# Ukraine citizenship and naturalisation requirements Ordinary naturalisation requires five years of continuous residence, an immigration permit, lawful means and language/civic examinations. The 2026 multiple-citizenship framework is conditional and does not make every nationality or applicant eligible for simplified treatment. Scope: Selected adult ordinary Article 9 naturalisation requirements in the current Citizenship Law, with the listed-nationality declaration route under Article 10-1. Special family, protection, military and territorial-origin cohorts are distinguished but not fully modelled. Jurisdiction: Ukraine: citizenship. Sources reviewed 2026-09-22; review due 2026-12-21. General information, not legal advice or a finding of eligibility. Requirements depend on the route, applicant and filing date. Verify the official instructions before applying. ## Five continuous years under the statutory definition The ordinary Article 9 route requires continuous residence in Ukraine during the preceding five years. Article 1 defines continuity through permanent residence, allowing private trips of no more than ninety days each and no more than 180 days in a year. Documented business, education, treatment and rehabilitation trips do not break continuity under the stated exception. Mere visits or a nominal address do not establish the ordinary qualifying period. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print); [State Migration Service of Ukraine: Admission to citizenship of Ukraine: current Article 9 service guidance](https://dmsu.gov.ua/poslugi/nabuttya-gromadyanstva-ukrajni/prijnyattya-do-gromadyanstva-ukrajni.html). Source location: Citizenship Law Article 1 definitions of permanent and continuous residence; Article 9 part two point 3; DMS service condition 3. ## Immigration permission, means and separate cohorts An immigration permit and lawful sources of subsistence are ordinary requirements in addition to residence. Article 9 has separate reduced periods or exemptions for specified spouses, protection/statelessness, overseas-Ukrainian-status, military, merit and state-interest cohorts. Those exceptions have their own conditions and do not shorten the ordinary five-year route for every applicant. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print); [State Migration Service of Ukraine: Admission to citizenship of Ukraine: current Article 9 service guidance](https://dmsu.gov.ua/poslugi/nabuttya-gromadyanstva-ukrajni/prijnyattya-do-gromadyanstva-ukrajni.html). Source location: Citizenship Law Article 9 part two points 3-5 and following exception paragraphs; Article 1 lawful-subsistence definition; DMS service conditions 3-5. ## Ukrainian language certificate and civic examinations Ordinary applicants must know the constitutional foundations and history of Ukraine and meet the state-language standard. The Language Commission's citizenship examination awards a state certificate at intermediate first degree B1 after a successful result of seventy to one hundred percent. The language examination is separate from the constitutional/history examinations; passing it alone does not confer citizenship. No separate skill-level equivalence is inferred here. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print); [National Commission on State Language Standards of Ukraine: How to take the examination for acquiring citizenship](https://mova.gov.ua/gromadskosti/zapitannya-vidpovidi/yak-sklasty-ispyt-iz-metoiu-nabuttia-hromadianstva). Source location: Citizenship Law Article 9 part two point 2; Language Commission FAQ, successful result and B1 certificate paragraphs. ## Exemptions and deferred examinations are different The Act exempts the specified legally incapacitated and medically evidenced mental-disorder or sight, hearing and speech-disability cohorts from the examinations. Certain merit, state-interest, military and specified temporary-residence cohorts instead submit a commitment to pass within two years. That deferral is not a blanket waiver, and the ordinary applicant cannot assume it applies. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print); [State Migration Service of Ukraine: Admission to citizenship of Ukraine: current Article 9 service guidance](https://dmsu.gov.ua/poslugi/nabuttya-gromadyanstva-ukrajni/prijnyattya-do-gromadyanstva-ukrajni.html). Source location: Citizenship Law Article 9 examination-exemption and examination-commitment paragraphs; Article 1 definition of examination commitment; DMS conditions 1-2 and exception notes. ## Legal compliance, security screening and presidential grant The ordinary applicant declares recognition of and compliance with Ukraine's Constitution and laws. Article 9 bars specified serious criminal and national-security cases, with narrowly defined exceptions requiring their own assessment. Acquisition under this article takes effect on the date of the relevant presidential decree; satisfying a residence period or submitting documents is not acquisition. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print); [State Migration Service of Ukraine: Admission to citizenship of Ukraine: current Article 9 service guidance](https://dmsu.gov.ua/poslugi/nabuttya-gromadyanstva-ukrajni/prijnyattya-do-gromadyanstva-ukrajni.html). Source location: Citizenship Law Article 9 part two point 1, exclusion/exception paragraphs and final acquisition-date paragraph. ## Listed-nationality declarations do not waive eligibility Articles 5-1 and 10-1 recognise specified multiple-citizenship situations. Nationals on the Cabinet's simplified-procedure list may submit a declaration recognising themselves as Ukrainian citizens, while still satisfying the applicable Article 9 conditions and pre-admission examinations. The current list includes, for example, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Moldova. It is not permission for every nationality combination. Applicants also holding an unlisted or designated aggressor/occupying-state nationality face the separate undertaking to terminate that nationality, subject to the Act's specific exceptions. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print); [Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine / Verkhovna Rada legal register: Resolution 1412: simplified-citizenship nationality list, amended through 30 June 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1412-2025-%D0%BF/print); [State Migration Service of Ukraine: Acquisition and restoration for nationals of simplified-procedure countries](https://dmsu.gov.ua/poslugi/nabuttya-gromadyanstva-ukrajni/asf.html). Source location: Citizenship Law Articles 5-1 and 10-1 opening three paragraphs; Cabinet Resolution 1412 list as amended by Resolutions 589/2026 and 826/2026; DMS simplified-procedure guidance. ## Other-nationality obligations and loss rules remain Depending on the applicant's cohort, the Act requires the appropriate recognition, renunciation, absence-of-nationality declaration or undertaking to terminate foreign citizenship. The ordinary termination undertaking includes producing proof within two years of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship. Article 19 retains specified loss grounds, including certain voluntary foreign acquisitions and failure to fulfil acquisition commitments; termination occurs through the relevant presidential decree. A Ukrainian declaration does not itself decide whether another country retains or removes its nationality. Evidence: conditional. [Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Law 2235-III on citizenship of Ukraine, consolidation effective 10 May 2026](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print). Source location: Citizenship Law Article 1 termination-undertaking definition; Article 9 document alternatives; Article 10-1 cohort distinctions; Article 19 points 1-2 and decree-date paragraph. ## Scope and limitations - The ordinary adult route is not a complete checklist for family, descent/territorial origin, protection, statelessness, military, restoration or exceptional cases. Wartime and nationality/territory-specific restrictions require individual current assessment; no military participation is recommended or presented as an ordinary shortcut. - The Citizenship Law consolidation is dated 10 May 2026. The simplified-country list was expanded in May and June 2026; the earlier five-country announcement is not the current full list. A transitional July 2026 filing window is not advertised as still open. - This profile does not establish an approval guarantee, processing time, immigration-permit availability or the effect of a Ukrainian declaration under another country's law. Official document and examination procedures should be checked before applying. ## Explore this passport - [Passport rank and travel access](https://multipassrank.com/passport/ukraine) - [Tax residence & income](https://multipassrank.com/passport/ukraine/taxes) - [Country-profile JSON, including sources and scoped requirements](https://multipassrank.com/api/v1/country-profiles/UA) - [Multiple-citizenship policy guide](https://multipassrank.com/dual-citizenship-countries) [Canonical page](https://multipassrank.com/passport/ukraine/citizenship)