The issuance of passports and driver's licenses in Ukraine has been temporarily suspended: reasons and terms of restoration

A large-scale technical failure occurred in Ukraine’s electronic communications networks, causing the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU) and related service agencies to temporarily suspend the provision of administrative services. From September 28 to 30, the acceptance of applications, the processing and issuance of foreign passports and ID cards, as well as certain procedures at Ministry of Internal Affairs service centers (including the exchange and issuance of driver’s licenses) were suspended.

Experts and lawyers have assessed the situation and prepared detailed explanations for citizens whose plans to renew or obtain documents have been disrupted.

What happened, and which services are unavailable?

According to official data from the State Migration Service of Ukraine, the reason for the forced suspension was a technical failure in the equipment of the electronic communications service provider, which ensures secure backbone communication channels and access to state registries.

The provision of the following services is temporarily restricted:

Processing and issuance of ID cards: Submission of documents and pickup of completed Ukrainian passports at State Migration Service offices, Administrative Service Centers, and branch offices of the state enterprise “Document.”
Foreign passports: Processing of foreign passports for children and adults, both on an expedited and standard basis.
Driver’s licenses and registration procedures: Due to a lack of connectivity between the Migration Service’s electronic databases and the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ registries, verifying individuals’ identities during the issuance and exchange of driver’s licenses is temporarily complicated.
Online services and electronic queue: The operation of the State Migration Service’s official website, as well as services for checking the status of document processing and electronic appointment scheduling, has been suspended.

How long will the service interruption last, and when will service resume?

The estimated completion date for the emergency repair work by the telecommunications provider is September 30.

Full-scale service for citizens will resume in stages as data transmission channels are restored:

Full restoration of the provider’s secure backbone networks;
Synchronization of regional offices with the DMS central database;
Restoration of the website and the electronic queue.

What should citizens do if they had an appointment or are waiting for documents?

If you were planning to visit the Administrative Services Center, the State Migration Service, or the Passport Service during this time:

If you had a ticket for the electronic queue: It will be rescheduled or reinstated once the system is back online. We recommend that you follow the official announcements from the State Migration Service.
If you are waiting for a completed document: The issuance of passports and ID cards that have already been produced will resume as soon as employees regain access to the Unified State Demographic Register.
If you urgently need other documents: Procedures for requesting duplicates of civil registry certificates, property extracts, or submitting documents for apostille certification with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are handled through separate registries and are operating as usual.

Tips for planning visits

Stay updated on official announcements from government agencies. Once communication is restored and server operations stabilize, online appointments will resume automatically, and service centers will resume processing citizens’ requests on a first-come, first-served basis.