With the beginning of a full-scale war, the rules for crossing the state border by children have changed somewhat.

According to the Civil Code of Ukraine, a natural person who has reached the age of 16 has the right to free independent travel outside Ukraine. Children who have not reached this age have the right to travel outside Ukraine only with the consent of their parents (adoptive parents), guardians and accompanied by them or accompanied by persons authorized by them, except for cases provided for by law.

Today, the procedure for the departure of natural persons outside Ukraine is regulated by the Rules for crossing the state border by citizens of Ukraine, approved by Resolution No. 57 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 27, 1995.

The Rules also state that persons under the age of 16 have the right to cross the state border accompanied by:
• one of the parents — on the basis of child’s birth certificate (without the notarized consent of the other parent);

• other relatives (these can be a grandmother, a grandfather, an adult brother or sister, a stepmother or a stepfather) — on the basis of child’s birth certificate and a document confirming the existence of family ties (without notarized consent);

• other persons who are not relatives of the child — on the basis of a written statement of one of the parents, certified by the body of guardianship and care, and child’s birth certificate (in the absence of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine) or documents containing information about the person, on the basis of which the State Border Service of Ukraine will allow to cross the state border.

WARNING! In the conditions of martial law, the rules for traveling abroad often change, so check the information on the phone line of the Border Service of Ukraine.

In case of questions, you can apply for legal assistance at the following address: Dnipro, Kozakova Str., 2-D (business center “Continent”, room 103) or by the following phone number: +38 050 434 84 62. Free legal assistance for internally displaced persons is provided with the financial support of German Federal Foreign Office), as well as ADRA Germany.