The Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, June 18, in the final reading adopted a bill with a series of changes in matters of acquisition and preservation of citizenship of Ukraine, which also enshrines the possibility of multiple citizenship.
According to the Ukrainian state media, 243 deputies voted for the corresponding bill.
By the second reading, the working group has significantly improved the project by inscribing items about the mandatory exam for knowledge of the Constitution of Ukraine, history, Ukrainian language.
Deputy Irina Gerashchenko said that the bill promises to the conditions for the return of citizens of Ukraine who has forced to leave the country due to conflict with the Russian Federation, and preserve the citizenship of Ukraine for such persons.
It is also provided for by expanding the possibility of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship by some categories of foreigners and stateless persons who undergo military service under a contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, NSU and other military structures. The law promises to establish cases of the plurality of citizenship (citizenship) and the grounds for the loss of citizenship of Ukraine.
The idea of a multiple citizenship law was discussed even before the conflict with the Russian Federation and was additionally updated after 2022. The previous head of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleb in 2023 stated that Ukraine needs this step, and multiple citizenship should become an element of state policy aimed at preserving and developing the World Ukrainian Community.
In January 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky submitted a draft law to parliament, which regulates the so -called “Double Citizenship”.