When does a child get Ukrainian citizenship by birth?

The main rule

Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine "On Citizenship of Ukraine" No. 2235-III defines who becomes a Ukrainian citizen by birth. The core rule is short. A person whose parents, or one of whose parents, were Ukrainian citizens at the moment of that person's birth is a citizen of Ukraine. It makes no difference whether the child was born in Ukraine or abroad, or which citizenship the other parent holds. To see how citizenship by birth fits among the other grounds, read the guide to the ways of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

Anyone entitled to citizenship by birth is a Ukrainian citizen from the moment of birth. Nobody grants this citizenship later on. What happens later is only the paperwork that records it.

Children of foreigners with a PRP

The second group of rules concerns children of foreigners who permanently reside in Ukraine within the meaning of the law. In practice this means the parents hold a посвідка на постійне проживання (permanent residence permit, PRP). Their child is a Ukrainian citizen if the child was born in Ukraine or abroad and did not acquire another state's citizenship by birth.

Everything here turns on the words "did not acquire". Most states pass their citizenship on to the children of their own nationals by descent. A child of two foreigners with a PRP therefore usually receives the parents' citizenship and does not become a Ukrainian citizen by birth. The rule mainly matters when the parents' state does not pass its citizenship on to the child. Permanent residence itself is covered in the guide to the permanent residence permit.

Children of refugees and stateless persons

Several provisions of Article 7 protect children who would otherwise be left with no citizenship at all. A child born to persons recognised in Ukraine as refugees, or to persons granted asylum in Ukraine, is a Ukrainian citizen. A child born in Ukraine to stateless persons who live in Ukraine temporarily or permanently is a Ukrainian citizen too.

The law also deals with mixed situations, for example where one parent is a foreigner with a PRP and the other is a refugee or a stateless person. The condition in these cases is similar. The child must not acquire by birth the citizenship of another state or the citizenship of the parent who is a foreigner. These rules reflect the principle of preventing statelessness set out in Article 2 of the law.

Foundlings

A newborn found on the territory of Ukraine whose parents are both unknown is a Ukrainian citizen. This rule applies regardless of any other conditions.

When an application is needed

No separate application for citizenship is needed if, at the time of birth, both parents were Ukrainian citizens, or one parent was a Ukrainian citizen and the other a stateless person. In that case citizenship is confirmed by the documents listed in Article 5 of the law.

In all other cases the parents or legal representatives file an application for acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship. Read literally, Article 7 requires an application even where one parent is a Ukrainian citizen and the other is a foreigner. An application is likewise filed for children of foreigners with a PRP, of refugees and of stateless persons. Once the person comes of age, they file the application themselves.

Applications go to the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS). A family living abroad applies to the Ukrainian consulate that registers citizens born outside Ukraine.

The table below brings the main situations together.

Documents

To register citizenship you need the application, the child's birth certificate and documents proving the parents' status at the time of birth. Depending on the case, that is a Ukrainian citizen's passport, a permanent residence permit, a refugee certificate or a document recognising the parent as a stateless person. A foreign birth certificate is legalised or apostilled and then translated, as the article on apostille and legalisation explains.

Where the ground requires that the child has not acquired another citizenship, the DMS may ask for a document confirming this. Usually it is a certificate from the consulate of the parents' state. The full list of documents for citizenship is in the article on documents for Ukrainian citizenship.

Dual citizenship of a child

A child of a Ukrainian citizen and a foreigner often acquires both citizenships at birth. The law does not require the child to give up the second one. At the same time, Article 2 of the law provides that a Ukrainian citizen who also holds the citizenship of another state is recognised only as a Ukrainian citizen in legal relations with Ukraine. Inside Ukraine, in other words, the child uses Ukrainian documents. More on this in the article on multiple citizenship.

Lawyer's experience

Most often I hear from parents where one of them is a Ukrainian citizen and the child was born abroad. The issue there is not the right to citizenship, since the child has it from birth. The issue is the documents. The birth certificate has to be legalised and translated, and only then can the child's Ukrainian document be issued.

Children of two foreigners with a PRP are a harder case. Parents often believe that being born in Ukraine automatically gives citizenship. It does not, so I check the law of the parents' state before preparing any application.

If you want to register citizenship for your child, book a migration law consultation and I will identify the ground and the list of documents.

Frequently asked questions