Expedited Marriage Registration with a Foreign National in Ukraine

Marriage with a Foreign National in Ukraine

A foreign national lawfully staying in Ukraine may register a marriage in Ukraine, . The same applies to a marriage between two foreign nationals, provided both are lawfully present when the marriage is registered.

Expedited “one-day” registration available in some cases between Ukrainian citizens does not operate in the same way for a marriage involving a foreign national because the Migration Service checks the lawfulness of the foreign national's stay before registration.

Application procedure

• prepare the parties' passports and any documents proving termination of previous marriages;

• legalise or apostille foreign documents where required and translate them into Ukrainian;

• file the marriage application with the authorised registration body, normally with both parties personally present;

• complete the Migration Service check of the foreign national's lawful stay;

• attend the marriage registration and receive the marriage certificate.

Marriage between two foreign nationals

Two foreign citizens may marry in Ukraine. Their stay must remain lawful through the registration procedure. It recommends having at least three working days of lawful stay remaining when the application is made.

The same source approach is applied to residence-permit holders: the residence document must still be valid when the marriage is registered.

Documents

• valid passport of each party;

• for a foreign national, the passport used to enter Ukraine and a notarised Ukrainian translation;

• for a Ukrainian citizen, the internal passport or ID card together with residence-registration information where required;

• for a foreign national holding Ukrainian residence, the temporary or permanent residence permit and residence-registration evidence;

• where either party was previously married, the divorce certificate, court judgment or other document confirming termination of the previous marriage, apostilled/legalised and translated where required.

Online marriage

Registration of a marriage involving a foreign national cannot currently be completed fully online.

Residence rights after marriage

Marriage to a Ukrainian citizen is as a basis for temporary residence and, after the required period, for permanent residence. Permanent residence based on marriage becomes available after two years of marriage.

Citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Uzbekistan are persons who may file for temporary residence after marriage without first obtaining the D-14 visa described for other nationalities.

For other nationalities, a type D-14 visa must first be obtained abroad before the temporary-residence application, and that an application made without leaving Ukraine where permitted must be filed no later than 15 working days before the end of the lawful stay.

A marriage between two foreign nationals, by itself, does not create a Ukrainian residence-permit ground. If one spouse already holds a temporary or permanent residence permit, the other spouse may have a derivative residence route depending on that status.

Criminal Record Certificate in Ukraine

Criminal Record Extract

A Ukrainian criminal record certificate contains information on criminal prosecution, the presence or absence of a conviction and restrictions recorded under Ukrainian criminal-procedure legislation. An extract is now issued instead of the older certificate form and an apostille may be placed on the paper extract.

Types

• full extract: includes information on criminal prosecution and restrictions under criminal-procedure legislation;

• short extract: contains only information on the presence or absence of a conviction.

The source also distinguishes paper documents with an original seal and signature from electronic extracts bearing a digital signature and seal.

Where to obtain the document

A paper criminal-record extract is issued through Ministry of Internal Affairs service centres. An electronic extract may be requested online through Diia or the Ministry of Internal Affairs citizen portal.

An apostille is not placed on an electronically issued criminal-record extract.

Documents

For a paper application, the applicant or authorised representative applies to an MIA service centre with a passport, taxpayer number and copies, and completes an application stating the purpose for which the document is required.

For a foreign national, the source additionally requires a notarised Ukrainian translation of the foreign passport or a copy of the Ukrainian residence permit.

Issue and validity periods

The source states a standard issue period of 30 calendar days.

It says that a criminal-record document is generally treated as valid in Ukraine for one to three months and for use abroad for six months, while warning that a destination state may impose a different period. The certificate itself does not show a fixed expiry date.

Apostille

A paper criminal-record extract may be apostilled through the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kyiv and a separate apostille application and state payment are required.

It also states that the apostilled document may be arranged while the applicant is abroad and that personal attendance at the Ministry is not required where the procedure is handled by an authorised representative.

Additional documents

• passport, original and copy;

• Ukrainian passport translation or residence permit for a foreign national;

• taxpayer card (INN/RNOKPP), original and copy.

The document may also be translated and the translation apostilled where required. It notes that Ukrainian legislation does not provide a separate formal “urgent” criminal-record certificate procedure.