Departure of Ukrainian Citizens for Permanent Residence Abroad

Permanent Departure from Ukraine

Formal departure for permanent residence abroad is a Ukrainian administrative procedure by which a Ukrainian citizen records permanent residence in another country and deregisters the Ukrainian residential address. A citizen is not obliged to use this procedure merely because they move abroad, but that formal permanent-residence stamps facilitate use of certain consular procedures abroad.

Since 2016 the Migration Service no longer withdraws the internal Ukrainian passport during this process, although residential deregistration and the military-registration steps remain part of the procedure.

Purpose and consequences

The purposes are as follows: notifying Ukrainian authorities of permanent residence abroad, deregistering the Ukrainian address, becoming eligible for permanent consular registration and, where relevant, completing the sequence required before renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship.

It lists access to Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad, voting and referendum participation, certain social-security rights and treaty-based pension/social benefits among the consequences of formal registration. It also states that persons with permanent-departure stamps are treated as non-residents for Ukrainian tax purposes.

Issuing authority and validity of the decision

The State Migration Service handles the procedure and the applicant files personally with the district office at the place of registration. Wartime conditions may increase consideration periods.

The Migration Service decision authorising permanent departure is valid for 6 months.

Tax certificate and customs threshold

A Tax Service certificate confirming payment of personal income tax and absence of tax liabilities may be relevant to customs formalities. It notes that the document is usually requested at the border in connection with items, bank metals or cash exceeding the amount allowed without written declaration, which the source states as more than EUR 10,000.

The Migration Service had begun requesting the tax certificate together with residential-deregistration evidence before placing permanent-departure stamps.

Grounds for refusal

• a parent remaining permanently in Ukraine does not consent to the permanent departure of a child under 16;

• a child aged 14 to 16 does not provide the notarised consent to the procedure;

• the person had access to state secrets, with the source stating a restriction for 5 years after such work ends;

• the person has been convicted of a criminal offence until punishment is served or the person is released from punishment;

• the person is subject to a restriction on leaving Ukraine while criminal proceedings or another relevant restriction remains in force;

• the person is under National Police administrative supervision until that supervision ends.

Residence deregistration and military-registration issues

Where deregistration concerns a man aged 17 to 60, the absence of an online military-registration deregistration procedure may require a visit to Ukraine. For women acting through a power of attorney, apostille and Ukrainian translation may be required depending on the country in which the power of attorney was executed.

Procedure

The applicant files personally with the Migration Service. The source states a Migration Service consideration period from 60 calendar days and a 6-month validity of the resulting decision. After approval, the remaining required deregistration/tax formalities are completed and the permanent-residence-abroad stamps are placed in the Ukrainian passports.

Tax information for the procedure

Where a tax certificate is required, income information for the previous 3 years, including military levy and personal income tax information, may be needed, together with information about movable and immovable property.

Other rules

Residential deregistration is mandatory to complete the formal permanent-departure process. The internal Ukrainian passport is not surrendered merely because permanent departure is formalised.

A military ID may be withdrawn when the person is deregistered from military registration and a corresponding note or certificate may be issued.

For a child's permanent departure, consent is required from the parent who remains living in Ukraine; no parental consent is required for an adult and a foreign-national parent does not have to provide the same consent.

The procedure may also be carried out through a Ukrainian consulate as “retention for permanent residence abroad”; this route may take 6 to 18 months.

Supporting certificates and residential deregistration may be handled by power of attorney, but the permanent-departure application itself must be filed personally.

Pensions

A Ukrainian pensioner leaving for permanent residence abroad receives six months of the Ukrainian pension in advance before departure. Continued payment abroad depends on applicable international social-security treaties .

It lists Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Portugal and Poland as countries for which payment continues from the Ukrainian side, and states that for CIS countries and Georgia the pension is appointed and paid by the state of the new residence.

The source refers to Constitutional Court decision No. 25-rp/2009 of 7 October 2009 as stating that pension payment should continue regardless of residence, while noting that in practice litigation may be required to restore payment.

There is no fine merely for failure to register permanently with a Ukrainian consulate after formal departure, and formal permanent departure/retention abroad must precede an application to renounce Ukrainian citizenship.

Return of Ukrainian Citizens for Permanent Residence in Ukraine

Return to Permanent Residence in Ukraine

The return-to-permanent-residence procedure applies to Ukrainian citizens whose passports for travel abroad contain Migration Service or Ukrainian consular stamps recording permanent residence in another state or permanent consular registration.

The citizen may obtain a Ukrainian internal passport after returning and have the permanent-residence-abroad and consular-registration marks cancelled. An ID card may be issued in any city in Ukraine regardless of where the original permanent-departure stamp was placed.

Who uses the procedure?

A Ukrainian citizen who formally departed for permanent residence abroad may return to Ukraine at any time and apply for an internal Ukrainian passport and/or cancellation of the permanent-departure marks.

Procedure

• deregister from permanent consular registration through the Ukrainian embassy/consulate abroad, or request cancellation through the Migration Service when applying for an ID card in Ukraine;

• apply personally to the Migration Service for a Ukrainian ID card on the basis of return to permanent residence;

• receive the Ukrainian internal passport and complete residential registration in Ukraine.

The Migration Service contacts the relevant consular institution to verify the previous registration before deciding on the passport.

Expired foreign-travel passport and supporting information

An expired Ukrainian passport for travel abroad does not prevent return to permanent residence where it contains the relevant permanent-residence stamps.

Providing copies of the passports used when permanent departure was formalised is recommended. If copies are unavailable, it recommends providing the former Ukrainian registered address and information on when and where the previous internal passport was issued and surrendered.

Processing

The applicant files personally and the Migration Service reviews the documents, makes necessary requests and decides on issuance of the internal passport. It gives a Migration Service processing range of 10–15 days.

Other questions

Consular deregistration can be completed abroad, but the source also allows the applicant to request cancellation through the Migration Service after returning to Ukraine.

The foreign-travel passport is not surrendered or replaced merely because the return procedure is completed. When the ID card is issued, the permanent-departure and, where applicable, permanent-consular-registration stamps in the foreign-travel passport are marked as cancelled.

A new internal passport in ID-card form is issued; the old internal passport that was surrendered under the earlier procedure is not restored.

The application cannot be filed or collected by power of attorney because fingerprints, digital signature, photograph and fingerprint verification require personal attendance.

Legal Issues in Austria

Legal and Business Support in Austria

The source lists the following Austria-related legal, property, document, business and translation matters.

• real-estate agency services in Vienna;

• apostille services for official documents for Ukrainian citizens living in Austria and for persons with permanent residence in Austria;

• criminal-record certificates for Ukrainian citizens in Austria, including persons on consular registration who require the certificate for citizenship procedures;

• sale and purchase of commercial and residential property in Vienna;

• property consultations for Ukrainian citizens in Vienna and support with property purchases;

• apostille of official tax documents, Ukrainian educational documents and legal documents for use in Austria;

• extracts from the Austrian commercial register;

• formation of business entities in Vienna;

• inheritance-law assistance in Austria;

• advice on temporary residence in Austria and residence for entrepreneurial activity;

• entrepreneurial activity in Austria through registration of a limited-liability company as s.r.o.;

• translation of documents into German;

• legal support for conducting business in Austria and the European Union;

• written legal translation of contracts, agreements, court decisions and powers of attorney;

• interpreting and simultaneous interpreting for conferences, seminars and forums;

• notarised or sworn/court-certified translations;

• localisation of websites, software and mobile applications for the Austrian market;

• translation of educational documents for admission to Austrian educational institutions;

• court translation and participation in proceedings as a certified interpreter;

• translation of business correspondence;

• language support for residence and citizenship procedures;

• editing and proofreading;

• specialised translation services;

• premium property in Austria for residence and investment.