Do I need new passport for a residence permit by marriage in Ukraine?

Earlier we have already written about how to arrange a residence permit for marriage in Ukraine. You can read about the procedure itself here. Today we will focus on some aspects of the procedure that may prevent you from implementing your plan in action - to conclude a marriage in Ukraine and get a residence permit on its basis.

One of these aspects is that for marriage in Ukraine you need a valid passport, and it must be issued more than half a year before marriage in Ukraine.

Let us tell you about the example of our Client, who faced such a problem.

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Residence permit through marriage in Ukraine: requirements

We were approached by a Client - a citizen of Moldova, who wanted to move to Ukraine, to marry here a Ukrainian citizen and get a residence permit on this basis. 

First of all, he had to come to Ukraine to get married, after which he could start the process of residence permit registration for him. Since our Client was a citizen of Moldova, with which Ukraine has a visa-free regime, he does not need to obtain a visa to cross the border. If you are a citizen of a country with which Ukraine does not have a visa-free regime - to enter Ukraine you will have to obtain a visa D.

The problem arose when it turned out that our Client had a brand new passport issued 3 months ago. And for a foreigner to marry in Ukraine, according to the rules, it is necessary to have a passport, which is valid for more than 6 months.

Of course, there is always the option to wait several months and start the procedure as soon as your passport meets the requirements of the Migration Service in Ukraine. But we found another solution, which helped us not to delay the whole procedure.

To bypass the rule with a new passport, we helped the Client to get a certificate from the Border Guard Service about the legal crossing and stay of a foreigner in Ukraine. This certificate gives legal grounds for the temporary stay of a non-resident in Ukraine, until the completion of the voluntary return procedure. Since the procedure of voluntary return is a marriage with a Ukrainian, then having received this certificate, we were able to submit documents for registration in the registry office. 

Related article: Terms and cost of the obtaining of residence permit in Ukraine

Obtainment of a certificate from the Border Guard Service about the temporary stay of a foreigner for marriage

We received the above mentioned certificate for the Client in the Main Center of Special Information Processing of the State Border Service of Ukraine. The term for receiving the certificate is 10 working days. We prepared the application and accompanied the foreigner during his visit to both the Border Guard and the Migration Service.

Then we were able to start the established algorithm of initiation of obtaining a residence permit based on marriage in Ukraine.:

• Our lawyers have organized a convenient time for the Client to register his marriage in the Kiev registry office;
• Then we conducted the process of preparing the collection of all necessary documents to submit for a residence permit, which took us only 5 days. 
• Within 7 days after the submission, the Client received a temporary residence permit from the first time.

Want to get a residence permit in Ukraine based on marriage? Or maybe you need help organizing a residence permit in Ukraine? Our migration lawyers will help you in any case - contact us!

Have you found no answer to your question?

More about the process of obtaining a residence permit in Ukraine, read here.