How to Get Ukrainian Citizenship: Paths, Requirements, and Dual Status

To get Ukrainian citizenship, you generally have to qualify under one of the paths recognized by the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine,” meet the residency and language requirements, submit an application in person to the State Migration Service, and wait for a presidential decree. For most foreign nationals without Ukrainian ancestry, that means naturalization after five years of continuous legal residence, and a realistic timeline of six or more years from your first immigration step to the oath.¹

Which Path Applies to You

Before you plan a naturalization campaign, check whether a faster route already fits your situation.

Birth

A child born to at least one Ukrainian parent is a citizen from birth, wherever the child is born. Children born in Ukraine to stateless parents lawfully residing there, or to foreign parents when the child would otherwise be stateless, are also citizens automatically. A child found in Ukraine whose parents are unknown is treated as Ukrainian.²

Territorial Origin

If you, a parent, grandparent, sibling, child, or grandchild were born or permanently resided in present-day Ukraine before independence on August 24, 1991, you may qualify by territorial origin. A second track covers relatives tied to earlier Ukrainian state entities, including the Ukrainian SSR.³ Applicants under this path still have to pledge to terminate any foreign citizenship.

Restoration and Adoption

Citizenship can be restored if you previously held Ukrainian citizenship and lost it. Children adopted by Ukrainian citizens acquire citizenship through the adoption itself.

Naturalization

This is the path for foreign nationals without a Ukrainian family or territorial link. It is the longest route, and the rest of this article focuses on it.

Naturalization Requirements

You have to satisfy every one of these conditions:

Continuous legal residence in Ukraine for at least five years. The period drops to two years if you are married to a Ukrainian citizen and the marriage has been registered for at least two years, and to three years if you hold refugee status or asylum in Ukraine.⁴
A valid immigration permit before you apply.⁵
Enough Ukrainian to hold a conversation, plus knowledge of the Ukrainian Constitution, verified through an exam.⁶
A lawful source of livelihood in Ukraine.
A signed pledge to give up any other citizenship within two years of becoming Ukrainian.⁷
Recognition of and compliance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

The residency clock only runs while you hold legal status. Time on tourist visas or without proper documentation does not count.

Getting the Immigration Permit First

This is the step applicants most often underestimate. You cannot start accumulating qualifying residency without an immigration permit. You submit that application in person to the State Migration Service office where you live, or to a Ukrainian diplomatic mission if you are still abroad. The permit itself can take up to a year to issue.⁵

The grounds are listed in Ukraine’s Law “On Immigration” and include being a close relative of a Ukrainian citizen, holding specialized skills Ukraine needs, or investing. Marriage to a Ukrainian citizen both qualifies you for the permit and, once you have it, shortens the residency period to two years.⁴

Documents to Prepare

Once your residency and other eligibility are in place, assemble the following:

A completed application form and your valid foreign passport or equivalent ID.
Your temporary or permanent residence permit covering the required period.
Documentation of a legal source of income: employment contracts, tax returns, or bank statements.
A criminal record certificate, typically from both Ukraine and your country of origin.
Certificates showing you passed the Ukrainian language and Constitution exams.
The signed pledge to terminate your foreign citizenship within two years.
Passport-sized photos meeting Ukrainian document standards.
Proof of payment of the state duty.

Foreign-language documents need certified translations into Ukrainian, and most require an apostille or equivalent legalization. Certified translations of legal documents typically run $25 to $35 per page, and apostille fees vary by country. Budget time as well as money for this stage.

How the Application Moves Through the System

You submit in person at the State Migration Service office where you are registered. If you qualify under a path that permits filing from abroad, such as territorial origin, you can submit through a Ukrainian diplomatic mission or consular post.⁵ Expect an interview and a thorough document review at submission.

After the State Migration Service accepts your file, it prepares a recommendation for the Commission for Citizenship under the President of Ukraine. The final decision is a presidential decree. Once granted, you take an oath as a citizen and receive your citizenship certificate. Only then can you apply for a Ukrainian passport.

The review stage alone can take up to a year, and delays are common during the current martial law period. An incomplete application or one with discrepancies against state register data will be returned rather than processed.⁵

The Renunciation Pledge and the 2025 Dual-Citizenship Law

Ukraine has historically not recognized dual citizenship. If you naturalize, you sign a pledge to renounce your original citizenship within two years, and you generally have to submit a certificate from your home country proving the renunciation went through. Where a home country will not process the renunciation, has no procedure for it, denies the request, or charges a fee greater than half of Ukraine’s minimum wage, a written declaration of renunciation can substitute for the certificate.²

In June 2025, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law allowing multiple citizenships for the first time. It would let Ukrainians acquire foreign passports without losing Ukrainian citizenship, and let certain foreign nationals obtain Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure without renouncing what they already hold. The simplified path is limited to citizens of designated countries and excludes citizens of states Ukraine classifies as aggressors or occupiers. Judges and public officials would still be barred from multiple citizenships, and simplified-procedure applicants would still take an exam on Ukrainian language, history, and the political system.

As of mid-2025, the law was referred to Ukraine’s Constitutional Court for review and had not been signed by the President. Until it formally takes effect, the renunciation pledge stands. If you are applying now, plan on complying with it.

What Renunciation Costs U.S. Citizens

If you hold U.S. citizenship and have to renounce under the current Ukrainian rules, the administrative fee for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality is $450 as of April 2026. You will also file IRS Form 8854 for the year you expatriate, and you could face a U.S. exit tax on unrealized gains if your net worth exceeds $2 million or your average annual tax liability over the preceding five years exceeds $211,000.

Separate from renunciation, holding financial accounts in Ukraine with an aggregate value over $10,000 at any point during the year triggers an annual FBAR filing on FinCEN Form 114 for as long as you remain a U.S. person.⁸ FATCA reporting on Form 8938 also applies when foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 at year-end, or $400,000 for married couples filing jointly, for U.S. citizens abroad.⁹

How Ukrainian Citizenship Can Be Lost

Once granted, Ukrainian citizenship can be lost through voluntary renunciation, deprivation by the state, or the terms of an international treaty.² Voluntary renunciation is only available if you permanently reside abroad and have acquired, or have a guarantee of acquiring, another citizenship. You cannot renounce while you are a defendant in a criminal case or have an outstanding conviction in Ukraine.

The state can strip citizenship if you voluntarily acquired another country’s citizenship as an adult, obtained Ukrainian citizenship through fraud or false documents, or voluntarily joined a foreign military. A child who receives dual citizenship at birth is not treated as having “voluntarily acquired” foreign citizenship, and the same protection covers children adopted by foreigners and adults who acquired another citizenship automatically through marriage or foreign law without requesting it. The 2025 multiple citizenship law, if it survives constitutional review, would change these deprivation grounds for citizens of designated countries.

1
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. On Citizenship of Ukraine – Abstract Text
2
Refworld. Law of Ukraine On Citizenship of Ukraine
3
State Migration Service of Ukraine. Acquiring Ukrainian Citizenship by Geographic Place of Origin
4
Consulate General of Ukraine in New York. Immigration to Ukraine
5
State Migration Service of Ukraine. Obtaining Immigration Permit
6
State Migration Service of Ukraine. Acquiring Ukrainian Citizenship by Admission
7
State Migration Service of Ukraine. Acquisition of Ukrainian Citizenship
8
Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Reference Guide
9
Internal Revenue Service. Summary of FATCA Reporting for U.S. Taxpayers