Authorities in the former Soviet state of Moldova say they are struggling to cope with a sharp increase in applications for citizenship from Russian citizens.
“Given the increase in requests for Moldovan citizenship, the agency is asking the government to extend the deadline for considering requests to six months – instead of the current deadline of 20 days,” said the government agency, which, among other things, deals with citizenship and passports, reports Fena citing Reuters.
The press release states that the geopolitical situation in the region caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine has led to an increase in the number of people seeking Moldovan citizenship.
The agency said 70 percent of the applicants were Russian citizens and 20 percent were Ukrainians, without giving specific figures on the number of those seeking citizenship from Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries.
Moldova’s pro-European government has condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, its eastern neighbor. Parts of Russian missiles that were apparently aimed at Ukraine fell on the territory of Moldova.
