Right to Protection is an NGO dedicatedto protecting the rights of asylum seekers, refugees, stateless andundocumented persons, as well as internally displaced and conflict affected persons.
Category: Stateless persons
16.12.21
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has just adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine“ On Citizenship of Ukraine “on Simplified Acquisition of Citizenship of Ukraine by Certain Categories of Persons” (Bill №5630).
The draft introduces a number of important amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine”, in particular to Article 9 on the citizenship of Ukraine.
When the Law enters into force (after it will be signed by the President of Ukraine), stateless persons will have the opportunity to be granted Ukrainian citizenship three years after being officially recognized as a stateless person through the Stateless Determination Procedure.
The current Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine” does not provide for a separate procedure for naturalization of the officially recognized stateless persons, and the general approach to citizenship of Ukraine is possible only if the person continuously resided in Ukraine for the last 5 years. In addition, due to the peculiarities of the legal status of the stateless persons, which are recognized in Ukraine under the new procedure, there are no rules that would clearly define what exactly should be included in these five years.
The new law clearly states that for stateless persons, the period of continuous legal residence on the territory of Ukraine must be three years from the date of recognition.
The CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) will soon provide more information on key changes to the legislation on Ukrainian citizenship and its possible positive impact on documentation procedures.
Watch the video about the first person, who was officially recognized as stateless in Ukraine and received her first identity document (in Ukrainian).
More details on the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP) in Ukraine.
On the recent changes in the procedure for obtaining a passport of a citizen of Ukraine: will the procedure for identifying a person become easier? (in Ukrainian)
14.12.21
This year, 83 applicants, accompanied by lawyers and attorneys of the R2P team, submitted their documents for the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP). This has been made possible thanks to the effective cooperation with the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU).
On December 2, during an online meeting with the representatives of the State Migration Service of the Kyiv Region, specialists of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) spoke about the legal assistance to the stateless persons and about the ways to solve problems in non-standard cases.
The event was joined by the employees of the SMS, including Olga Valetenko, Deputy Director of the Department, Head of the Temporary and Permanent Residence of Foreigners, and Stateless Persons of the State Migration Service of Ukraine.
Lawyers and advocates of the R2P Sofiia Kordonets, Victoria Volynska, Alexandra Aivazian, Konstiantyn Funzhyi, and Kseniia Karahiaur shared their own experience in this area and spoke about:
The main categories of persons applying for the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP);
Challenges when submitting applications for an SDP;
Ways to facilitate the application for recognition of stateless persons in non-standard cases.
Since April 2021, every person who can’t get a passport due to not being considered a citizen of any country, has the right to apply to the State Migration Service of Ukraine to become recognized as a stateless person.
Due to the implementation of an SDP, the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) is holding its third event at the regional level with the representatives of the SMS of Ukraine.
The Team of the Fund plans to continue to meet with the government officials and other agencies to establish effective cooperation in this area, as well as to raise awareness and share the information about the new Stateless Determination Procedure.
Our team is sincerely grateful to the participants for their interest in the topic and for their active participation in the event! We look forward to continuing our cooperation.
Project “Legal assistance to stateless persons in Ukraine” is implemented by the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In the 1990s, the company where Oleh worked experienced an economic downturn, wages were paid only partially, and there was barely enough money to buy food. The man began working informally at various private enterprises. While looking for a new job, he lost his passport, birth certificate, and employment record. Later, the man decided to return to Kreminna.
Oleh repeatedly applied to the local Department of the Migration Service for a new passport but was always denied due to lack of documents and inability to prove Ukrainian citizenship. He tried to get a birth certificate again, but could not do so without a passport. Each unsuccessful attempt disappointed him more and more.
One day, Oleh’s best friend offered him to turn to the specialists of the Kreminna Free Legal Aid Bureau. There, the man told his story to the specialists, who then redirected him to the office of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) in Severodonetsk.
Serhii Mikhailov, the lawyer of the R2P, took up the job. It was not easy to prove that the man lived in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991, as well as to collect all the required documents to support this fact. All because the enterprises where Oleh worked changed their names many times, created private cooperatives, and information about the periods of work was not passed to the labor archives. And the house where the man lived at that time became a property of the private enterprise, so the information from the archives of registered residents was lost forever.
Yet the perseverance and a desire to help can move mountains. Documents about the place of residence were found, our lawyer immediately applied to the Kreminna district court of the Luhansk region. The witness also further confirmed the fact that Oleh lived in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991. As a result, the court sided with our beneficiary.
Finally, after so many years of suffering and exile, Oleh received a passport of a citizen of Ukraine. Now the man is discovering new horizons of life. He has already received a tax identification number, opened a bank account, and plans to become officially employed. This is what he says about his new official legal status:
“A passport is when you exist and when everyone sees you!”
Kharkiv, 1998. Olesya, a girl from Uzbekistan, gives birth in a maternity hospital. She is young, scared, and does not have a passport. A boy named Timur is born. Being in such a difficult situation, Olesya decides to give a fictional surname to the boy to receive the birth certificate for him.
Later, when her son turned 18, Olesya received Ukrainian citizenship. Unfortunately, due to coming of age, the young man was no longer able to acquire citizenship with his mother. They then tried to apply to the migration service at their place of residence. And only then Olesya and Timur understood the complexity of this situation. According to the documents, the boy had a fictitious surname, so Olesya was not considered his mother under the law.
In 2018, the family turned to our colleagues in Kharkiv for help. With the help of an R2P lawyer, Olesya’s motherhood was established in court and the new birth certificate for Timur was obtained. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem of Timur’s citizenship. So the boy had to wait patiently for the opportunity to apply for recognition as a stateless person. In early November 2021, the following opportunity occurred: the Kholodnohirsk branch of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region accepted his application, and the applicant was issued a certificate – the first official document proving his identity.
Also, our lawyer gathered enough evidence and proved in court the grounds for Timur to acquire Ukrainian citizenship by territorial origin. The court decision has already come into force, so after receiving the decision to recognize Timur as a stateless person, he will immediately apply to the Migration Service with a request to acquire Ukrainian citizenship to finally get the dream passport.
And we, for our part, will accompany and support him on this path. Good luck to all of us in this difficult matter!
Once again, the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) is happy to express sincere gratitude to the Migration Service of the Kharkiv Region for its continued support in all the efforts and initiatives to help people, as well as for effective cooperation in the difficult way of documenting the stateless persons.
Lyudmyla is a resident of the Stanychno-Luhanskyi district in the Luhansk region. In 2014, due to the lack of passport forms, she received a temporary identity card of a citizen of Ukraine.
Due to the escalation of hostilities, Lyudmyla lost her documents and was left without a passport. The archive building of the district migration service, where all the data was located, was almost destroyed. Lyudmyla tried to renew at least her birth certificate, but due to the lack of documents, it was impossible.
Woman continued to live near where the modern “contact line” now is. She could not leave her village without identity documents. All because there were checkpoints on the outskirts, through which one can pass only with the proper documents.
In 2018, the district migration service resumed its work. Lyudmyla immediately applied for a passport. However, the service’s file archive was destroyed during the hostilities. Because of this, and because of the woman’s lack of documents, Lyudmyla didn’t receive a passport. To establish her Ukrainian citizenship, she was left with the only option – to go to court.
Our colleagues from the Severodonetsk R2P office helped the woman to overcome all legal issues. Lawyer Serhii Mikhailov started to work with Lyudmyla’s case. He first helped the woman obtain a birth certificate. Then he started collecting information from the school and from the village council, where Lyudmyla lived with her parents. All this information is required to confirm her Ukrainian citizenship.
However, a new problem arose. There were discrepancies in the documents collected by the lawyer on Lyudmyla’s date of birth. Thanks to persistent cooperation with the government agencies, the problem has been resolved and appropriate changes have been made. This managed to confirm the citizenship of Ukraine in a pre-trial procedure. All the necessary documents were submitted to the State Migration Service of Ukraine, and finally, Lyudmyla received her long-awaited passport!
We sincerely congratulate Lyudmyla! As she said herself, at the moment when you hold your passport in your hands, you understand that you are a part of society, that you are a citizen of Ukraine!
Victoria was born in 1997 in Kharkiv. However, since the moment of birth, she had been living in the village of Kovyahy in the Valkiv district of the Kharkiv region. She graduated from the Kovyahy educational complex.
The girl’s mother was undocumented, so the child didn’t receive the birth certificate. So, when it was high time to get a passport, the girl did not exist from a legal point of view, because for all her life she lived without a birth certificate.
In 2018, Victoria turned for help to our colleagues from the Kharkiv office. The first step was to go to court to establish the fact of the birth. Through the painstaking work of the lawyer, together with the help of the Center for Social Services of the Valkiv City Council, enough documents were collected to go to court. In August 2021, Victoria received her first official document – a birth certificate.
The second step was to apply to the Valkiv sector of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region to provide our beneficiary with the document. Due to her mother being undocumented at the moment of birth, it was not possible to prove citizenship. However, since Victoria was born in Ukraine, she has the right to acquire Ukrainian citizenship. However, in order to be able to apply for citizenship, first, she needs to get the status of a stateless person.
Victoria’s application for statelessness was accepted and she received another important document! And although this certificate is not an acquired status, this step brings it closer to resolving the issue of obtaining a long-awaited passport. Victoria already dreams of starting her own family, working officially, and feeling proud of becoming a citizen of Ukraine.
We thank the staff of the Center for Social Services of the Valkiv City Council, Valkiv District Court of Kharkiv region, and the staff of the Valkiv sector of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region for high professionalism, incredible sensitivity, and constant willingness to cooperate to help people!
Natalia was only 39. In early 2021 she was diagnosed with cancer, yet due to the lack of identity documents, she could not receive vital treatment: she could have neither undergo chemotherapy nor surgery.
Undocumented persons and even people who have applied for the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP) are not entitled to free medical treatment under the medical guarantee program. Natalia was hospitalized several times in critical conditions, but she did not receive proper treatment, despite the fact that in August 2021, with the help of a lawyer from the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P), she applied for an SDP.
In the spring, Volodymyr Kohan died at the age of 69. This happened before the SDP was established. The lawyer of the R2P has been assisting the man in obtaining Ukrainian citizenship since 2018, but it has not been possible to confirm his citizenship – the legal connection with the Ukrainian state has been lost. The man suffered for many years due to vision loss and other diseases. He did not receive treatment due to a lack of a passport, as well as did not have money to be able to undergo treatment. The man made an appointment to apply for the Stateless Determination Procedure, but unfortunately, he was never able to obtain this document…
Recently, a 59-year-old woman, a beneficiary of the Fund, died. For more than 20 years, she struggled and waited for the introduction of the Stateless Determination Procedure to be adopted, all that while living without any documents, because no country recognized her as a citizen. For a long time, the woman suffered from diabetes, but could not receive medical care and proper examination due to a lack of identity documents. In May 2021, the woman already had the necessary package of documents to apply for an SDP but was never able to apply for the long-awaited procedure.
Due to the lack of citizenship, thousands of people living in Ukraine also do not have identity documents.
Since April 2021, Ukraine has introduced the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP). Finally, undocumented persons got a chance to change their lives for the better and live without any obstacles.
According to the survey, conducted by the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) in 2020, 17% of undocumented and/or stateless persons have serious chronic diseases or disabilities. These people are not entitled to free treatment, free examinations, disability, vaccinations, or any other free medical services under the medical guarantee program.
Why can’t stateless applicants be treated free of charge?
Only citizens of Ukraine, foreigners, and stateless persons permanently residing in Ukraine, as well as the refugees and persons in need of complementary protection, can receive free medical care within the framework of the medical guarantee program.
This applies to the following types of medical care:
emergency care;
primary care;
secondary (specialized) medical care;
tertiary (highly specialized) medical care;
palliative care;
medical rehabilitation;
medical care for children under 16;
medical care in connection with pregnancy and childbirth.
Persons with uncertain legal status and/or citizenship, without any identity documents, do not have access to free medical care. Such people can count only on emergency medical care with the subsequent reimbursement of the cost of the provided services. The same applies to people who have applied for an SDP, as well as to the officially recognized stateless persons without a temporary residence permit.
In the context of the implementation of an SDP, it should be noted that the Human Rights Strategy aims to ensure that persons who have applied for the Procedure have the right to work, health care, and social protection. The implementation of this task is impossible without making the required changes in the legislation on financial guarantees of medical care. However, the relevant measures proposed by the public, unfortunately, were not included in the Action Plan of the National Strategy for Human Rights for 2021-2023.
Under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the Contracting States shall provide the stateless persons with the same status as nationals within their territories. This includes the same rights in the following areas: social protection, employment, job rights, occupational diseases, maternity, illness, disability, age of retirement, death, unemployment, family responsibilities, and other cases that, in accordance with domestic laws or other regulations, fall within the scope of the social security system.
Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P) has repeatedly expressed its position on the vulnerability of the undocumented persons who have difficulty proving citizenship or whose citizenship is uncertain. In particular, we have informed the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the National Health Service of Ukraine about the status of these categories of persons and asked for an appropriate dialogue on that matter. Yet, the issue of legislative provision of access to medical services for these groups still remains unresolved.
«For years the undocumented and stateless persons have been suffering due to a complete lack of access to the medical services. A person is not entitled to free medical care even after filling the Stateless Determination Procedure application and even after being recognized as such and until the moment of obtaining a permanent residence permit. For Ukraine in order to comply with its international obligations, lawmakers need to review legislation on financial health care guarantees and provide people with adequate protection.»
Stateless and undocumented persons require special protection, equal rights, and freedoms, as well as to, of course, to be able to exercise those rights. Now, this finally became possible with the recently introduced Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP) in Ukraine.
That’s why our colleagues, in cooperation with the State Migration Service of Ukraine, continue to hold thematic discussions on the implementation of this procedure in Ukraine. Today’s round table took place in Sloviansk. In a mixed offline-online format participants exchanged their experiences in submitting / accepting applications for recognition as a stateless person and talked about possible ways of cooperation in this area.
The event was joined by our colleagues Sofiia Kordonets, Kseniia Karahiaur, Nataliia Tolbatova and Nataliia Ishchenko, as well as by the representatives of the bodies and departments of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU) in the Donetsk region.
In particular, the participants discussed the most complex cases of undocumented persons and the ways to solve them, peculiarities of accompanying undocumented minors, as well as outlined the ways on informing such persons of the new possibility to receive legal status. Such a format contributes to the establishment of effective dialogue and the development of working relations.
This round table is the second one held by the R2P jointly with the representatives of the SMSU. The previous event took place in Kharkiv with the representatives of the regional units. And tomorrow in Severodonetsk colleagues will meet with representatives of bodies and divisions of the SMSU in the Luhansk region.
CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) sincerely thanks all participants for a wonderful discussion and active participation! We hope that such events will not only take place more often but will also bring fruitful results and will finally give the undocumented and stateless persons a chance to become legally recognized!
Since April 2021, the Stateless Determination Procedure is available to everyone in Ukraine, now stateless persons can apply to the State Migration Service for recognition. So far, being accompanied by the lawyers and attorneys of the team of the CF “Right to Protection” Project “Legal Assistance to Stateless Persons in Ukraine”, 59 persons were able to submit their applications for recognition as stateless persons.
Project “Legal assistance to stateless persons in Ukraine” is implemented by the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
On September 21, Sofiia Kordonets, Oksana Zhelanova, Dmytro Hanych, and Kseniia Karagyaur met with the representatives of bodies and subdivisions of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv Region as a part of a thematic round table. During the event, participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences in submitting / accepting applications for recognition as stateless person and discussed the ways to cooperate in this area.
In a favorable working atmosphere, participants spoke about:
The main categories of persons applying for recognition as a stateless person;
Challenges when submitting / accepting applications from stateless persons;
Ways to facilitate the submission of an application for recognition as a stateless person in non-standard cases.
Since April 2021, the Stateless Determination Procedure is available to everyone in Ukraine, now stateless persons can apply to the State Migration Service for recognition. So far, being accompanied by the lawyers and attorneys of the team of the CF “Right to Protection” Project “Legal Assistance to Stateless Persons in Ukraine”, 59 persons were able to submit their applications for recognition as stateless persons.
In connection with the implementation of the Stateless Determination Procedure in Ukraine, the R2P is conducting and plans to continue to hold events with the representatives of public authorities and other institutions in order to establish effective cooperation in this area.
Our team is sincerely grateful to all the participants for their interest in the topic and activity during the round table!
Project “Legal assistance to stateless persons in Ukraine” is implemented by the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
