According to paragraph 1, part 1 of Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine”: Ukrainian citizens are all citizens of the former USSR who at the time of the declaration of independence of Ukraine (August 24, 1991) permanently resided in Ukraine. However, until 1994, such persons still used Soviet passports. Only since 1994, it was possible to obtain a passport of a Ukrainian citizen. Although this does not mean that persons who lived in Ukraine during 1991-1994 were not Ukrainian citizens, in practice, there are still difficulties in obtaining a Ukrainian passport. In particular, for those who went abroad between August 25, 1991, and 1994 and did not receive a 1994-exemplar passport.
Given that such cases are quite common, there is a need to share information that can be useful to anyone who, after a long break, decided to renew their Ukrainian documents.
The only document that confirms the renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship is the Decree of the President of Ukraine on renunciation. If, as of August 24, 1991, a person resided in Ukraine, without his / her application for renunciation of citizenship and issuance of the relevant Decree by the President of Ukraine, he/she continues to be a Ukrainian citizen. The absence of a 1994-exemplar passport of the Ukrainian citizen cannot be equated to renunciation of citizenship.
If a person has lived abroad for a long time, two scenarios should be considered.
1) The first option – when a person left Ukraine for permanent residence abroad.
If a person was a Ukrainian citizen and after August 24, 1991, undergo a procedure for leaving for permanent residence abroad, it is enough to apply to the diplomatic mission of Ukraine abroad. The Ukrainian embassy\consulate cancels the registration for permanent residence abroad and the initiates return to Ukraine. Upon arrival in Ukraine, such a person needs to apply to the State Migration Service and receive a new passport.
2) The second option – when the person lived abroad for a long time, as a result of which did not receive a 1994-exemplar passport in time (the person did not leave Ukraine for permanent residence abroad).
In this case, there are problems with the renewal of documents, because, in order to apply for a Ukrainian passport, a person shall provide another valid document. If, in the first case it is a Ukrainian passport for traveling, then in the second case – it will be necessary to go through the procedure of identification of a person. In order to do this, a person shall provide the following documents: Ukrainian tax ID code, birth certificate, and document of the place of residence in Ukraine. At the same time, it is necessary to file as many documents confirming the fact of living in Ukraine (diplomas, documents from school or work, copies of a Soviet passport, etc.) as possible.
On the basis of these documents, the State Migration Service of Ukraine conducts an inspection and, based on its results, decides on the issuance of a Ukrainian citizen passport.
Regardless of the results of the inspection or the presence of another citizenship, a person who lived in Ukraine after August 24, 1991, and was a Ukrainian citizen, continues to remain one. As already mentioned, the absence of a passport cannot be equated with renunciation of citizenship. The situation will be the same in the case of acquiring foreign citizenship. In other words, if a Ukrainian citizen has acquired foreign citizenship, but has not renounced Ukrainian citizenship, he/she continues to remain a citizen of both states. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that in relations with Ukraine, this person will be considered as only a citizen of Ukraine.
It is a common practice when a person has another citizenship and is denied a Ukrainian citizen passport. That is because some say that such a person applies for Ukrainian citizenship by withdrawing from a foreign one. However, this cannot be implemented in practice, as after the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence, these individuals were already Ukrainian citizens and did not submit any applications for renunciation.
Generally speaking, each case is unique and it is possible to give a legal assessment only after a detailed study of the documents available to the person and, if necessary, sending special requests.
