How to get Ukrainian citizenship for a child in 2023?

The outbreak of hostilities forced many people to leave Ukraine. Women today try to save their children by taking them abroad with a birth certificate. There are also cases where a child has already been born in another country. This creates certain difficulties when applying for a child’s passport.  You need to have a certificate of registration of the child as a citizen of Ukraine. 

Recently there have been changes in the legislation of Ukraine, as a result of which you need to have a certificate of citizenship for your child in order to receive any service. You will need the said document to register your child, including a newborn, to obtain a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, a passport, etc. 

Please note! A child born in Ukraine, does not automatically become a citizen of Ukraine. This fact must be confirmed by an appropriate certificate.

In our article lawyers will tell you about the cases which require a certificate of citizenship of the child. 

If today you are planning to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for a child, we will help you with this not only in the basic article, but also in practice. All organization and responsibility for achieving the result is on us. You will have all the information you need laid out for you on the shelves. At the same time, to be in the information field, you will not need to waste your time and nerves.

It is safe with us:

• Leading lawyer - Chief specialist of the migration service for more than 10 years;
• We will prepare at all stages - an interview at the migration service, at the border, at the consulate, etc.;
• If you have no chance, we will be honest about it and find an alternative solution.

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What to do if one of the child's parents is a foreigner, and the other is a Ukrainian citizen?

Let's say the dad or mom of the child is a foreigner. For example, the dad is a Turkish citizen, the mom is a Ukrainian citizen, and they have a child together. It doesn't matter where the baby was born. But if you want to register your child in Ukraine, you'll need to get a certificate of your child's citizenship first. This document will also allow the foreign dad to get a residence permit.

Please note! One of the parents must have had Ukrainian citizenship at the time of the child's birth.

Here's another scenario: what if the child's parents (or one of them) got Ukrainian citizenship after the child was born, but the child never got a Ukrainian citizenship certificate? This means that when the child was born, the parents didn't have Ukrainian citizenship.

For example, let's say the whole family moved from the US to Ukraine, the parents got Ukrainian citizenship, but when it came time to get passports for the kids, they found out that the children didn't have the right documents and were still American citizens. In this case, you need to get Ukrainian citizenship for your children and the appropriate certificate. With this document, your children can get a Ukrainian passport.

During this process, your child's consent to obtaining Ukrainian citizenship is required if they're already 14 years old. It's important to note that your child is considered a minor until they turn 18.

To obtain Ukrainian citizenship for a child, you must first prepare a package of documents and submit it to the migration service. This procedure is free of charge. Typically, checks are carried out within three months, and afterward, one of two decisions is made:

• either to register the child as a citizen of Ukraine,
• or to refuse registration.

If the decision is positive, you can obtain a certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine. Please note that there is a fee for this service. The certificate can be issued urgently within 10 days or normally within 30 days. 

To obtain the certificate, the parent who filed the application for the child's citizenship must provide payment for the administrative service and their passport document.

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What are the main documents needed to obtain a certificate when registering a child's Ukrainian citizenship?

The required documents depend on your situation. Here's what you'll typically need:

1. A document verifying the child's birth, such as a birth certificate or extract from the birth registry. If required, it must be legalized or apostilled.

2. Documents from the parents, including:

• Ukrainian passport
• Residence permit
• Foreign passport
• Proof that the child or parents do not hold citizenship from any other country.

3. Documents confirming that the child is not a citizen of another country, or a statement indicating that the child is a foreigner or stateless person.

If the child is 14 years old or older, their consent may be required for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship in certain cases. Additionally, the presence of the child and second parent is not always required for document processing.

Our company can assist you with all the details. In some cases, if urgent processing is necessary, there are options for submitting citizenship documents at the same time as the child's passport application. The maximum processing time for citizenship is three months.

The procedure involves two stages: 

1. Decision on the child's registration as a Ukrainian citizen.
2. Obtaining a certificate of the child's registration as a Ukrainian citizen. The document can be obtained in an expedited manner - within 10 business days - or in the standard processing time of up to 30 business days.

Please note! Even if the child already holds a passport from another country, they can still obtain Ukrainian citizenship.

If you left Ukraine due to military actions and gave birth to a child abroad, we can assist you in preparing the necessary documents for the child's registration.

Our lawyers will examine your specific case and provide all the necessary assistance. 

Over the past year, our specialists have prepared a package of documents for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship and passports for newborn children for four clients.

The process for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship for a child with our assistance includes:

Our lawyers will thorough review your situation, help with document preparation, including obtaining copies of the birth certificate and translation requirements

If necessary, we will consult you on the citizenship application process and timing, offer guidance on exiting the country of origin, and support in preparing the necessary documents.

Confirmation of Ukrainian citizenship for a child

The question of the need to confirm the child’s citizenship in Ukraine may arise for various reasons. For example, you and the other parent of the child are citizens of another country, but live in Ukraine based on a temporary residence permit, and the child was born here. And you want Ukraine to be your child’s country of citizenship.

Or one of the parents is a citizen of Ukraine, and you want your child to obtain Ukrainian citizenship. Often there are situations when spouses get divorced and one of the parents (the one who is Ukrainian) returns to Ukraine and wants to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for the child.

At the same time you can reason from the convenience, which the child will get from Ukrainian citizenship, or you can try to reduce the waiting time for citizenship for the whole family. Regardless of the reasons, it is important to consider that:

• To be able to confirm the citizenship of a child in Ukraine, it is necessary to comply with the grounds and procedural nuances, which we will describe in detail;
• Before initiating any procedure, it is better to consult with a lawyer. Perhaps your goals can be achieved in a simpler way.

Let’s talk briefly about the conditions of confirmation of the child’s citizenship in Ukraine. If you want to know more, to assess your situation and to understand whether it is possible to obtain citizenship for parents - contact us for a personal consultation.

Who is eligible for confirmation of Ukrainian citizenship?

In general, only a child born in Ukraine under completely different circumstances has such a right:

• If a Ukrainian and a foreigner have a child born in Ukraine;
• If both foreign parents have a temporary residence permit in the country and the child was born here as well;
• If foreign parents came to Ukraine for vacation, but the child was born on the territory of Ukraine.

Please note! The child’s citizenship in Ukraine can be confirmed even if the child was born abroad, but the foreign parents have the right to legal stay in Ukraine. 

An interesting fact: You can obtain the necessary certificate at any age of the child (up to 16 years old). That is, even if you, having given birth to a child in Ukraine, left the country and obtained a permanent residence permit in another country, you have the right to come back to Ukraine and apply for this document. But in this case, the package of documents shall include a mandatory waiver of foreign permanent residence permit or, if your child acquired the citizenship of another country - renunciation of citizenship. 

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How do you initiate the procedure for confirming the child’s citizenship in Ukraine?

Figuratively speaking, the first step is to obtain a certificate confirming the child’s citizenship in Ukraine. This document is only a confirmation of citizenship, that is, it attests to the Ukraininan citizenship of the child. This certificate allows the child to be officially enrolled in school, receive free medical care at a clinic and obtain a passport to travel abroad. In fact, having this certificate the child enjoys all the rights of a citizen of Ukraine, but he/she becomes a full citizen only after getting the Ukrainian passport. 

The certificate confirming the child’s citizenship is only the first step to obtaining citizenship. The fact is that, according to the procedure, a child who has been confirmed as a citizen has the right to acquire citizenship (in the form of a Ukrainian passport) only after reaching the age of majority. This is done so that children can independently choose citizenship when they become adults.

As for foreign parents, even if the child has obtained the  certificate, they will definitely need to extend their legal stay in Ukraine. However, the confirmation procedure stipulates that after the certificate is issued, the foreign parents are required to obtain a permanent residence permit in the country. There is no deadline for the parent to apply for a permanent residence permit. The most important issue is whether there are any grounds for the parents to stay in Ukraine at the time of obtaining this certificate. 

If you have such grounds - our lawyers will apply for a permit to immigration, if you don’t have any grounds - we will arrange your departure from the country and obtain a temporary residence permit. There are other ways, including those that will allow you obtain the permit, without having to leave Ukraine. 

Of course, parents will undertake the procedure of obtaining a certificate of confirmation. Our team will support the parents when submitting documents and obtaining a certificate confirming the child’s citizenship of Ukraine.

What are the advantages of obtaining a certificate confirming the child’s citizenship in Ukraine for the parents?

By obtaining such a certificate for your child, you, as a foreigner, will be able to:

• obtain a permanent residence permit in Ukraine. To apply for a permanent residence permit, parents need to prepare a set of documents and attach a certificate confirming the child’s citizenship (we will prepare the entire package of documents);
• after you have lived in the country on the basis of the permanent residence permit about 5 years, you will be eligible to apply for citizenship of Ukraine;
• while the documents confirming the child’s citizenship are under consideration - you can legally stay in Ukraine even without a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit issued in Ukraine (without having to leave the country). 

If your goal is to migrate to Ukraine and your child has grounds to confirm Ukrainian citizenship, the algorithm of your actions may look as follows:

• Obtain a certificate of proof of the child’s citizenship;
• Obtain an immigration permit for a foreign parent;
• Get a permanent residence permit in Ukraine for 5 years;
• Get a new immigration permit after 5 years;
• Obtain Ukrainian citizenship for parents;
• When the child reaches the age of majority, obtain the Ukrainian passport for the child.

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Legal services for confirming the child’s citizenship in Ukraine

Our firm helps foreigners in Ukraine to solve any problems with the legalization of their stay or migration to the country. Regarding the situation described in the article, we:

• advise on the Client’s situation, analyze the risks and find the best option, depending on your needs;
• execute power of attorney for our lawyers to represent you at state authorities;
• do the notarial translation of all necessary documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, passports, residence permits, etc.);
• prepare an application and declaration for termination of citizenship (the previous one, if any); 
• submit a set of documents to the Migration Service of Ukraine;
• monitor the adoption of a positive decision;
• obtain a certificate confirming the child’s citizenship of Ukraine.

If necessary, our team of keen specialists will obtain citizenship for the whole family of foreigners on a turnkey basis, as well as enable the parents to legally stay in Ukraine while waiting and obtaining an immigration permit.

You can find our service fees for obtaining citizenship in Ukraine here.

If you have any legal issues in Ukraine, don't hesitate to contact us for a simple and secure solution.