OREANDA-NEWS The protocol on the exchange of letters ratifying the agreement between Sukhum and Moscow on the settlement of the problem of dual citizenship was signed by the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia Oleg Bartsits and the Russian Ambassador to the republic Mikhail Shurlagin, the press service of the Abkhaz Foreign Ministry reported.

The agreement on the settlement of dual citizenship issues between Russia and Abkhazia was signed in Moscow on September 27, 2022. It is aimed at regulating the legal status of persons who are citizens of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, and also includes provisions on a simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship by citizens of Abkhazia.

The document establishes the right of citizens of one party to acquire the citizenship of the other party without renouncing the existing citizenship of that party.

In accordance with the agreement, a person who is a citizen of both countries enjoys the rights to social security, education, and medical care in accordance with the legislation of the country in which he permanently resides, unless otherwise provided by the legislation of one of the parties or international treaties in force between the parties.

The document is valid for five years and is automatically extended for subsequent five-year periods, unless either party notifies the other party in writing through diplomatic channels six months before the expiration of the next period of its intention to terminate it.