Regulations for persons subject to military service traveling abroad

Draft bill #9074 of March 3, 2023 

Cosponsors: a group of MPs from the Servant of the People faction. 

Who is affected: persons subject to military service, athletes, students, employees of centers of recruitment and social support, notaries, and service members. 

Summary of the bill: 

• the right of citizens to travel abroad cannot be limited except for the reasons specified by law 
• if martial law is declared, persons subject to military service who want to travel abroad will have to provide written permission from their centers of recruitment and social support or a notarized commitment to return to Ukraine within 30 days after departure 
• citizens who are not subject to conscription will have to provide a document certifying this fact, as well as a notarized commitment to return to the country no later than 10 days after the deadline after which the person in question can be conscripted 

• to participate in sports competitions, persons subject to military service will have to submit a letter of approval from the Ministry of Sports or from the national federation 
• for violating these regulations, guilty persons will be either punished in accordance with the law or indemnified if they donate to the needs of the Armed Forces an equivalent of the subsistence minimum for every week of staying abroad (₴2,684, i.e., almost ₴11,000 per month). 

Why this is important: after the scandal involving the flight of stand-up comedian Andrii Shchehel to Turkey and his refusal to return, the Ministry of Culture announced that it would strengthen control over issuing approval letters for artists. This has already led to numerous problems with the permits for artists traveling abroad, in particular to complications with TVORCHI, the band nominated by Ukraine to participate in the Eurovision this year. 

What is right: regulations for persons subject to military service who want to travel abroad will be more clear. 

What is wrong: 

• the authors of the draft law incentivize persons subject to military service to violate travel regulations. As a result, actual service members will be demotivated and there will be more conflicts in society 
• the draft bill will divide persons subject to military service into those who can pay the “fine” and continue to stay abroad and those who do not have the means to do so. This is discrimination protecting the rich 
• definitions in the draft bill are not unambiguous enough to prevent its abuse. Therefore, the bill goes against the interests of national security.