An 11-year-old girl from Kazakhstan was not allowed to enter Russia with her parents, because now people with a residence permit in the Russian Federation (residence permit) can cross the border, but not their close relatives. Aliya Kudryashova, her husband and two children were returning by car to Yekaterinburg from Kazakhstan, where they went to visit relatives during school holidays.
“On March 26, border guards allowed everyone except my daughter Zhanar at the Petukhovo checkpoint. My husband and youngest child have Russian citizenship, I have a residence permit, and Zhanar does not have these documents yet, she is a citizen of Kazakhastan and is not adopted by her husband. They explained to me that since March 18, by order of the government, Russia has closed the entrance for foreigners and offered to leave the child at the border, ”Kudryashova said in an interview with RT.
On the same day, the Russian government expanded the list of people who have the right to enter the country - it also included close relatives of Russians (parents, children, spouses). In the original version of the order, only drivers of trucks carrying goods, crews of ships and trains, diplomats and people who have a residence permit (permit) could cross the border. Because of this, dozens of families returning from abroad were separated at the border: law enforcement officers did not let the spouse who did not have a Russian passport or residence permit.
However, these amendments did not affect the native people who have a residence permit in Russia. According to the documents, Aliya is now the only parent of Zhanar.
“I do not have a passport of the Russian Federation, and my second husband has not yet adopted Zhanar. We had to take my daughter back to Petropavlovsk to my relatives. In Yekaterinburg, I immediately applied to the Federal Migration Service to apply for a residence permit for Zhanar, but this is impossible without her presence - she needs to undergo a medical examination, ”the source said.
Without the personal presence of Zhanar, Aliya’s husband also cannot adopt the girl so that she officially becomes a close relative of the Russian and has the opportunity to cross the border.
Kudryashova is assisted in returning her daughter to Russia by Valery Arshinova, a lawyer for the Agora international human rights group. According to her, in this case, the government’s decree on a temporary ban on entry for foreigners contradicts international standards.
“There is an international convention on the rights of the child, this document was adopted by Kazakhstan and Russia as well. According to the convention, to separate a child from their parents is possible only by a court decision, in addition, no, even emergency measures, can be aimed at the separation of children from their families. Also, if the parent submits an appeal to the authorities for the child to enter the country, the state authorities should consider it immediately and positively - so that the child returns to the family as soon as possible, ”the lawyer said in a conversation with RT. “The authorities can restrict certain rights and freedoms if necessary - for example, now with quarantine - but this does not apply to such fundamental freedoms as the right to protect and raise a child in the family.”
As noted by Arshinova, the situation is further complicated by the fact that Kazakhstan has also closed its borders - from March 16 to April 15, citizens of the country are temporarily unable to leave it. In order for Zhanar to return to her parents and sister in Yekaterinburg, the coordinated work of the Russian and Kazakh authorities is necessary, the lawyer emphasized.
Aliya Kudryashova has already submitted official requests to the departments of both countries. The embassy of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation told her that they could not help yet because of the decision of the Russian government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported that they had transmitted information to the border service, now the family is waiting for a response from this department.
Arshinova’s lawyer believes that it is necessary to amend the government decree again so that other people with a residence permit in Russia who are returning to the country from abroad do not face a similar problem.
The day before, Aliya Kudryashova was able to talk with representatives of the apparatus of the children's ombudsman in the Russian Federation, where she was promised that they would contribute to accelerated citizenship for Zhanar.
“Usually this procedure takes at least a month, with the petitioner's request, it takes less time, but it can only begin when the work week starts again in Russia, which means that the girl will have to stay away from her family,” the lawyer concluded.