Foreigners who wish to immigrate to Ukraine must obtain a permanent residence permit. The permanent residence permit is a document that confirms legal grounds for a foreigner’s stay in Ukraine. It entitles a person to stay in Ukraine for 10 years. Having obtained the permanent residence permit foreigner has all the rights and duties that Ukrainian citizens have, except the rights and duties only citizens of Ukraine are entitled to.
Legal grounds for obtaining a permanent residence permit in Ukraine
Permanent residence permit in Ukraine may be issued to a foreigner only based on an immigration permit.
Ukrainian legislation establishes an exhaustive list of grounds, which give the right to obtain an immigration permit (and a permanent residence permit, as a result), namely:
- Being a citizen of Ukraine in the past;
- Investing in the Ukrainian economy (a sum of $ 100 000 and more);
- Family ties with the citizens of Ukraine (children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren), as well as, if the husband/wife of a foreigner is a Ukrainian citizen and such persons have been married more than 2 years;
- If a foreigner is either a guardian/custodian of a Ukrainian citizen, or the foreigner is under the guardianship/custody of the Ukrainian citizen;
- Family ties with Ukrainian immigrants (parents, husband/wife, minor children);
- If a person works in the field of science and culture, whose immigration is in the interests of Ukraine;
- If a person is a highly qualified specialist or a worker, and Ukraine’s economy is in dire need of this specialization;
- If a person’s immigration is the matter of national interest for Ukraine;
- If a person has the right to acquire Ukrainian citizenship on the basis of territorial origin;
- The status of Foreign Ukrainian allows a person to immigrate in Ukraine, as well as, spouses of Foreign Ukrainians and their children in case of joint entry and stay in Ukraine;
- If a person continuously lived on the territory of Ukraine for 3 years after gaining the status of a person who suffered from human trafficking;
- If a person has served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 3 years and longer.
Obtaining an immigration permit and a permanent residence permit in Ukraine
Moreover, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine annually establishes the immigration quota. In nutshell, quota is a limited number of people who have a right to get the immigration permit in a certain year on every ground for certain Ukrainian region. Thus, a foreigner who has been late on applying for an immigration permit and not hit the quota will have to wait for next year.
But the immigration quota does not apply to close relatives of Ukrainian citizens, Foreign Ukrainians, persons whose immigration meets the interests of Ukraine, and those, who want to obtain the citizenship of Ukraine under territorial origin. The most common way to obtain an immigration permit is family reunion after 2 years of marriage.
The procedure of obtaining an immigration permit and a permanent residence permit in Ukraine is time exhausting and complicated: the applications are being considered by the State Migration Service for one year. And only after that, a foreigner can obtain a permanent residence permit in Ukraine.
The list of documents required for the application depends on the ground for a permit and varies in each case. In all cases, a foreigner must submit a notarized passport translation and documents confirming a place of residence in Ukraine and abroad.
The document that confirms a place of residence in Ukraine is the notarized consent of the apartment owner. There is no need to get such consent in case a foreigner has a temporary residence permit. It is enough to submit a temporary residence permit in Ukraine.
Check our website to find details on preparing and applying documents for obtaining an immigration permit and a permanent residence permit in Ukraine depending on the ground for immigration.
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