime, he had to requeue for another three months. Back then, the renunciation cost him just over €300. Since August this year, the same procedure in Estonia costs €2,376 — a figure Malaškin said he found hard to believe when he first heard about it.

Why the price jumped

Minister Taro attributed the increase to Russia's difficult financial situation, suggesting the country may lack funds to maintain its foreign missions, while also facing a growing number of people renouncing citizenship without enough staff to process them. He noted that under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no state should obstruct people from renouncing their citizenship, and that Russia is arguably violating this principle to some extent. Taro added that Estonia has no way to influence Russia's state fees, but believes that anyone with a genuine need to renounce citizenship will likely find the means to pay.

Interest among Russian citizens in obtaining Estonian citizenship has stayed strong in recent years. The Police and Border Guard Board received 465 applications last year, and 217 more by July of this year.