Draft bill #10425 of January 22, 2024 

Sponsor: the President of Ukraine 

Status: sent for review to the Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, National Minorities, and Interethnic Relations 

Who is affected: citizens of Ukraine, foreigners, and stateless persons intending to acquire Ukrainian citizenship 

Summary: 

Acquisition of citizenship 

  • citizens of the following countries will be able to acquire Ukrainian citizenship under a simplified procedure: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States of America 
  • citizens of these countries will be able to apply for Ukrainian citizenship without abandoning their other citizenship. From a legal perspective, Ukraine will recognize such foreigners as just citizens of Ukraine, particularly, they will no longer be under the legal protection of another state 
  • citizens of countries not included in the “simplified” list will have to submit a declaration acknowledging that they want to have only Ukrainian citizenship and the renounce citizenship of another state. The same applies to individuals who: 
    • are recognized as refugees or have been granted asylum in Ukraine 
    • serve or will serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard of Ukraine, State Special Transport Service, or are a spouse or child of such a person 
    • provided distinguished services to Ukraine 
    • are citizens of the aggressor state and have experienced documented persecution from it 
  • individuals acquiring citizenship under the simplified procedure will have to pass a Ukrainian language exam within three years from the date of citizenship acquisition 
  • the period to pass the Ukrainian language exam for persons who acquired citizenship on special grounds will be extended from two to three years. 

Loss of citizenship 

  • it will be possible to deprive a person of Ukrainian citizenship on the following grounds: 
    • voluntary acquisition of the citizenship of an aggressor state or a state not included in the “simplified” list by a citizen of Ukraine 
    • use of a foreign passport on the territory of Ukraine by an adult citizen of Ukraine who also holds foreign citizenship which results in a threat to national security and/or national interests of Ukraine 
    • acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship by providing false information, forged documents, deception, or failure to fulfill an obligation to renounce foreign citizenship, or failure to fulfill the obligation to pass exams on the fundamentals of the Constitution of Ukraine, history of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian language 
    • proven fact that a person served under contract in the military of an aggressor state 
    • a person is found guilty by a court of committing a crime against the fundamentals of national security of Ukraine, against peace, human security, or international order, terrorism, or the creation of a criminal organization 
    • participation in armed aggression against Ukraine as part of military units of an aggressor state or a state that is at war with Ukraine or facilitated the armed aggression against Ukraine 
  • a person will not be deprived of Ukrainian citizenship if the loss of citizenship makes him or her a stateless person. 

Immigration permits 

  • foreigners and stateless persons who have served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, State Special Transport Service, or the National Guard of Ukraine for three or more years or were deemed unfit by the military medical commission and who applied for an immigration permit within six months after the termination of the contract will have the status of legal temporary residents 
  • foreigners and stateless persons who no later than 12 months from the date of the end of the martial law in Ukraine received a temporary residence visa and who, during the martial law, assisted units of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, territorial defense, volunteer units of territorial communities, or other military units and law enforcement agencies by engaging in combat actions in the conflict zones for at least six months will be recognized as legally residing in Ukraine. This will also apply to cases when the validity of their passports has expired or a document has to be reissued, for the period while their visa is valid. Temporary residence visa will be valid for four years. These individuals cannot be deported to their country of origin or to a third country that committed aggression against Ukraine or does not recognize its territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

What is right:  the bill will provide a legal basis to stay in Ukraine for foreigners and stateless persons who have served in the Armed Forces, the National Guard, or other military units for three or more years, as well as for individuals who provided assistance to the army. 

What is wrong: 

  • there is a risk that multiple citizenship will be ruled unconstitutional: the Constitution provisions that there is only single citizenship in Ukraine and the Constitutional Court has not yet provided an official interpretation of this provision 
  • permission to acquire Ukrainian citizenship without renouncing other citizenships will increase the expenses on pensions and other welfare payments that are received by all Ukrainian citizens from the government budget. However, the state will not get extra revenue if its new citizens are living abroad 
  • the bill does not address the issue of foreigners serving in the Ukrainian military who will acquire Ukrainian citizenship without giving up their current citizenship. According to the Constitution, defense of the Motherland, of the independence and territorial indivisibility of Ukraine, and respect for its state symbols, are the duties of citizens of Ukraine 
  • the Constitution endows citizens of Ukraine with civil rights associated with citizenship: the right to freedom of association in political parties; the right to participate in the administration of state affairs, in nationwide and local referendums, to freely elect and be elected to bodies of state power and local self-government; the right to peaceful assemblies and demonstrations. The institution of multiple citizenship will expand the circle of individuals to be endowed with civil rights. It should be kept in mind that such individuals may not be integrated into life in Ukraine as they will be living in another country. Granting them electoral rights may pose a threat to national security 
  • it is inappropriate to terminate Ukrainian citizenship of a person who uses his or her foreign passport “to create threats to national security or interests of the state.” The list of threats and the list of national interests are defined by the President in the Strategy of National Security. Unlike offenses against national security, they are political value judgments that cannot be used as legal grounds to terminate Ukrainian citizenship 
  • according to the Constitution, a citizen of Ukraine cannot be deprived of citizenship or the right to change citizenship. Therefore, the clause that a person can lose citizenship under certain circumstances does not comply with the Constitution 
  • extension of the period to pass the Ukrainian language exam for persons who acquired citizenship on special grounds to three years will slow down the pace of learning Ukrainian. 

Alternative solution: 

  • withdraw the draft bill 
  • appeal to the Constitutional Court for an official interpretation of the constitutional principle that “there is single citizenship in Ukraine” 
  • having the official interpretation of this principle, conduct a broad public discussion on the idea of full legalization of multiple citizenship. 

Background: Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned dual citizenship and the need for its regulation during the election campaign. At the end of 2019, he submitted his first draft bill addressing the issue. At that time, the document was criticized by the opposition. In December 2021, the President submitted to the Parliament a new bill changing the grounds for acquisition and loss of citizenship. A few months later, however, the large-scale invasion by Russia started, and the Parliament has not considered the issue.