Residence permit by marriage in Ukraine: why is it denied if a foreigner has a new passport?

Foreigners living in Ukraine and already having a job or any other activity here often start planning their future life here. Of course, a question of entering into marriage in Ukraine may arise, and this gives the opportunity and the right to obtain a residence permit in Ukraine by marriage. 

The procedure has been described several times, including by us here, but in practice it involves interesting subtle aspects. For example, additional requirements to a foreigner when drawing up documents for obtaining a residence permit by marriage, if the foreigner’s passport is new. Can a foreigner be refused a residence permit and what to do in this situation?

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Core of the case: Residence permit through marriage in Ukraine for a citizen of Moldova

At the beginning of 2020 we were contacted by a citizen of Moldova, whose goal was to get a residence permit in Ukraine, having concluded a marriage with a Ukrainian. As the given basis is a guarantee of successful residence permit reception, we started to work.

First of all, to conclude a marriage, the Client had to enter Ukraine for legal stay in the country. And since the Client is a citizen of Moldova, he could stay in Ukraine under a visa-free regime. So immediately after crossing the border, we began the process of registration of marriage with a citizen of Ukraine. 

In this case the problem was that the foreigner had a brand new passport issued 3 months ago. This was the problem for all further actions, because in order to get married and to get a residence permit, it is necessary to have a passport, the validity period of which is more than 6 months.

Of course, in this situation you can always step back and just wait for the required number of months, but we found another solution. To circumvent the rule with a new passport, you can get a certificate from the Border Guard Service about the legal entry and stay of a foreigner in Ukraine. This certificate gives legal grounds for the temporary stay of a non-resident in Ukraine, until the completion of the procedure of voluntary return of the latter. Since the procedure of voluntary return is a marriage with a Ukrainian, then having obtained this certificate, we were able to submit documents for marriage registration to the Civil Registration Office. 

How to get a temporary residence certificate from the Border Guard Service?

To do this, you must personally apply to the Main Center for Special Information Processing of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The period for obtaining the certificate is 10 business days. Of course, our lawyers helped competently draw up an application in accordance with all the requirements of the law, and accompanied the foreigner during his visit to both the State Border Guard Service and the Migration Service.

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After obtaining the certificate, our lawyers conducted the rest of the procedure to obtain a residence permit in Ukraine under the scheme we have properly worked out:

• Having obtained the certificate, we accompanied the Client to the Civil Registration Office, where he concluded a marriage with a Ukrainian woman;
• Then we gathered all necessary documents to submit for a residence permit, which took us only 5 days. 

Since the Clients lived in Mykolaiv, and they wanted to get a residence permit there, we organized remote legal support of the procedure for obtaining a residence permit from Kyiv in Mykolaiv. 

Note: Ukrainian legislation requires D type visa in the passport, but for citizens of countries with which Ukraine has an international agreement on visa-free regime - this requirement is canceled. 

• Our lawyers sent ready-made documents (insurances, translations, notarization) to the Client by New Mail delivery service, and organized the submission of all documents to the State Migration Service in the city of Mykolaiv. 
• As a result, within 7 days after filing, the Client obtained a temporary residence permit on the first try.

No matter whether you are in Kyiv or another city of Ukraine, the experience of our lawyers allows us to successfully obtain a residence permit in any region of Ukraine, as well as solve any problems arising in the process.

Do you want to get a residence permit in Ukraine by marriage? Don’t hesitate to contact us! 

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