MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI) - The Interior Ministry has prepared a bill changing the procedure of obtaining Russian citizenship by foreigners circumventing stage of temporary residence.

The bill’s project was published on the website for legal acts on Tuesday.

According to the explanatory note, the two-stage system for obtaining a residence permit as well as quota mechanism for obtaining a temporary residence permit complicate the process of obtaining citizenship for the majority of law-abiding immigrants.

The bill introduces option for foreigners to obtain residence permit based on the scoring system, bypassing the stage of a temporary residence permit. Authors of the bill argue that this change will attract foreigners wishing to reside in Russia while implementing system based on selection criteria which will correspond to the economic and demographic policies of the Russian Federation.

Chance of obtaining a residence permit quickly will be available not only to Russian-speaking citizens of former Soviet republics, but also to representatives of other nations who want to live and work in Russia.

Authors of the bill remind of scoring system implemented in Australia and Canada, which is based on the criteria of immigrant’s personal worth. They note that this system significantly increased efficiency of immigration policy.