From 2014 onwards the Public Services Agency attests a considerable increase in the number of people mainly living on the left bank of the Dniester river and in Bender municipality, who have applied for Moldovan identity documents. This fact is due both to the liberalized visa regime with the EU member states for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova and the optimization of processes of providing public services regarding the citizenship and identity documents issuance to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.
Due to the amendments to the Law on citizenship no. 1024/2000, from April 19, 2018, persons over the age of 18, born on the territory of Moldova, regardless of whether they hold the citizenship of another state or live in the country or abroad, may acquire the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition under a simplified procedure.
Thus, the persons in the above mentioned category are recognized as citizens of the Republic of Moldova from the moment the relevant application, which contains the applicant’s consent, is submitted . Persons residing in the country may apply to any Identity Documents Office or Multifunctional Center of the Public Service Agency. Persons residing abroad may submit their applications to the diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Moldova. When registering the application, the applicants shall submit the identity documents they hold and the civil status documents. Applicants, who have no identity documents, are identified according to the procedure established by the regulatory framework.
The statistical data of recent years indicate that the acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition is the most requested procedure.
Starting April 19, 2018 up to the present day, 10060 people have benefited from the simplified procedure for the acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova by recognition, 7575 (about 72%) of which are residents from the left bank of the Dniester river and Bender municipality, who have already obtained identity documents of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova. Before the simplification of the procedure, annually, about 300 persons residing on the left bank of the Dniester and in Bender municipality were recognized as citizens of the Republic of Moldova.