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Amendments to Ukraine immigration law : Draft Law No. 6516

On July 18, 2023, the President of Ukraine signed amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Immigration”. The amendments will come into force three months after their official publication.

The main changes to the legislation on immigration in Ukraine:

 

Renewed list of persons who may apply for an immigration permit

The law provides the possibility of applying for an immigration permit to persons who have resided in Ukraine continuously for the last 5 years on the basis of a temporary residence permit obtained on the basis of parts 4-12 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons”. So, persons, who during the last 5 years were studying, working, volunteering, preaching and living in Ukraine, would be able to submit documents for an immigration permit.
For residence in Ukraine to be considered continuous, it is necessary not to leave Ukraine for more than 90 days per visit abroad, and in total, absence from Ukraine in a year may not exceed 180 days.
It will not be considered a violation of the continuous residence requirement if a person travels abroad on a business trip, study, vacation, medical treatment upon the recommendation of a relevant medical institution, or if a person changes his or her place of residence in Ukraine.
Family members of highly qualified professionals and workers will be able to migrate within the general quota set by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. This means that an immigrant’s spouse and children can apply for an immigration permit together with him or her if they enter and stay in Ukraine together. In other cases, the spouse of an immigrant will be able to apply for an immigration permit only if they have been married to an immigrant for more than two years.

Reduction of the timeframe for consideration of an application for an immigration permit

From now on, applications for immigration permits will be processed within 6 months instead of 1 year. However, the processing time will still be 1 year for applications for an immigration permit submitted through diplomatic institutions of Ukraine.

Procedure for verifying the fictitiousness of marriage in the process of consideration of documents for obtaining an immigration permit

The Law stipulates that, together with an application for an immigration permit based on family reunification with a citizen of Ukraine or a foreigner who already has a permanent residence permit, an applicant must submit a consent to verify the fictitiousness of their marriage. The spouse with whom the foreigner is “reuniting” must also provide such consent.
The requirements for the consent are not yet defined by law.
Checks of the fictitiousness of marriage will be carried out by the State Migration Service of Ukraine. The law stipulates that the checks will be in the form of interviews and written tests.
As a result of the verification procedure, the fact that a person is married to a citizen of Ukraine or an immigrant will not be recognized as a basis for granting an immigration permit in the following circumstances:

  • – one of the spouses received material compensation in exchange for giving free consent to the marriage, if this is not mandatory when entering into a marriage abroad, in accordance with the law of a foreign state;
  • – the spouses do not live together and are not connected by a common household;
  • – the spouses did not meet or communicate before the marriage;
  • – the spouses do not communicate in a language understood by both of them;
  • – one of the spouses has previously been married to a citizen of Ukraine or an immigrant, which was not recognized as a ground for granting an immigration permit;
  • – each of the spouses does not have information about the other spouse’s personal data (date and place of birth, place of residence, education, place of work, profession, religion, close relatives, peculiarities of life and preferences);
  • – refusal of a person to have his or her spouse present in person when applying for an immigration permit;
  • – refusal of each of the spouses to provide written consent to an interview and written tests for verification.

 

Increase in administrative fees

Before the Draft Law enters into force, the fee for processing and issuing an immigration permit is UAH 179.74. The Draft Law stipulates that the fee will be 0.5 of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as of January 1 of the calendar year, i.e., as of 2023, it will be UAH 1,342. It also provides that in case of submission of documents for an immigration permit through diplomatic institutions of Ukraine abroad, a consular fee is charged in the amount set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The list of grounds for refusal to grant an immigration permit

The renewed grounds for refusal to grant an immigration permit are:

  1. 1) a court decision to invalidate a marriage on the grounds of its fictitiousness;
  2. 2) failure to pass the “fictitiousness” test of the marriage by the State Migration Service of Ukraine;
  3. 3) failure to confirm the legality of stay in the territory of Ukraine;
  4. 4) failure to submit all documents required by the Law;
  5. 5) bringing to criminal or administrative liability for illegal crossing or attempting to cross the state border illegally;
  6. 6) violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territories;
  7. 7) violation of the legislation on the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons;
  8. 8) failure to comply with a court decision or a decision of state authorities authorized to impose administrative penalties;
  9. 9) failure to fulfill property obligations to the state, individuals or legal entities.

New deadlines for a permanent residence permit application

From the moment of obtaining an immigration permit, a foreigner will still have 1 year to apply for a permanent residence permit in Ukraine. However, this period is limited by the period of legal stay/residence of the foreigner in Ukraine, as it is stated by the Draft Law that he/she must apply for a permanent residence permit no later than 15 business days before the expiration of his/her long-term visa or temporary stay/residence.
So, to submit documents for a permanent permit, a foreigner will have to take into account both the validity period of the immigration permit and the validity period of his valid documents for residence in Ukraine (period of stay, visa or temporary residence permit validity).

Procedure for withdrawal of a permanent residence permit and forced return in case of cancellation of an immigration permit

If an immigration permit is canceled, the permanent residence permit issued on the basis of this permit is canceled. Along with the decision to cancel the immigration permit, the migration service also makes a decision on forced return.
All three decisions must be made simultaneously, and hard copies sent by registered mail to the foreigner in respect of whom they were made or handed over to him/her personally within 5 calendar days.
The canceled residence permit is withdrawn by the migration service or border guard service.
The decision on forced return specifies the time limit for departure abroad. If during this time the person has not left Ukraine and has not appealed the decision on cancellation of the immigration permit and permanent residence permit to the court, he or she is subject to forced expulsion.
If a person has appealed the decision on cancellation of an immigration permit and permanent residence permit to a court, the enforcement of the decision on his/her forced return is suspended until the court decision enters into force.
If the court finds the decision to revoke the immigration permit and permanent residence permit unlawful and revokes it, the immigration permit is considered valid and is the basis for applying for a permanent residence permit by way of exchange.

Kateryna Zatulko, Senior Associate, Attorney at Law

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