Over 357 thousand inhabitants of the Transnistrian region are citizens of the Republic of Moldova

According to the information provided by the Public Services Agency, as of 31 December 2023, 366 532 inhabitants residing in the Transnistrian region were recorded in the State Register of Population, of which:

— 357534 hold citizenship of the Republic of Moldova (330 538 in 2020 or + 26 996/7,55 %)

— 336116 possess passports of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova (305 406 in 2020 or + 30 710/9,14 %)

— 299898 have identity cards of the Republic of Moldova (274 198 in 2020 or + 25 700/8,57 %)

Due to the adopted regulatory amendments on simplification of the procedure for obtaining citizenship of the Republic of Moldova between 19 April 2018 and 31 December 2023, according to the new legal provisions, 35,682 persons were recognized as citizens of the Republic of Moldova, of which 24 497 (68,65%) residents of the Transnistrian region who also received an identity card of a citizen of the Republic of Moldova.

As a result of illegal restrictions imposed by Tiraspol in 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of documents issued annually to residents of the region has decreased significantly: identity cards – 9 673 and passports of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova – 17 391.

Thus, as a result of the efforts of the constitutional authorities to remove illegal posts established by the security forces of Tiraspol, which isolated the right bank of the Nistru River, preventing the free movement of citizens between the banks, since 2022, the dynamics of documenting citizens of the Transnistrian region has been restored and 19,408 identity cards and 38,040 passports have been issued (respectively, +100,6% and +118,7% more documents were issued compared to 2021).

By Government Decree no. 286/2019 on the approval of Instructions on the certification of facts of civil status that took place and registered in settlements on the Left Bank of the Nistru River and the municipality of Bender, based on the positive obligations of the Republic of Moldova with respect to citizens living in localities currently outside the constitutional control, a legal mechanism was established in this regard.

 In 2023, 9 154 national-standard civil status documents and 6 948 duplicates were issued to applicants from the Transnistrian region. At the same time, 8 614 residents of the region applied for a certificate of civil status.

A constant dynamic is maintained in the process of documentation of foreigners from the Transnistrian region with national model acts. Thus, in 2023, 8 998 people were registered, of whom 4 154 received permanent residence permits, 1 487 – temporary residence permits, 1 239 – identity cards issued to stateless persons, 9 – identity cards for refugees and 11 – identity cards for beneficiaries of humanitarian protection.