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Ukrainian citizenship by descent

Become citizen of Ukraine by ancestry using a simplified procedure

  • We deal with complex cases 
  • More than 10 years of experience in processing citizenship
  • Support by Ukrainian migration lawyer
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Briefly on a citizenship by descent

1) Foreigner and stateless persons have the right to obtain Ukrainian citizenship by territorial origin (by descent, by ancestry) when one or at least one's:

  • mother or father;
  • grandfather or grandmother;
  • great-grandfather or great-grandmother;
  • native brother or sister;
  • son or daughter;
  • grandson or granddaughter -

were born or permanently resided before August 24, 1991 in the territory that became the territory of Ukraine.

2) Mandatory condition for obtaining a passport of a citizen of Ukraine is the refusal of all existing citizens at the time of application in the form:

  • from receiving a certificate of termination of previous citizenship;
  • returning the passport of previous citizenship to the authorities of the relevant state;
  • replacement of passport of previous citizenship with passport of Ukraine.
Which of these forms will be used depends on the citizenship of the one who applied for Ukrainian citizenship and the specifics of the procedure for termination of citizenship to that state.

3) The deadline for renouncing previous citizenship is two years from the moment of obtaining Ukrainian citizenship.

4) The date of acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship is data on the registration of a citizen of Ukraine by the Migration Service.

From December 2021, in order to obtain citizenship of Ukraine by territorial origin, it is necessary to provide a valid certificate on the absence of a criminal record in the country of citizenship.

As a general rule, such a certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of issue, unless otherwise stated on it.

The cost of a Ukrainian citizenship issuance

Obtainig of citizenship of Ukraine by territorial origin
  • Consultation
  • Preparation of documents
  • Preliminary approval of documents from the Migration service
  • Submission of a package of documents to the Migration service
  • Control of the process of obtaining the citizenship
  • Obtaining a certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine
  • Obtaining a temporary certificate of a citizen of Ukraine
  • 17900 uah
  • Payment of state duty
  • 300 uah
  • Translation of the necessary documents into Ukrainian, certified by a notary
  • from 400 uah (depends on volume and language)
  • Obtaining an archival certificate/excerpt from the civil status register
  • from 2000 uah
  • Notarisation of power of attorney for employees of our company
  • 900 uah
  • Address search for citizenship registration in Kyiv
  • by agreement
  • Court recognition of the fact of permanent residence before 1991 in the territory that became the territory of Ukraine
  • by agreement
Detailed consultation and analysis of documents needed to get citizenship of Ukraine by decent
  • Personal consultation on grounds for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship
  • Verification of existing documents, instructions for processing missing documents
  • Analysis of prospects for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship
  • Practical advice on the process of obtaining Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian passport from a practicing lawyer
  • 2500 uah (if further you order full support for the obtaining documents — we will deduct the cost of this consultation from the cost of our services)

Detailed on a citizenship by descent

What documents confirm the right to obtain Ukrainian citizenship?

In order to confirm that you have the right to obtain citizenship by territorial origin, it is necessary to collect all documents showing your family connection with a relative who was born on the territory of Ukraine. These should be birth, marriage, name change, etc. certificates.

If you were personally born on the territory of Ukraine, you must provide a birth certificate with the indicated place of birth.

As for the acquisition of citizenship based on the fact of permanent residence on the territory of Ukraine before August 24, 1991, in this case it is necessary to collect supporting documents and apply to the court to establish the fact of permanent residence. You will be able to submit documents for citizenship only after the court decision has entered into force.

Where application for Ukrainian citizenship takes place?

Documents for registration of Ukrainian citizenship are submitted to the Migration Service at the place of registration or residence. If you permanently live abroad, documents can also be submitted to the Embassy/Consulate of Ukraine in the country of residence. However, keep in mind that not all countries have Ukrainian consular offices involved in the issuance of citizenship — this moment must be clarified in each specific case.

How long does it take to process the documents?

Consideration of an application for acquiring citizenship by territorial origin by the Migration Service usually takes about 90 calendar days.

After the Migration Service has made a positive decision in the case, it is additionally necessary to submit an application for the issuance of a certificate of registration of a person as a citizen of Ukraine. Such certificate is issued within 10 working days.

When is it necessary to leave the current citizenship?

It is necessary to start the procedure of terminating foreign citizenship only when the Migration Service of Ukraine has made a decision on granting citizenship, issued the relevant certificate and a temporary certificate of a citizen of Ukraine.

There are 2 years from the date of the decision to grant Ukrainian citizenship to withdraw from foreign citizenship. If during these two years you do not submit documents confirming your exit to the Migration Service, your Ukrainian citizenship will be revoked. In this case, it is impossible to submit documents for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship again.

For citizens of some countries, it is envisaged to replace the passport of a foreign country with Ukrainian documents. There are also circumstances in which it is possible to simply send the passport of the country of previous citizenship to its Embassy/Consulate. In these cases, there is no need to go through the procedure of complete withdrawal from foreign citizenship.

When will I receive a passport of a citizen of Ukraine?

It is possible to obtain a passport of a citizen of Ukraine only after the Migration Service has issued you a certificate, which states: the certificate was issued for the registration of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine. When you receive such a certificate will depend on which of the procedures described above applies to you.

The order of issuing a citizenship by ancestry

  1. Preparation of documents from 1 w.d.
    • consultations
    • preparation of necessary statements, translations of documents into Ukrainian, their notarization
    • formation of a package of documents
  2. Submission and review of documents at the Migration Service from 2 months
    • approval of the package of documents by the Migration Service
    • a foreigner personally accompanied by a lawyer submits documents to the Migration Service
    • monitoring of the citizenship issuance process
    • receiving a decision of the Migration Service on citizenship
  3. Issuance of a certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine and a temporary certificate of a citizen of Ukraine to 10 w.d.
    • a foreigner personally accompanied by a lawyer submits an application and receives documents from the Migration Service

List of documents required to get Ukrainian citizenship

1. 4 photos
Size 35 X 45 mm on matte paper
2. Passport of the applicant
Original

It is necessary to certify a translation into Ukrainian and a notarized copy with all pages of the passport

3. Certificate of no criminal record from the country of citizenship
Original
Apostilled or legalized for use in Ukraine, unless otherwise specified and translated into Ukrainian
4. The applicant's birth certificate and/or certificates or other documents testifying to family ties with a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, relative (consanguineous and non-consanguineous) brother or sister, son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, who were born or permanently lived before August 24, 1991 in the territory that became the territory of Ukraine
Original + copy with a notarized translation into Ukrainian
Apostilled or legalized for use in Ukraine, unless otherwise specified and translated into Ukrainian
One of the following documents:
1. A temporary or permanent residence permit in Ukraine with a certificate/excerpt from the registration of the place of residence
Original and copy
Provided that the person has a temporary residence permit
2. Application-consent of the owner/s for residence
Original with a notarized sign of an owner/-s
If there is no temporary or permanent residence permit
After receiving a temporary certificate of a citizen of Ukraine, you must register/declare your place of residence within 30 days. If the registration was already completed with a temporary or permanent residence permit, you need to update the information about the passport document in the Register of Territorial Communities and obtain a new certificate.

What you get

FAQ

How to get Ukrainian citizenship in a simplified procedure?

The so-called “simplified procedure” for obtaining citizenship is the registration of citizenship by territorial origin (Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine”).

You can familiarize yourself with the procedure, order, and nuances of the “simplified” procedure of citizenship on this page.

I have Ukrainian ancestors, can I repatriate to Ukraine?

According to its definition, repatriation is the return to the Motherland of persons who during the war found themselves outside the borders of their country and stayed outside it for a long time. Currently, there is no such or similar procedure in Ukraine, including for the descendants of Ukrainians who went abroad.

However, if your relatives are no further than great-grandmother or great-grandfather in terms of the degree of kinship, were born or permanently lived in the territory that became the territory of Ukraine, you have the right to acquire citizenship by territorial origin.

Before making a decision to apply for citizenship, keep in mind that in order to obtain a Ukrainian passport, you will definitely have to give up all your existing citizenships. If you do not want to keep your foreign citizenship, we recommend that you pay attention to the immigration procedure and issue a permanent residence permit.

Is it possible to get citizenship based on a birth certificate in the USSR?

If you were born during the times of the USSR in the territory that became the territory of Ukraine, you have the right to submit documents for registration of citizenship.

Before submitting the documents, we recommend obtaining an extract from the register of birth certificates (we can do this for you) to check whether all the information in the register is correct.

You can also get a duplicate birth certificate. In this way, you will update the information in the register, your documents will be issued by a Ukrainian state body and written in Ukrainian, which will significantly speed up the process of their consideration. In the future, if necessary, it will be possible to put an apostille on such a certificate.

How to get Ukrainian citizenship if mom or dad were born in Ukraine?

If your mother or father was born on the territory of Ukraine, you have the right to acquire Ukrainian citizenship by territorial origin.

In order to submit documents for registration of citizenship, we recommend first checking whether there is a record of the birth of the mother and father in the archives or civil status registration body. We can do it for you. If the record of birth has been preserved and there are no remarks on it, then you can submit documents.

How to get Ukrainian citizenship by descent grandparents?

Citizenship of Ukraine by descent grandparent is citizenship by territorial origin.

The first step is to collect all the documents that will confirm your family connection with your grandmother or grandfather. These can be certificates of birth, name change, marriage, etc.

It is also important to have a document confirming the birth of a grandparent on the territory that became the territory of Ukraine.

If this document is of an old model or is missing at all, we recommend that you make a request to the archive or сivil status registration body (depending on how many years have passed since the birth) to check whether the birth record has been preserved. We can do it for you.

If the record of birth has been preserved and there are no remarks on it, then you can submit documents for obtaining citizenship.

Does obtaining citizenship in Ukraine mean the automatic termination of my citizenship?
Obtaining Ukrainian citizenship does not mean automatic termination of citizenship of another state.
Is it necessary to give up my citizenship in order to obtain Ukrainian passports?

Yes, in order to get Ukrainian passports, you must first give up of all your current citizenships.

The exception is cases when there is an international agreement between Ukraine and the state of which the applicant is a citizen, which provides for a change of citizenship simultaneously with the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship (for example, Belarus and Kazakhstan). In these cases, it is not necessary to go through the procedure of renunciation of citizenship, the Migration Service notifies the diplomatic institution of the country of previous citizenship about the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship and sends passports to it independently.

Also, citizens of countries in which there is no procedure for terminating citizenship can simply hand in their passports, because it is physically impossible for them to fully relinquish citizenship.

In all other cases, termination of previous citizenships is mandatory.

The norm, which made it possible to avoid full exit from citizenship, if the state payment for termination exceeds half of the minimum wage in Ukraine, no longer exists. Therefore, in such cases, it is no longer possible to simply hand over the passport.

Is it possible to submit documents for registration of citizenship by power of attorney?
Unfortunately no. The Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine” clearly defines that the applicant submits the application and other documents on citizenship issues in person. Therefore, it is impossible to submit documents power of attorney.

Questions and comments

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Luchko Oksana

customer support specialist

+38 (093) 215 14 98