Who can get permanent residence in Ukraine outside the quota, and how?

Who qualifies

Part 3 of Article 4 of the Law "On Immigration" No. 2491-III lists the categories that receive a дозвіл на імміграцію (immigration permit) outside the quota. For them the quota does not matter in any circumstances. A full overview of all grounds is in the article on the grounds for permanent residence, and the article on the immigration quota explains what the quota is.

Outside the quota, the permit goes to:

• the spouse of a Ukrainian citizen if the marriage has lasted more than two years;
• children and parents of Ukrainian citizens;
• spouses and minor children of fallen service members, and the parents of the spouse;
• guardians and carers of Ukrainian citizens and the people in their care;
• people with a right to citizenship by territorial origin, except former Ukrainian citizens;
• people whose immigration is in the interest of the state;
• each закордонний українець (foreign Ukrainian), with their spouse and children when they enter and stay together;
• stateless persons who have lived on a temporary residence permit for two years since being recognised as stateless.

Where to apply

Article 9 of the law sets out two routes. Foreigners who live permanently abroad apply to the Ukrainian consulate in their country of residence. Those staying or living in Ukraine lawfully apply to the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) at their place of residence. The application is filed on paper, in person or through a legal representative.

When you apply in Ukraine, your biometric data is taken. For minors, the application is filed by their legal representatives.

Documents

Article 9 lists the documents. They include photographs, your passport with copies of the personal data pages and a certified translation, a document proving your ground, and proof of lawful stay if you apply in Ukraine. A foreigner with several citizenships submits the passports of every country.

What else you need also depends on the ground. Parts 6 and 8 of Article 9 exempt spouses, children and parents of Ukrainian citizens from the medical certificate and from the criminal record certificate from their country of citizenship. Some other categories are exempt from these documents too, including people with a right to citizenship by territorial origin. Foreign documents must be legalised and translated, as explained in the article on apostille and legalisation.

When one parent immigrates with a child

If one parent immigrates together with a minor child, that parent submits the other parent's notarised consent. Without such consent, you submit a court decision on the child's place of residence, a decision of the guardianship authority or an equivalent document under the law of the country of origin.

How the marriage is checked

Article 4-1 of the law lists the circumstances in which a marriage is not accepted as a ground. Among them are payment for agreeing to the marriage, not living together or sharing a household, no contact before the marriage, no common language, and not knowing each other's basic details. Grounds for doubt also arise if the other spouse refuses to attend when the application is filed or to take part in an interview.

During the check, the DMS interviews both spouses, including remotely, and may question other people. How to prepare for this stage is explained in the article on the residence permit through marriage.

Grounds for refusal

Article 10 of the law sets out the grounds for refusal. They include an unspent conviction, certain diseases, false information or forged documents, a sham marriage, an incomplete package, previous breaches of the law on foreigners, an entry ban, and unfulfilled court decisions or fines. Old fines are therefore best paid before you apply, with the receipts kept to hand.

From the permit to the card

With the immigration permit in hand, the foreigner applies for a посвідка на постійне проживання (permanent residence permit, PRP). Someone living abroad first obtains a long-stay visa at the consulate and enters Ukraine. Someone already in Ukraine applies to the DMS before their current period of temporary stay or residence ends.

Article 11 of the law sets the deadlines for both routes. The application form can be filed within one year of the immigration permit being issued. You must also apply no later than 15 working days before your visa or period of stay expires. The permanent residence permit is then issued within 15 working days.

Lawyer's experience

Spouses of Ukrainian citizens are the people who most often come to me about permanent residence outside the quota. The route is clear, but the DMS checks the marriage closely, and the weak point is usually in the details. A couple may not know each other's dates, or may live apart because of work. I advise gathering evidence of your life together in advance.

My second piece of advice concerns documents from abroad. Marriage and birth certificates must be legalised and translated with the names spelled exactly as in the passport. At this stage we cross-check every document so that the DMS does not put the application on hold over a document defect.

If you have a ground outside the quota, we will draw up a document list for your situation at a migration law consultation.

Frequently asked questions