How can a foreigner get Ukrainian citizenship?

Routes to citizenship

Article 6 of the Law "On Citizenship of Ukraine" No. 2235-III lists the grounds on which Ukrainian citizenship is acquired. Four of them matter in practice for a foreigner. These are birth, territorial origin, прийняття до громадянства (acceptance into citizenship, usually called naturalization) and restoration of citizenship. The law separately covers children who become citizens through their parents, through adoption or under guardianship.

Everything else follows from the ground you use. It decides the conditions, the documents, the authority that handles your case and the date from which you are a citizen. Your first task is therefore to work out which grounds are open to you and which of them is the shortest. If you have no status in Ukraine yet, start with the guide to permanent residence, because for most foreigners the road to citizenship runs through a дозвіл на імміграцію (immigration permit).

Here is how the three most common grounds compare:

By birth

A person is a Ukrainian citizen by birth if both parents, or one of them, were Ukrainian citizens at the moment of birth. The law also grants citizenship to children of foreigners who reside permanently in Ukraine, of refugees and of stateless persons, provided the child did not acquire another state's citizenship at birth. Such a person has been a citizen from birth, and the citizenship is only formalised on paper.

Details of this ground are in the article on citizenship by birth.

By territorial origin

Under Article 8, a foreigner may claim citizenship if they, or their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, full siblings, children or grandchildren, were born or lived permanently before 24 August 1991 on territory that became Ukraine. The law separately mentions the territories of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the West Ukrainian People's Republic, the Ukrainian State, the Ukrainian SSR and other state formations, and for those the list of relatives is shorter.

What makes this ground attractive is that it requires neither a period of residence in Ukraine nor an immigration permit. Only two conditions apply, recognising the Constitution and laws of Ukraine and passing the exams. The decision is made by the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) or a consulate, and no presidential decree is needed. Read more in the article on citizenship by territorial origin.

Acceptance into citizenship

Naturalization under Article 9 of the law is the most common route for foreigners without Ukrainian roots. It has five conditions:

Here the decision belongs to the President of Ukraine, who issues a decree, and the date of the decree is the date you become a citizen. Conditions and procedure are explained in the article on acceptance into citizenship.

• recognising and observing the Constitution and laws of Ukraine;
• knowledge of the basics of the Constitution and the history of Ukraine, and command of the state language, confirmed by exams;
• continuous residence in Ukraine for the last five years;
• an immigration permit;
• lawful means of subsistence.

Continuous residence

Continuous residence does not mean you are barred from leaving Ukraine. The law sets how long trips abroad may last without breaking residence, with separate limits for a single trip and for the total over a year. If you travel often, count your days in advance, because a long absence resets the clock.

Your passport with border stamps, your residence permits and documents on your declared place of residence serve as proof. If you lived part of the period on a temporary residence permit and part on permanent residence, both periods count as long as there was no gap between them. Permitted stay periods are covered in the guide to stay periods for foreigners.

Refugees and stateless persons

Refugees and people granted asylum need three years of residence, counted from the date they were recognised as refugees or granted asylum. Stateless persons count the period from the day they entered Ukraine with that status or from the day they were recognised as stateless. Refugees are exempt from the conditions on the immigration permit and on lawful means of subsistence.

These rules reflect the principle of preventing statelessness laid down in Article 2 of the law. For a stateless person, Ukrainian citizenship is often the only way to obtain full identity documents.

Foreign Ukrainians

A foreign Ukrainian (закордонний українець) who received an immigration permit outside the quota may apply for citizenship one year after the date the permit was granted. The condition is that they have held foreign Ukrainian status for at least one year. Before choosing this route, check whether territorial origin fits you, since it requires neither permanent residence nor a residence period. Foreign Ukrainian status is described in the article on residence permits for foreign Ukrainians.

Children

Article 14 of the law allows a child to become a citizen through their parents. A foreign child with one Ukrainian parent is registered as a citizen at that parent's request. When both parents are Ukrainian citizens, the child is registered at the request of either of them. Citizenship is acquired on the date of registration.

A separate rule in Article 9 covers children living in Ukraine whose parent or legal representative holds a посвідка на постійне проживання (permanent residence permit, PRP). Such a child is accepted into citizenship without the conditions on exams, residence period, immigration permit and means of subsistence.

Concessions by category

Several categories get easier conditions. The table sets out the main concessions:

Exams

Exams on the basics of the Constitution and the history of Ukraine, and on the state language, are a condition both for naturalization and for territorial origin. The language exam is run by the National Commission on State Language Standards, which also sets the required level. The Constitution and history exam is run by a state institution designated by the Cabinet of Ministers. Certificates never expire.

People declared legally incapable by a court are exempt from the exams, as are people with disabilities related to impaired sight, hearing or speech and people with mental disorders confirmed by a medical report. Contract servicemen and some other categories instead give an undertaking to pass the exams within two years of acquiring citizenship. See the article on citizenship exams for details.

Multiple citizenship

Since 2026 the law has applied in the version amended by Law No. 4502-IX. Together with the application, a foreigner files one of four documents:

Citizens of states on a list approved by the Cabinet of Ministers file the declaration recognising themselves as citizens of Ukraine and keep their existing citizenship. In their legal relations with Ukraine they are treated only as Ukrainian citizens. The list was approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1412 of 5 November 2025 and has since been extended several times. As of October 2026 it includes, among others, the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Moldova and every EU member state. Because the list changes, check its current version before you apply.

When your state is not on the list, you cannot file the declaration recognising yourself as a citizen of Ukraine and will most likely have to give an undertaking to terminate your citizenship. The law allows a declaration of renunciation only for certain categories, for example refugees, servicemen and people who cannot obtain a document on leaving their citizenship for reasons beyond their control.

Applicants who give the undertaking submit proof that their foreign citizenship has ended within two years of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship. More in the article on multiple citizenship.

• a declaration recognising oneself as a citizen of Ukraine;
• an undertaking to terminate foreign citizenship;
• a declaration of renunciation of foreign citizenship;
• a declaration of absence of foreign citizenship.

Documents

The list of documents is set by the Procedure for proceedings on citizenship applications and submissions approved by Decree of the President No. 215/2001. For naturalization the file includes:

Savings in a bank account can serve as your means of subsistence. In that case the balance must be at least twelve subsistence minimums per person on the date you apply.

Other grounds call for a different set of documents. The full list by category is in the article on documents for citizenship, and the legalisation of foreign documents is covered in the article on apostille and legalisation.

• the application;
• photographs;
• a document on your foreign citizenship;
• documents proving continuous residence;
• the immigration permit;
• exam certificates;
• documents on lawful means of subsistence.

Who reviews the application

Applications go to territorial DMS offices, while foreigners who live permanently abroad apply to Ukrainian consulates. In naturalization cases the DMS checks the documents and forwards them to the Комісія при Президентові України з питань громадянства (Commission under the President on Citizenship). The final decision is a decree of the President.

For territorial origin and birth, the decision is made by the DMS or the consulate. These routes are therefore usually more predictable in time than naturalization, where the timing depends on the Commission's work and on when the decree is issued.

Who cannot become a citizen

Part 8 of Article 9 of the law names the people who are not accepted into citizenship. They are people convicted in Ukraine of a grave or especially grave crime until the conviction is expunged, people who committed such a crime abroad, and people whose actions threaten national security. The same restrictions apply to territorial origin.

Foreigners who took part in repelling the armed aggression get one allowance. The law permits decisions made on political grounds in the aggressor state to be disregarded if state authorities establish this. Decisions on citizenship can be challenged in court, and the deadlines are explained in the article on court appeal deadlines.

After you become a citizen

Once the decision is made, you apply for a Ukrainian citizen's passport. If you gave an undertaking to terminate your foreign citizenship, you receive a temporary citizen's certificate and later file the document confirming that your foreign citizenship has ended with the same authority. Keep track of that deadline. An unfulfilled undertaking can lead to loss of citizenship acquired through naturalization, or to cancellation of the decision on citizenship formalised on other grounds.

Your immigration permit is revoked under Article 12 of the Law "On Immigration", because a Ukrainian citizen no longer needs permission to reside. Citizens also have duties a foreigner did not have, military registration on general terms among them, so plan for this in advance.

Restoration of citizenship

Article 10 of the law provides for restoration of citizenship for former Ukrainian citizens. A stateless person who used to be a citizen is restored regardless of where they live. A foreigner who was once a Ukrainian citizen has to return to Ukraine for permanent residence and submit a document on their foreign citizenship. This ground suits people who lost Ukrainian citizenship at some point.

Which route to choose

With Ukrainian roots going back to before 24 August 1991, start with territorial origin. It requires neither permanent residence nor a residence period. If you are married to a Ukrainian citizen, your route runs through permanent residence and naturalization, without the residence period. Serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine gives you the shortest period and no need for an immigration permit.

Everyone else takes the longer route:

Statuses are compared side by side in the article on the TRP, permanent residence and citizenship.

1. 1A посвідка на тимчасове проживання (temporary residence permit, [TRP](/glossary/trp)).
2. 2The immigration permit and permanent residence.
3. 3Continuous residence for five years.
4. 4The exams and the application.

Processing time

A naturalization application passes through several stages. The DMS checks the documents and prepares its opinion, the Commission under the President reviews the case and makes a recommendation, and the President issues a decree. Procedure No. 215/2001 sets time limits for the stages, but in practice the overall timing depends on when the decree is issued. There is no lawful way to speed up the decree, so be wary of anyone who offers to do it for a fee.

Birth and territorial origin take less time and are more predictable, because the DMS or a consulate makes the decision. If speed matters to you, compare the grounds available to you from that angle.

What citizenship changes

Citizenship lifts restrictions that apply to a foreigner even with permanent residence. A citizen votes in elections, can stand for office, and may work in the civil service and in professions closed to foreigners. No residence permits or work permits are needed, and stay periods no longer have to be tracked. Entry to Ukraine on a citizen's passport is unrestricted.

Rights come with civic duties, including military duty for men. A citizen who also holds another state's citizenship is treated only as a Ukrainian citizen in legal relations with Ukraine. In practice this means crossing the Ukrainian border and dealing with Ukrainian authorities on a Ukrainian passport.

Loss of citizenship

Article 19 of the amended law provides that a Ukrainian citizen loses citizenship by voluntarily acquiring the citizenship of the aggressor state, or of a state whose citizens cannot acquire Ukrainian citizenship under the simplified procedure, meaning a state not on the Cabinet of Ministers list. This rule applies to adults and does not apply if the person would otherwise become stateless.

New citizens need to watch a different rule. If you acquired citizenship through naturalization and did not file the document on terminating your foreign citizenship in time, you may lose Ukrainian citizenship. On other grounds, an unfulfilled undertaking leads to cancellation of the decision on citizenship. Give the undertaking only when you are sure you can leave your foreign citizenship.

How to prepare

Preparation is easier when you split it into steps:

1. 1Identify your ground and check whether your state is on the Cabinet of Ministers list.
2. 2Collect documents on origin, marriage or service if your ground needs them, and order archive certificates early.
3. 3Prepare for the exams in parallel, because the certificates do not expire and can be obtained in advance.
4. 4Gather documents on residence and means of subsistence last, because they must be recent on the filing date.

Common mistakes

• Applying for naturalization without first checking a possible claim based on territorial origin.
• Counting the residence period from the date of entry rather than from the date the law sets for your category.
• Leaving the language exam until the end, when every other document is ready.
• Giving an undertaking to terminate your citizenship when your state is on the list and you could file a declaration.
• Missing the deadline for submitting the document on terminating your foreign citizenship.
• Filing foreign documents without an apostille or legalisation and a translation.

Lawyer's experience

Clients most often ask me about citizenship before they have permanent residence. I always start by checking origin, because a claim based on territorial origin sometimes exists even for people who are unaware of it. A grandmother who lived in Kharkiv before 1991 can shorten the route by years.

My second piece of advice concerns language. For most foreigners the state language exam is the hardest part. Prepare for it while you are arranging permanent residence, not afterwards.

Third, look at your current citizenship. Check whether your state is on the Cabinet of Ministers list. That decides whether you will have to give up your passport.

If you are planning to apply for citizenship, at a migration law consultation I will identify your ground and draw up a plan with you.

All articles on the topic

• [Acceptance into citizenship](/knowledge/citizenship/citizenship-by-naturalization)
• [Citizenship exams](/knowledge/citizenship/citizenship-exam)
• [Documents for citizenship](/knowledge/citizenship/documents-for-citizenship)
• [Citizenship by territorial origin](/knowledge/citizenship/citizenship-territorial-origin)
• [Citizenship by birth](/knowledge/citizenship/citizenship-by-birth-ukraine)
• [Citizenship through marriage](/knowledge/citizenship/citizenship-by-marriage)
• [Citizenship for foreigners serving in the Armed Forces](/knowledge/citizenship/citizenship-military)
• [Multiple citizenship](/knowledge/citizenship/multiple-citizenship)

Frequently asked questions