In the end of 2019, R2P monitors met with Halyna (name changed) in one of the villages in the Donetsk region. All this time her only identifying document was the USSR passport, which is not considered as a legal proof of identity in Ukraine.
Halyna comes from the Crimea. In 2000, she moved to the Donetsk region. In addition to all mentioned, she has problems with the musculoskeletal system, which makes her mobility much more difficult.
According to the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship”, Halyna is a citizen of Ukraine. Her Soviet passport contained a note of her residence registration in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as of August 24, 1991. However, she never received a Ukrainian passport. At first there were no passport forms for exchange, and then she just somehow forgot about the need for it.
Halyna even had a Soviet birth certificate, which however was in a poor condition. The presence of the birth certificate original is a prerequisite for applying for a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for the first time. The woman tried to obtain a passport on her own and renew her birth certificate with the State Migration Service, but unfortunately without any success.
The lawyer of the Right to Protection CF received a new birth certificate and prepared all the necessary documents. But then another problem emerged with obtaining a ticket in the migration service electronic queue. There was no room in the queue. Even in midnight it was impossible to get a coupon to visit the State Migration Service of Ukraine to issue a national passport. We had to wait more than a month to get a coupon. Suddenly a new problem arose – a quarantine. All entries in the electronic queue have been canceled.
Later, the lawyer received a new coupon to the SMSU. When Halyna arrived with all the necessary documents and two witnesses, she was denied again. It turned out that the State Migration Service must obtain the approval of the management to issue a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in such a difficult case.
The third attempt to obtain a ticket in the electronic queue took about a month. Given the state of Halyna’s health, as well as remoteness of her residence from the city of Bakhmut where the city department of the SMSU is located this third attempt was a real trial.
Fortunately, in early November 2020, when the woman returned to the migration service being accompanied by R2P lawyer and monitor, her documents were accepted for consideration and an identification procedure was carried out with the participation of two witnesses.
As a result, in January 2021, Halyna finally received her new passport and was able to apply for a pension. It has been more than a year until she finally received a Ukrainian passport.
UNHCR Ukraine – Aгентство ООН у справах біженців в Україні
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