Набуття громадянства України

There is no one-size-fits-all route here.

For a child, the parents’ citizenship at the time of their birth may be the decisive factor. For an adult foreign national, it is territorial origin. For someone who has been living in Ukraine for a long time, it is a matter of fulfilling the conditions for naturalization. For a former citizen, it is the possibility of reinstatement.

Even similar life stories do not necessarily mean the same procedure.

Let’s consider two German citizens.

The first was born in Berlin; his family has never lived in Ukraine, but he has had a permanent residence in Kyiv for many years. In such a situation, it makes sense to analyze the conditions for naturalization.

The second was also born in Germany and has never lived permanently in Ukraine. However, his mother was born in Odesa before 24 August 1991. Here, a completely different route potentially arises — territorial origin. The law explicitly takes into account the birth or permanent residence of the person themselves or a specified group of their relatives in the relevant territories during the established periods.

The outcome both men are seeking is the same.

However, the evidence required, the criteria and the procedure itself differ.

That is why, in matters of citizenship, a single biographical detail can sometimes carry more weight than several years of residence or a large file of collected documents.

This is one of the most interesting categories of cases, because it almost always begins not in a solicitor’s office, but in a family’s history.

‘My grandmother was born somewhere near Ternopil.’

‘My great-grandfather lived in Chernivtsi.’

‘We still have a Polish document that mentions “Lviv”.’

Such information can prove to be very important. But there is a gap between family memory and evidence acceptable to a state authority.

The current Article 8 of the Law covers a wide range of relatives. Under certain conditions, the place of birth or permanent residence of the person themselves, their parents, grandfather or grandmother, great-grandfather or great-grandmother, or full brothers or sisters may be relevant; and, about territory that has become part of Ukraine, that of a son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter may also be relevant. The Act takes into account not only the current territory of Ukraine, but also certain historical Ukrainian state entities and territories explicitly named therein.

However, knowing that one’s grandfather was born in Ukraine is only half the story.

Two things must be proven: the legally significant fact itself and the applicant’s family relationship with the person on whose basis the claim is made.

Let us assume that the basis is the grandmother.

There is an archive record of her birth in Ukraine. Next, it must be confirmed that she is the mother of the applicant’s father, and that he is the father of the applicant himself.

On paper, this sounds straightforward.

In reality, among these three generations, there may be two marriages, three surname changes, documents from different countries, and four different spellings of the same name.

Sometimes you literally have to piece the family together from the registry records.

This is precisely why archival work is of practical value here. An old certificate, which the family regarded simply as a memento of their ancestors, may lead to its inclusion in a civil registry record. And a civil registry record may lead to the very document that was missing to establish kinship.

From 16 January 2026, adults acquiring citizenship on this basis in accordance with the first part of Article 8 will be subject to additional requirements regarding knowledge of the fundamentals of the Constitution of Ukraine, the history of Ukraine and proficiency in the state language, except categories of persons specified by law.

Thus, the current procedure for establishing territorial origin is no longer simply a matter of ‘finding a Ukrainian relative’. It is a combination of genealogy, documentary evidence and compliance with the applicable legal provisions.

Another common scenario is where a foreign national has been living in Ukraine for a long time and asks how many years they need to have lived here to apply for citizenship.

As a general rule, one of the conditions for naturalization is continuous residence in Ukraine for the past five years. But if we focus solely on this phrase, the explanation will be incomplete.

Naturalization is a combination of conditions.

The law requires recognition of and compliance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine; knowledge of the Constitution, history, and the official language; the requisite period of residence; possession of an immigration permit; and lawful means of support. At the same time, there are significant exceptions to these general rules for different categories of applicants.

A very telling example is marriage.

The mere fact of marrying a Ukrainian citizen does not make a foreign national a Ukrainian citizen, nor does it entitle them to apply for a passport the very next day.

At the same time, for a person who has been married to a Ukrainian citizen for more than three years, the general requirement of five years’ continuous residence does not apply. The law also provides for additional provisions in certain situations.

This is a good example of why it is dangerous to use a single figure out of context when discussing citizenship.

Five years, three years, one year — such timeframes do indeed exist in the legislation, but they belong to different categories. They cannot be mechanically applied from one case to another. For example, for a Ukrainian living abroad, under the established conditions, the law provides a separate model requiring one year of continuous residence after obtaining an immigration permit.

Therefore, good citizenship advice does not begin with the answer ‘you need to live here for so many years’, but with an understanding of which specific legal category the applicant falls into.

Exams are a separate stage that is best not left until the end.

Following the changes in 2026, this point is particularly important for those reading older articles or forum posts.

To be granted citizenship, the law requires knowledge of the fundamentals of the Constitution of Ukraine, the history of Ukraine, and proficiency in the official language at the prescribed level. Similar requirements now apply to adults seeking citizenship by territorial origin, in accordance with the first part of Article 8.

This specifically refers to a formalized assessment of knowledge.

The state language exam and the exams on the fundamentals of the Constitution and the history of Ukraine each have their own established procedures.

In practice, this affects the planning of the application process.

If a person lives in Toronto, Warsaw or Berlin and is simultaneously gathering documents proving their origin, there is little point in waiting until the final archive certificate is on the table before taking an interest in the exams for the first time.

Preparing the documents and preparing for the exams can take place in parallel.

However, the legislation does provide for exceptions. The requirements to sit the exams do not apply, in particular, to children, persons declared legally incapacitated by a court, or certain categories of persons with disabilities or relevant mental health conditions, provided this is duly confirmed. For certain categories, there is an option to take the necessary exams within 2 years.

Therefore, it is best not to assume here that ‘exams are required for everyone’ or, conversely, that ‘by virtue of one’s background, no exams need to be taken’.

It is necessary to check the specific grounds and the individual's status.

This is the most misunderstood part of the 2026 reform.

As of 16 January 2026, the Law of Ukraine ‘On Citizenship of Ukraine’ explicitly defines the cases in which Ukraine recognizes dual citizenship. For citizens of certain states, a simplified procedure is also provided, under which, in specified cases, a declaration recognizing oneself as a citizen of Ukraine is submitted.

However, this does not imply the following:

‘Now anyone can simply renounce their citizenship and obtain Ukrainian citizenship’.

Firstly, a person must still have a legal basis for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

If a citizen of a state on the list established by the Cabinet of Ministers has Ukrainian territorial origin, the simplified procedure may affect which document relating to their foreign citizenship is submitted as part of the process. However, mere citizenship of such a state does not replace territorial origin, naturalization requirements, or any other legal basis.

There is also another important practical point.

The Cabinet of Ministers determines the list of countries, and amendments have already been made to it during 2026. Therefore, for a specific case, it is advisable to check the current version of the list as of the date the documents are prepared, rather than relying on the list from last year’s article.

This is precisely the area where information on the internet becomes outdated very quickly.

One of the most common mistakes is to find a list of documents and start gathering them all indiscriminately.

This is not always effective when applying for citizenship.

The set of documents required depends on the specific grounds for the application. The current procedure even distinguishes between lists of documents for different procedures and applicant categories.

In a case based on territorial origin, a 1937 birth certificate may prove to be the key document.

In a naturalization case, the key documents may include proof of residence, an immigration permit, evidence of lawful means of support, exam results, and a document regarding foreign citizenship.

And sometimes, although a document appears to be in order, the problem lies within it.

For example:

the certificate states ‘Maria Kowalska’;

in her son’s document — Марія Ковальська;

in the archive record — Maryja Kowalska;

And after her marriage, she became Maria Nowak altogether.

To the family, it is obvious that this is the same person.

A government body does not rely on family memory, but on documents.

That is precisely why we pay attention to the spelling of names, dates, places of birth, changes of surname, documents relating to marriage and divorce, adoption and any other facts that explain the transition from one document to the next.

A separate category comprises documents obtained abroad.

The general rule for citizenship proceedings requires the legalization of documents issued by the competent authorities of foreign states, unless otherwise provided for by an international treaty to which Ukraine is a party. These documents must be submitted with a translation into Ukrainian, the accuracy of which is certified in accordance with the prescribed procedure, whilst taking into account the exceptions provided for by law and international treaties.

For STATUS KO, this is one of those situations where translation and documentation work naturally overlap.

It is not enough to translate the text grammatically correctly.

It is also necessary to check whether the translation will create a new discrepancy in a surname, a locality name, or other information on which the evidence is based.

The procedure becomes much clearer if you do not view it as a single, large-scale stage of ‘applying for citizenship’.

First, you need to establish which legal framework applies in this specific situation.

Next, you need to check whether it can be substantiated.

If any documents are missing, the process of obtaining them begins: from the Civil Registry Office, archives, and the competent authorities of other countries. At the same time, exam preparation can take place. Foreign documents undergo the necessary processing and translation.

Only then is the application package complete.

As a general rule, a person lawfully residing in Ukraine submits documents to the relevant department of the State Migration Service, whilst a person permanently residing abroad submits them to a diplomatic mission or consular office of Ukraine. Applications for citizenship are usually submitted in person; the law provides for certain exceptions in specific cases.

The procedure then depends on the grounds for the application.

Naturalization is a decision linked to a Decree of the President of Ukraine, and the date of acquisition of citizenship is the date on which the relevant decree is issued. For such cases, the State Migration Service specifies certain procedural time limits: in particular, the consideration of applications by the State Migration Service’s bodies in cases where the President takes the decision must not exceed 8 months, and the total time limit for considering applications and submissions, where no further processing is required, must not, as a rule, exceed 1 year.

Once the relevant decision has been taken, a certificate confirming the person’s registration as a citizen of Ukraine is issued. The State Migration Service notes that this is issued no later than 10 days after the relevant decision is taken or upon receipt of notification that a Presidential Decree has granted the person citizenship. This document is subsequently used to record the person as a citizen of Ukraine.

In other words, a Ukrainian passport is an important result, but behind it lies a much longer history of documentation.

The most unpleasant problems usually crop up where no one expected them.

Not in a complex section of the law.

But in a single surname.

In a missing certificate.

In a date of birth that differs by one day in two documents.

In the old name of a village that no longer appears on modern maps.

Another typical scenario is the incorrect sequence of steps.

A person first has a dozen documents translated, sends the originals between countries, and orders apostilles. And only then does someone look closely at the whole bundle and notice that the document intended to prove kinship does not, in fact, link the two generations.

Formally, there are plenty of documents.

Legally, however, there is a gap in the chain.

There is also the question of the information's relevance. The changes that came into force in the field of citizenship on 16 January 2026 affected multiple citizenship, territorial origin, examinations, and certain military and family categories. In February 2026, the Procedure for Processing Applications and Submissions on Citizenship Matters was also updated.

Therefore, an article, a forum post or a video recorded several years ago may contain information that was entirely accurate at the time — yet be unsuitable for today’s circumstances.

Clients rarely wish to become experts overnight in immigration law, archives, apostilles, civil status records and translation rules.

They need to understand whether there is a way forward and what to do next.

This is exactly how we try to structure our work.

To begin with, we piece together the legal picture of the case: the applicant’s citizenship, their status in Ukraine, family history, previous Ukrainian citizenship, documents of origin and other circumstances that may affect the procedure.

After that, any weaknesses become apparent.

In some cases, a marriage certificate is missing.

In one case, we need to search for the great-grandmother’s birth record in the archives.

In another case, all the family documents are in place, but the Canadian certificate still needs to be properly prepared for use in Ukraine.

And sometimes the problem isn’t with the documents at all: the applicant is following a procedure that isn’t suitable for them.

STATUS KO can coordinate the collection and preparation of documents, translation into Ukrainian, notarisation of translations, apostille or other necessary formalities, as well as a legal review of the application package before submission.

This is particularly convenient for international cases.

Instead of several independent service providers — one handling the archives, another the translation, and a third the legalization, with no one seeing the final package — the documents can be prepared as part of a single case.

We cannot replace the decision of a government body or guarantee the granting of citizenship.

But we can do what depends on high-quality preparation: find the right approach, resolve any inconsistencies in the documentation, and ensure that an important application is not based on a random collection of certificates.

When it comes to citizenship, the most costly mistake is sometimes rushing.

Not because the procedure is necessarily very complicated.

It’s simply easy to approach it from the wrong angle.

Someone might spend years thinking they must first live in Ukraine for five years, even though a review of family documents reveals a potential basis for citizenship on the basis of territorial origin.

Another applicant, on the other hand, is convinced that having a ‘Ukrainian grandfather’ is sufficient. Still, so far no one has found a document that would confirm either the necessary fact of his birth or residence, or a full connection with the applicant.

Therefore, before embarking on the extensive process of gathering documents, it is useful to answer just a few key questions:

Once you have the answers, the matter ceases to be unclear.

It becomes clear what to look for in the archives, what to obtain from abroad, which documents require translation and legalization, when to prepare for the exams, and to which authority to submit your application ultimately.

If you are planning to acquire Ukrainian citizenship, are of Ukrainian origin, have been living in Ukraine for a long time, or were previously a Ukrainian citizen, STATUS KO will help you sort out your situation before it becomes a tangle of unrelated documents.

We’ll review the potential grounds for your application, consider your documents as a cohesive whole, and identify any remaining steps.

Because in a well-prepared citizenship application, it’s not the thickness of the file that matters.

The key is that from the very first document to the very last, it should be clear why this particular person has a legal basis to acquire Ukrainian citizenship.