Martial law rules in Ukraine block dual-citizen American-Ukrainian men from leaving. New tightened regulations
3:07 PM EDT, June 5, 2024
The American Embassy in Ukraine issued an alarming statement on Tuesday. It warns men with dual citizenship—American-Ukrainian—that from June 1, they can no longer leave Ukraine.
According to the American Embassy in Kyiv, as of June 1, Ukraine has tightened regulations regarding men of conscription age. Until now, individuals with dual citizenship who were permanent residents in the USA could freely leave Ukraine. Now, this has become impossible.
The US delegation reminded that Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship, as such individuals are, treated as Ukrainian citizens during their stay in Ukraine and are subject to the rights and obligations of Ukrainian citizens. According to Ukrainian regulations, men aged 18 to 60 cannot leave the country. Previously, American-Ukrainian citizens in this group could enter and then leave Ukraine if they deregistered their Ukrainian residence and registered their residence in the USA. This exception was revoked on June 1, the statement claimed.
This statement, presented in various Ukrainian media, has been slightly misrepresented. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Border Guard, Andriy Demchenko, responded to these reports.
"The new regulations limited this possibility"
The widespread claim that Ukrainians with dual citizenship are now not allowed to leave the country is, to put it mildly, incorrect. "The wording that is being circulated on various resources that Ukrainians with dual citizenship will now not be released from the country is, to put it mildly, incorrect. I can note once again that dual citizenship is prohibited in Ukraine," he stated.
He emphasized that these norms have been in force before. In particular, border guard officers have repeatedly identified Ukrainian citizens who pretended to be foreigners during passport control. According to Demchenko, such individuals have always and continue to bear legal responsibility.
He explained that these individuals should not be confused with Ukrainian citizens who permanently reside abroad and should have appropriate annotations in their documents about registering for permanent residence abroad and annotations about permanent consular registration at a foreign diplomatic mission of Ukraine.
"If you are not currently in Ukraine, we strongly recommend against all travel to Ukraine by U.S. citizen males aged 18 to 60 who also have Ukrainian citizenship or a claim to Ukrainian citizenship and who do not wish to stay in Ukraine indefinitely. There is an extremely high risk you will not be allowed to depart, even with a U.S. passport," Demchenko explained.
