Guidance

Ukraine: Knowledge Base profile

Published 16 May 2024

About: Ukraine

This document contains useful information about Ukraine which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 15 May 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Ukraine: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Ukraine.

Names in Ukraine follow a naming convention and consist of a:

• forename
• patronymic name (from the father’s name)
• surname

This naming convention is common, but not strictly enforced. If parents choose to have two forenames for the child, or to remove the father’s patronymic name they must make the Register Office aware.

There is a Russian and Ukrainian transliteration of certain names. For example, the name Iryna (in Ukrainian) is the same name as Irina (in Russian). Mistakes may be made during transliteration, meaning some citizens may have different names on their documents.

There are male and female versions of certain names, usually distinguished by the final letter. For example, Aleksandr is a male name, Aleksandra is a female name.

On a Ukraine international passport, a person’s name will be shown as a forename and surname, both in Cyrillic and Latin. Surnames may have a gender specific suffix. A patronymic name will not be shown on the international passport.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Ukraine.  A name change can happen:

• between the ages of 14 and 16 years old, with parental consent
• over the age of 16 years old, without parental consent

Women can choose to change their surnames to their husband’s surname, following marriage.

A change of name must be registered with Ukraine’s registry offices within 3 months. This time limit allows for the application to be processed, the records to be updated and for the reissuing of an internal passport.

Name alignment

Two types of passports are issued in Ukraine, and a citizen may hold either or both of these. These passports are:

• international passport, for travel overseas
• internal passport, for travel within Ukraine

Where a customer must align their name on the Ukraine passport their residential status impacts the process they follow.

Non-resident of Ukraine

Where the customer has a stamp in their international Ukraine passport declaring them a “non-resident in the Ukraine”, alignment of that passport, including name changes, can be completed in embassies or missions in the UK.

The Ukraine Embassy or Mission will assist the customer to register their change of name with the registration authorities. The Ukrainian legislation sets a maximum limit of three months for processing applications for change of name.

Resident of Ukraine

Where the customer has a stamp in their international Ukraine passport declaring them a ‘Resident of the Ukraine’, they must register their change of name and amend their internal passport before they can apply to update their international passport.

An internal passport can only be updated in person in Ukraine, at Ukraine’s State Migration Service local offices.

Once the internal passport has been updated, the international passport can be updated. This can be done either in:

• Ukraine, at the State Migration Service
• the UK, at the Ukraine Embassy

The customer may decide not to renew their international Ukraine passport in their new name when their internal passport has been updated.

For HM Passport Office purposes, this is acceptable if the applicant supplies both:

• a new internal Ukraine passport in the name used for all official purposes
• an official, personalised letter from the Ukraine Embassy in the UK confirming the cancellation of the international passport in the previous name

Ukraine: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Ukraine.

Dual nationality is not recognised in Ukraine.

If a Ukrainian national holds another nationality they:

• will not lose their Ukrainian nationality
• can still apply for a Ukraine passport

Ukraine: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Ukraine.

Legitimacy

Ukraine does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. A child will be considered legitimate whether their parents are married or not.

Parental responsibility

Both parents will have parental responsibility for a child, if:

• the child was born to married parents; and,
• there are no court orders existing to show otherwise

Ukraine: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Ukraine.

Adoption is legal in Ukraine.

Ukraine: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Ukraine.

Surrogacy is legal in Ukraine. It is only legal for married couples.

Children born through a surrogacy arrangement will be issued with a birth certificate containing the names of the commissioning parents.

Ukraine: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Ukraine.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Ukraine.

Ukraine: civil partnership and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnership and marriage in Ukraine.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are not recognised in Ukraine.

State marriage is the only legally recognised form of marriage in Ukraine.

Ukraine: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Ukraine.

Official documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates are issued by regional authorities in Ukraine.

If replacement documents are issued by the Ukraine embassy in the UK, the Ukraine Ministry of Justice will add an Apostille to them.

Birth certificates

Births should be registered in Ukraine within 1 month and birth certificates are issued following the registration, on application. These birth certificates are issued by the local registration offices.

There are 3 types of birth certificate in circulation:

• A5 sized green paper sized book, issued to children born in the former Soviet Union
• A5 sized light green certificates, issued to children born between 2000 and 2005
• A4 sized blue certificate, issued to children born after 2005. These certificates also contain a stamp from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine

A replacement birth certificate will be issued if an error has been made on the original document.

From February 2022 and during the period of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it may not be possible for parents to register the birth of their child. This may mean a child does not have a birth certificate. Where the mother has given birth to the child in a hospital, or with a midwife present, the child will be issued with a:

• Form 113 (pre and antenatal records form)
• Form 103 (medical certificate or statement of birth)

On the hospital records, only the mother’s details will be held. The records will show whether the mother was married or single at the time of the birth.

The Form 113 holds information about the mother and her pregnancy details. This form has three sections, one of these:

• stays with the maternity hospital
• goes to the medical establishment where the pregnancy has been supervised
• goes to the child healthcare facility

The part of the form that goes to the child healthcare facility contains the section the mother must sign to receive Form 103. Form 103 is the document that must be provided to the registry office to register the child’s birth.

Where the parents have not been able to provide a birth certificate because the child has not been registered due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the customer must provide both the Form 103 and 113.

Children born though a surrogacy arrangement will be issued with a birth certificate containing the names of the commissioning parents.

Marriage certificates

Marriage certificates are issued by local marriage offices in Ukraine. The records of marriage are held in a civil registrations book. There are two types of marriage certificate in circulation:

• a former Soviet Union marriage certificate (issued until approximately 1992)
• a Ukrainian marriage certificate (issued from 1992 until present)

The Ukrainian marriage certificate is a red document that is smaller than A4 size. Prior to 2000, these certificates were pink, in the format of a book and smaller than A5 size.

Death certificates

All deaths must be registered within 3 to 5 days. Death certificates are issued from the local or district registries in Ukraine, following the notification of a death.

Ukraine death certificates issued since 2000 are A5 size and brown/grey in colour. Some of the earlier certificates issued prior to the year 2000 may be a different colour.

Identity documents

Identity documents are issued by:  

• local and regional representative offices in Ukraine
• the State Migration Service of Ukraine, who have State Enterprise “Document” offices in six European countries and Turkey

The State Enterprise “Document” office can:

• issue an identity card or international passport; or,
• change an internal passport book (1994 model passport) for an identity card; or,
• issue both an international passport and an identity card

The issuing authorities do not laminate Identity documents. Some citizens choose to laminate them:

• if the full document is laminated, the document can be invalid
• If the front page of an identity document is laminated but the back page is unlaminated (for an apostille), this will not affect the validity of the document

Ukraine issues two types of passports, these are:

• international passport, for travel overseas, which is valid for:
  • 10 years for citizens aged 16 years old and over
  • 4 years for citizens under 16 years old
• internal passport, for travel within Ukraine. There are 2 types of internal passport for citizens of Ukraine:
  • passport book which has 16 pages and is called a 1994 model passport. The photos are updated in the passport when the citizen is 25 years old and 45 years old. On 1 January 2016 the passport books were replaced by an identity card with existing passports remaining valid
  • identity card of the citizen of Ukraine. These are available to citizens aged 14 years old or over. These Passports are issued for 4 years to citizens under 18 years old, and for 10 years for citizens aged 18 years or over

Internal passports issued before 14 July 2016 are stamped to show if the holder is married.