Admission to the citizenship of Ukraine

 ADMISSION TO THE CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE
Admission to citizenship is to some extent a complex and long-term procedure, which is provided for by the legislation of Ukraine, namely Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Citizenship", which declares the grounds and conditions for acceptance to citizenship, as well as the Decree of the President of Ukraine on the detailed stages and steps of registration of checks in obtaining by foreigners or stateless persons, a decision on acceptance of Ukrainian citizenship. Foreigners and stateless persons who want to obtain Ukrainian citizenship by admission have the right to submit the relevant package of documents to the authorized body of the state migration service at the place of residence in Ukraine.
GROUNDS FOR ADMISSION TO THE CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE

 1. Marriage with a citizen of Ukraine for more than 2 years
 2. Residence in the territory of Ukraine with a permanent residence permit for more than 5 years, without leaving Ukraine for more than 90 days within 6 months
 3. Living in the territory of Ukraine for at least 3 years as a refugee or a person granted asylum in Ukraine
 4. Military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under a contract for at least 3 years
 5. Significant merits to Ukraine or a person is of state interest for Ukraine
 6. Marriage to a citizen of Ukraine for more than 2 years, which ended as a result of the death of the citizen of Ukraine.

CONDITIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE
1. Recognition and observance of the Constitution and Laws of Ukraine. Foreigners/stateless persons, at the time of personal submission of documents, indicate in the application about initiation of the procedure, the recognition of citizenship and compliance with the legislation of Ukraine.
2. Submission of a declaration/commitment to terminate foreign citizenship:
    • If documents on initiation of the citizenship procedure are submitted by a stateless person, in this case, a declaration of absence of foreign citizenship is signed.
    • If documents are submitted by a foreigner - a commitment to terminate foreign citizenship is signed. Provision of an obligation to terminate foreign citizenship is not required if by their legislation the citizenship automatically terminates at the same time as the acquisition of citizenship of another state.
    • Foreigners who have been recognized as refugees / granted asylum in Ukraine - provide a declaration of renunciation of foreign citizenship.
    • Foreigners whose country has concluded an international agreement with Ukraine - apply for a change of citizenship.
    • Foreigners / stateless persons who served (are serving) military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine - submit a declaration of renunciation of foreign citizenship.
    • Foreigners who have significant merits for Ukraine or are of state interest for Ukraine - submit a declaration of renunciation of foreign citizenship.
    • Foreigners who are citizens of a state recognized by an aggressor state or an occupier state, and have experienced persecution in the country of their citizenship, submit a declaration of renunciation of foreign citizenship together with documents confirming the persecution.
3. Continuous residence in the territory of Ukraine on legal grounds during the period of time determined by certain grounds. Continuous residence means the presence of a permanent residence permit (immigration permit) or refugee/asylum status in Ukraine, a contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for more than 3 years.
4. Obtaining an immigration permit. This condition does not apply to persons undergoing military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, recognized as refugees and granted asylum in Ukraine.
5. Language proficiency of the state language or understanding it sufficiently for communication. According to the new rules, as well as to the procedure for obtaining a certificate of knowledge of the Ukrainian language, it is necessary for foreigners and stateless persons to pass an exam and tests on the proficiency of the Ukrainian language. The language proficiency exam is taken personally by a foreigner/stateless person in higher educational institutions according to the request through the "DIIA" application. The certificate of proficiency in the Ukrainian language is issued strictly in accordance with the rules and conditions of the exams.
6. Availability of legal sources for living. In order to confirm legal sources for living, foreigners / stateless personss must provide a certificate from the bank about the availability of finances or a certificate from the place of work about the salary for the last 6 months with the relevant package of documents.

Important: The amount that must be present in the bank account cannot be less than 12 minimum wages at the time of applying for citizenship. As of 2023, the minimum wage for an able-bodied person is - UAH 2 684, that is, the amount should not be less than 12 x 2 684 = UAH 32 208.

PAPERWORK FOR ADMISSION TO THE CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE

Foreigners and stateless persons collect the appropriate package of documents, which corresponds to the basis of obtaining the citizenship. The package of documents must be relatively new, i.e. the documents must not be older than 6 months (recommended), the certificate of criminal record - 2 months (recommended). Documents issued in other countries must be apostilled / legalized. The package of documents is submitted exclusively at the place of registration to the territorial unit of the Migration Service of Ukraine with the person's personal presence.
Important: At the time of submission of documents for acceptance to the citizenship of Ukraine, the passport for departure abroad must be valid for at least 12 months.

TIME LIMITS FOR ADMISSION TO THE CITIZENSHIP OF UKRAINE
From the moment of submitting the relevant package of documents and signing the application for Ukrainian citizenship, the documents, after their acceptance, are transferred to the main (central) department of the migration service. Documents and grounds are carefully checked by the relevant authorized law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. The time period for examination of documents is up to 12 months, but there may be additional checks and the time period may be extended from 12 to 18 months. After passing all checks, the case with documents is sent to the Office of the President for the adoption of the final decision on the citizenship by the commission and the signing of the Decree on admission of the person to the citizenship of Ukraine.

WORK WITH US
The lawyers of our company will help you quickly and without problems to obtain the citizenship of Ukraine if there are grounds. Working with us means:

1. Full legal consultation regarding the grounds and conditions for accepting you as a Ukrainian citizen.
2. Issuance and preparation of a complete package of documents in accordance with the grounds for acceptance of citizenship.
3. Legal support of our specialists at the time of submission of the relevant package of documents to the authorized bodies.
4. Control over the procedure of admission to citizenship
Important: The "ENWOLT" legal association cannot influence the decisions of authorized authorities' checks, but we control the status of the legality of document execution by sending official legal requests to migration service authorities at various stages of registration and checks. We monitor and also report with official answers to you about the current status of your case.
5. Decree on admission to Ukrainian citizenship. Depending on the country, you receive one of the following documents: a certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine or a temporary certificate of a citizen of Ukraine, which is valid for 2 years, so that you have time to withdraw from your previous citizenship. We will provide you with a consistent action plan for withdrawing from citizenship.
Important: The temporary certificate of naturalization in Ukraine is a guarantee that Ukraine accepts you as a citizen. Within 2 years, you need to contact the consulate / embassy / country (depending on the specifics of renunciation of citizenship of your country) and raise the issue of renunciation of citizenship. The result of renunciation of citizenship is a certificate of renunciation of citizenship.
6. Obtaining a certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine. After withdrawing from the citizenship of your previous country, we accompany you in obtaining a certificate of naturalization. On the basis of this certificate, you can submit documents for obtaining a domestic passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of an ID card. Our specialists can also help you with this service.

We will be happy to help you!