More than 80% of applications for Moldovan citizenship come from the East, particularly from the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the Transnistrian region, according to Mircea Esanu, Director of the Public Services Agency (ASP). He said that since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the number of applications has doubled, reaching nearly 12,000 per year, IPN reports.
Eșanu explained that interest in Moldovan citizenship increased significantly after the war began.
“In 2024–2025, compared to 2020, the number of applications doubled. We now have two consecutive years in which we are approaching 12,000 applications annually. Everyone has different reasons: some fled the war, others fled a totalitarian regime. What is certain is that people are looking for various solutions to circumvent the law,” Mircea Esanu said on Radio Moldova.
In response, ASP intensified verification procedures, uncovering a growing number of fraud attempts.
“Out of 12,000 applications in 2025, we have identified over 400 confirmed cases of forgery, and many more files remain under examination. Many applicants come from the Transnistrian region. We do not exercise constitutional control over that area and do not know how many children were born there. As a result, fraud attempts vary widely, and we conduct significantly more checks,” Esanu noted.
He added that the predominance of applications from the East prompted legislative changes to enable stricter verification.
“More than 80% of citizenship applications originate from the East. Our mission is to ensure that the law allows proper verifications. Unfortunately, amid this wave, citizens who do not pose any risk are also affected,” the ASP director said.
Amendments to the Law on Moldovan Citizenship entered into force on December 24, 2025. The new provisions tighten the citizenship acquisition process by requiring applicants to demonstrate knowledge of the Romanian language and the Constitution, and by introducing stricter anti-fraud checks.