The Ministry of Interior Affairs of Kazakhstan informed Monday that a total of 22,000 people were granted citizenship last year, Astana Times reports.
Out of the total number of applicants, 17,676 were Kandas, or ethnic Kazakhs returning to Kazakhstan. Another 1,287 individuals from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia utilized a simplified registration process, while 1,777 acquired Kazakh citizenship through the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women.
In total, at least 20,000 people were granted citizenship in Kazakhstan via the simplified procedure.
Every year, approximately 20,000 individuals apply for Kazakh citizenship, with over one million people have received it in the past 30 years.
Dual citizenship is prohibited in Kazakhstan, and failure to disclose this information may result in a fine of up to 200 monthly calculation indices (MCI) or expulsion from the country.
“This year, to prevent cases of dual citizenship, legislative amendments are planned to upgrade the penalties for the deliberate concealment of other citizenship. Former citizens of Kazakhstan who have moved to another country and got another citizenship are required to apply to a consular office of Kazakhstan within 30 days to register the loss of citizenship,” said Shugyla Turlybek, Spokesperson for the Kazakh Ministry of Interior Affairs, JJTV cited.
