A Russian woman in Venezuela needed help from the Russian Foreign Ministry with citizenship for her son

Russian citizen Tatiana Shapovalova, who left for temporary residence in Venezuela with her husband, a local citizen, needed help in obtaining Russian citizenship for her son. On August 19, the Vice-President of the Unified Coordination Center (UCC) addressed the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a corresponding request Ivan Melnikov, the letter is at the disposal of Izvestia.

According to Melnikov, the Russian citizen is a former operative of the criminal investigation department. Her son was born in Venezuela while living with her husband. The woman has repeatedly tried to obtain Russian citizenship for the child, but her husband prevents this by all means.

"During his cohabitation with a Venezuelan citizen, he regularly beat our compatriot and a child, in connection with which she appealed to the law enforcement agencies of the republic, but so far to no avail," the text of the appeal says.

Shapovalova was forced to flee her home because of the threat to her life. The Venezuelan filed a lawsuit to deprive her of her parental rights and close the exit for the minor. Now the mother has no means of livelihood, she and the child are in danger, given the consequences of the recent earthquake in Venezuela.

Melnikov noted that the mother wants to apply for Russian citizenship for her son, based on Russian legislation.

"Based on Article 69 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the rights of Russian citizens abroad must be protected. I ask you to take all possible measures to promptly grant Russian citizenship to a child and protect the rights of our compatriots, <...> as well as to organize their unhindered departure from the territory of the Republic of Venezuela to their homeland," he asked the Russian Foreign Minister.

Passport dispute: "maternity tourism" banned in the USA

The Trump administration is trying to change the rules for obtaining American citizenship.

On May 3, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced Russia's non-recognition of the imposition of US citizenship on the children of employees of Roszagran institutions. The diplomat noted that the arbitrary assignment of American citizenship to the children of employees could become a tool for Washington to put pressure on the staff of Russian foreign institutions.

On May 29, Alexey Egorov, First Deputy Head of the Migration Security Department of the Service for Citizenship and Registration of Foreign Citizens of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, said that recently there has been an increase in the number of Europeans wishing to obtain Russian citizenship. He noted that the decrees of the President of the Russian Federation on the support of people who share traditional Russian spiritual and moral values are also being implemented.