Renouncing Ukrainian citizenship

[P99163 0]

Hello,

Has anyone on the forum renounced his/her Ukrainian citizenship? If so, could you please share your experience? The Ukrainian consulate website roughly outlines what steps should be performed, and it seems that a person should receive a ПМЖ stamp in the "external" passport before he/she can renounce the citizenship at a consulate; however, I have never seen any first-hand accounts of what it takes to get such a stamp.

I stumbled upon a 3-year-old thread on the same topic and decided to check whether anyone has undergone this process since then. I would like to clarify that I know the advantages and disadvantages of Ukrainian citizenship, and I want to do it for work-related reasons. I am quite familiar with both Ukrainian Law on Citizenship (particularly article 19) and the INA, and how they both relate to the question on dual citizenship. Before 2004, Article 19 stated that Ukrainian citizenship would be terminated if another citizenship was voluntarily acquired; however, since 2004 that text was changed to state that acquisition of a foreign citizenship can only serve as a basis for the loss of Ukrainian citizenship. Again, I am doing it for professional reasons, and I haven't used my Ukrainian passport at all in almost a decade since I became a US citizen.

Your feedback would be highly appreciated

Edited September 8, 2016 by P99163

[millefleur 5,047]

I would try posting on the expat.ru forums about that if you don't find an answer here. It's mostly Russian-centered, but there are some people posting from Ukraine as well, last time I checked.

Good luck!

[P99163 0]

Thanks, millefleur. I will check expat.ru.

[Nisilsin 4]

While I understand that you are set on renouncing the citizenship, could you briefly explain why this is beneficial for you?

You mention "for work-related reasons", is this something where you are looking to get a special government job and dual citizens are not allowed to hold that position? It's about the only thing that comes to mind, and I wonder if there are other reasons one might want to do it, besides being concerned about finding themselves on the wrong side of the Ukrainian law.

Apologies for not being of any help though.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Nisilsin

[P99163 0]

While I understand that you are set on renouncing the citizenship, could you briefly explain why this is beneficial for you?

You mention "for work-related reasons", is this something where you are looking to get a special government job and dual citizens are not allowed to hold that position? It's about the only thing that comes to mind, and I wonder if there are other reasons one might want to do it, besides being concerned about finding themselves on the wrong side of the Ukrainian law.

My work limits my access to our customer's advanced scientific/hi-tech materials based on the fact that I am still a Ukrainian citizen. This may have to do with the fact that our customer is doing contract work for DoD, but I don't know for sure. They do know that I am a dual citizen, but they decided to go with the "worst" common denominator. Sorry, it is as much as I feel comfortable revealing. Nothing exciting -- no CIA or FBI -- just a regular hi-tech work :-)

[Nisilsin 4]

My work limits my access to our customer's advanced scientific/hi-tech materials based on the fact that I am still a Ukrainian citizen. This may have to do with the fact that our customer is doing contract work for DoD, but I don't know for sure. They do know that I am a dual citizen, but they decided to go with the "worst" common denominator. Sorry, it is as much as I feel comfortable revealing. Nothing exciting -- no CIA or FBI -- just a regular hi-tech work :-)

Fair enough. Did you attempt to ask this question from the nearest Ukrainian embassy or consulate?

[P99163 0]

Did you attempt to ask this question from the nearest Ukrainian embassy or consulate?

Yeah, I talked to somebody in San Francisco consulate which covers my state of residence, but they were clueless as to how to deregister from Ukraine without having to go there. They were happy to emphasize that in order to do any business with them, my passport should bear this "ПМЖ" stamp.

However, on the Ukrainian embassy in Russia website, they outlined how to deregister from Ukraine and renounce the citizenship. The problem is that it seems this information is not centralized, so people at SF consulate may not know how to go about my deregistration request :-/

[Nisilsin 4]

Yeah, I talked to somebody in San Francisco consulate which covers my state of residence, but they were clueless as to how to deregister from Ukraine without having to go there. They were happy to emphasize that in order to do any business with them, my passport should bear this "ПМЖ" stamp.

However, on the Ukrainian embassy in Russia website, they outlined how to deregister from Ukraine and renounce the citizenship. The problem is that it seems this information is not centralized, so people at SF consulate may not know how to go about my deregistration request :-/

Looks like you would need to first prove to them or have them check that you are indeed a Ukrainian citizen, which would take a while if you do not have a currently valid Ukrainian passport. They can do a records search and get a confirmation from Ukraine that you are a citizen (since only a citizen can renounce citizenship, duh), but that can take a couple of months.

Sounds like you don't actually live near a consulate, which makes it harder because getting them on the phone and getting them to tell you something useful can be a real hit or miss. I wish you best of luck in dealing with them.

I don't think anyone outside of the government agencies can help you out in any real way, so you will just need to keep pressing them to help you out. Talk to your consulate and refer them to that page on renouncing citizenship from the embassy in Russia, mention that Form 20, push them into digging up the necessary information for you.

Also, make sure you clarify what exactly will your work require in order to remove whatever restrictions they have on you due to that dual citizenship. From there, you can work backwards with the Ukrainian consulate to figure out how to meet those requirements. Maybe a sworn statement that you love the United States and will never ever betray the country will suffice?

Edited September 13, 2016 by Nisilsin

[P99163 0]

Looks like you would need to first prove to them or have them check that you are indeed a Ukrainian citizen, which would take a while if you do not have a currently valid Ukrainian passport. They can do a records search and get a confirmation from Ukraine that you are a citizen (since only a citizen can renounce citizenship, duh), but that can take a couple of months.

I actually have all Ukrainian documents: valid internal passport (+permanent registration), external passport (valid for 2 more years) and a tax number. What I don't have is the military pass because I have never dealt with the military office in Ukraine. Technically, I am considered a resident citizen of Ukraine by the Ukrainian government since I have a permanent address registration there, so I would not want to go to the military office, especially in the time of war

[Nisilsin 4]

I actually have all Ukrainian documents: valid internal passport (+permanent registration), external passport (valid for 2 more years) and a tax number. What I don't have is the military pass because I have never dealt with the military office in Ukraine. Technically, I am considered a resident citizen of Ukraine by the Ukrainian government since I have a permanent address registration there, so I would not want to go to the military office, especially in the time of war

I think that part might be problematic. Based on everything I've read - including the link you posted - you need to be a permanent resident of another country in order to be able to renounce the Ukrainian citizenship. My own Ukrainian passport has a cute little stamp from a local consulate on the Special Notes page which states that I am a permanent resident of Canada. I'm not sure if you'd need to surrender your internal passport to do that, I never had one in the first place. All they need to verify your residency is a government ID with your address on it, like a driver's licence.