Passport is a document issued by the state for its citizens’ identification. The passport entitles legally to cross the border and determines the nationality of its owner. Usually the passport includes the basic information about the citizen’s name, age, date of birth, sex. The current passports have the photographic image of the passport holder. Some countries (including Ukraine since 2015) apply the new biometric passports with a high level of forgery protection, and additional information about the citizen.

In some countries except an international passport which serves as a certificate when crossing the national borders, there is also a so-called internal passport – an identity card of the citizen of the State within this State. The internal passports are used to control the movement of persons within the country and their places of residence.

In many countries the passports have a single form and international format, most identification fields on the main page are filled with English. In many other countries (e.g. the USA and EU countries) the passport is not obligatory, and identification documents, passport cards or driver’s licenses take a role of an internal identity card.

Types of passports in Ukraine

Passport of the citizen of Ukraine

Passport of the citizen of Ukraine is a document confirming its owner’s identity and citizenship of Ukraine. It is issued by the central executive body implementing the state policy in the field of citizenship to every citizen of Ukraine aged 16.

To cross the border the citizen of Ukraine must have another passport (so-called “international“), which is issued upon demand to the persons aged 18.

The internal passport is valid for conclusion of civil transactions, banking operations, execution of warrants for other persons in order to be represented before a third person only on the territory of Ukraine, unless otherwise provided by the international treaties of Ukraine.

The internal passport is issued by the territorial departments of the State Migration Service of Ukraine at the residence of the citizen of Ukraine aged 16, and further, if necessary, is exchanged, issued instead of the passport which has been lost, stolen or damaged.

To homeless citizens the passports are issued at the place of their preferred location. Issuance and exchange of the passports are held within a month.

To obtain the passport of the citizen of Ukraine a person submits the basic documents:

• The application for issuance of the passport;
• The application is filled by the applicant in person by hand, legibly, with exhaustive answers to all the questions, without abbreviations and acronyms. Filling in the application form by other persons instead of disabled persons, mentally ill persons etc. is allowed and the appropriate note is entered into the column “service marks” of the application;
• The application and documents prepared improperly are not accepted and are returned to the applicant;
• The birth certificate;
• Two photos of 3.5 x 5 cm. The photos submitted for preparation of the passport must be done of one negative picturing only the full face without headdress, made on a thin white or color photo paper and without corner. For the citizens permanently wearing glasses, photographing in glasses is compulsory;
• The state tax payment receipt or the copy of a document on state tax exemption.

Additional documents for issuance of the passport of the citizen of Ukraine (if necessary):

• The certificate on registration of the citizen of Ukraine or the Ukrainian citizenship certificate;
• The certificate on the person’s return to live in Ukraine with a corresponding mark in the international passport issued by employees of the territorial body of the citizenship, immigration and persons’ registration services in major departments, departments of MIA of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, regions, cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, or the passport of the citizen of Ukraine for travelling abroad – for the citizens of Ukraine who had a permanent place of residence abroad, after their returning for residence in Ukraine;
• The certificate on release from penitentiary, if before conviction the person had no passport or his/her passport was not withdrawn and attached to the personal file;
• The certificate of registration issued by a specialized institution that provides accounting of homeless people (for the homeless citizens).

The passport and two photos of the specified size are submitted for gluing into the passport for the citizens aged 25 and 45.

Original documents are returned to the person with the issued passport.

Exchange of the passport of the citizen of Ukraine is held within one month at the place of residence of the citizen. Gluing new photos into the passport of the citizen aged 25 and 45 is performed in five days.

Exchange of the passport is made in the following cases:

• Change of name, given name or patronymic;
• Ascertainment of differences in the entries;
• Unsuitability for use

To exchange the passport of the citizen of Ukraine a person must submit:

• The application of the form prescribed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine;
• The passport to be exchanged;
• Two photos of 3.5 x 5 cm

For exchanging the Ukrainian passport in connection with change of name, given name or patronymic, or by differences in the entries the documents confirming these facts are also submitted.

A citizen is obliged immediately to notify about the loss of the passport the passport department, which issues a temporary certificate confirming his/her identity. Form of the temporary certificate, procedure of its issuance is set by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

For exchanging the passport and gluing the new photos a citizen submits the documents and photos no later than a month after reaching the appropriate age or changing name, given name or patronymic, ascertaining differences in the entries or unsuitability of the passport for use.

Notices

• Passport blank forms are made in the form of passport booklet or passport card upon a common model approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
• Introduction terms of the passport card are determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as a state automated system of population counting is developed.
• Pursuant to the law all entries in the passport and information about its owner entered hereto must be done only in Ukrainian.
• Additional information can also be entered into the passport on the glued sheets of the form specified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
• Passport booklet is a cut booklet of 88×125 mm, consisting of a cover and 16 pages.
• All pages of the booklet are numbered, on each of them the State Emblem of Ukraine is shown and a series and passport number are perforated.
• The top of the cover front has the inscription “Ukraine”, below the State Emblem of Ukraine is placed and under it – the inscription “Passport”.
• There is the image of the State flag of Ukraine in the center of the inner left side of the cover, below – the inscription “Passport of the citizen of Ukraine.”
• Name, given name and patronymic, date and place of birth are entered on the first and second pages of the passport booklet. On the first page also the photo is glued and a place for the owner’s signature is given. On the second page data on sex, date of issue and the authority issued the passport are entered, the signature of the officer responsible for its issuance is put. The entries are certified with a mastic seal and the photo with a convex dry seal.
• The first page or the first sheet can be covered up after filling the relevant entries and gluing the photo. In the case of covering up all sheets the entries and the photos are not certified with the seals.
• The third, fourth, fifth and sixth pages are for photos, and the seventh, eighth and ninth – for special marks. On the tenth page a mark about the family status of the passport owner is made; the eleventh – sixteenth pages are for registration notes of the citizen’s residence.
• Upon the citizen’s request data on children, blood group and Rh factor can be included into the passport (seventh, eighth and ninth pages) on the basis of the appropriate documents.
• It is forbidden to enter into the passport entries not provided for this Regulation or laws of Ukraine.
• Any entries, marks and photos gluing in the passport are performed by the passport service.
• Validity of the passport made in the form of a passport booklet is not limited.
• New photos are glued into the passport booklet of the citizen aged 25 and 45. The passport without such photos glued upon his/her owner’s achievement of the age aforesaid is considered invalid.
• The passport in the form of a passport card (information sheet) has a size of 80×60 mm. In the information sheet the photo is glued and the information about its owner is entered: name and given name, patronymic, date of birth and personal number, date of issue and authority code issued it.
• The information sheet is covered up on both sides.
• Validity of the passport made in the form of the passport card is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
• Passport blank forms are produced on request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine by the Main Department for production of securities and important controlled documents of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine with high quality paper having special protection and are strictly accountable documents.
• Documents for obtaining the passport should be given within 1 month after achieving the age of 16 (or you are required to pay a fine)

Passport of the citizen of Ukraine for travelling abroad

Passport of the citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad (international passport) is a document certifying the identity of the citizen of Ukraine when crossing the Ukraine state border and staying abroad. Since Ukraine has been officially recognized on the international arena as a sovereign and independent state the official authorities faced with the task to provide their citizens with the relevant documents guarantying their right to cross the state border in order to visit any country or territory in the world.

According to the normative legal acts adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 1992 and 1993, President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk approved “Regulations on the passport of the citizen of Ukraine for travelling abroad” by his Decree of October 28, 1993 No 491/93 and charged the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to issue the passport of the citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad from January 1, 1994. Thus the citizens of Ukraine became the right for their own Ukrainian document that would allow them to cross the state border and stay abroad.

Despite this fact the passport of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1991 issued) was not ceased to be effective, and therefore a legal precedent was set when the citizens of Ukraine used the document of the non-existent country (USSR) for travel and stay abroad.

The advantage of getting the first Ukrainian passports was given to public officials, and ordinary citizens of Ukraine could receive the USSR passports more than one year.

Validity of the passport of the citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad

For the citizens under 16 years – 4 years, for the citizens aged over 16 – 10 years from the date of issue

Grounds for refusal to issue the passport of the citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad

An exceptional list of grounds for temporary refusal to issue the passport of the citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad is defined in Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On procedure of departure from Ukraine and entry into Ukraine by the citizens of Ukraine”

• possessing information constituting a state secret – up to the end of the period determined by the Law of Ukraine “On State Secret” (in the case of traveling abroad for permanent residence –after aged 16);
• there are unsettled alimony, contractual or other outstanding obligations  – up to the time when the obligations are performed or the disputes are resolved by agreement of the parties in accordance with the law , unless otherwise provided by the international treaty of Ukraine;
• preventive measure is applied against the person in the manner prescribed by the criminal procedural law, under which he/she is forbidden to travel abroad – up to the end of criminal proceedings or the repeal of the relevant restrictions;
• conviction for committing a crime – up to the end of servicing sentence  or the release from sentence
• evasion from performance of the obligations imposed by the court decision, the decision of other body (official) – up to the fulfillment of the obligations;
• conscious providing the false information about themselves – up to the clarification of the causes and consequences of the false information;
• a civil suit is brought against the citizen in the court, – by the end of the proceeding;
• stay under the administrative supervision of the body of internal affairs – up to the termination of supervision.