Archive records for Ukrainian citizenship by descent

The short answer

To claim Ukrainian citizenship by descent you need official proof that your ancestor was born or permanently lived on qualifying territory before 24 August 1991, and proof of each family link down to you. In Ukraine that proof sits in three places: civil status offices (records younger than 75 years), state archives (older civil status books, church metric books and other historical records), and, for residence, passport and household records. A Ukrainian attorney can request these under Article 24 of the Law “On Advocacy and Advocacy Activity”, and the body must answer within 5 working days, or within 20 working days for a large search. If the records were destroyed, the fact is established by a Ukrainian court.

This article is part of our series on citizenship by descent under the 2026 law.

What to look for

The documents that the State Migration Service accepts are listed in the Procedure approved by Decree of the President No. 215/2001, paragraphs 33 to 40. For a grandparent or great-grandparent these are the records worth searching:

Paragraph 60 of the Procedure matters here: for a deceased ancestor whose birth record was made before 1945 and is not in the State Register of Civil Status Acts, a document from a state archive is accepted in place of the civil status certificate.

Proof of residence is stricter than proof of birth. For a grandparent or great-grandparent who lived on the territory but was born elsewhere, paragraphs 38 and 40 accept a court decision establishing the fact of permanent residence, or a Ukrainian passport of the 1994 model or an ID card with a register extract. For an ancestor who died before 1994, archive records of residence are therefore usually evidence for a court, not a document you file directly.

Which archives

• Civil status registration offices (DRACS) of the Ministry of Justice keep civil status books for 75 years from the date of the record. Many records are digitised in the State Register of Civil Status Acts, so an extract can be issued by any DRACS office.
• State archives of the regions and of Kyiv city receive the civil status books after 75 years for permanent storage, together with many metric books and local government records.
• The Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv keeps a consolidated catalogue of metric books held in Ukrainian archives, which shows which parish books survived and where they are.
• The Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv holds records for western Ukraine, including territories that were outside the Soviet Union before 1939.
• Branch archives of ministries and security services hold personnel, military and repression files, which sometimes contain the only surviving record of a birth date and place.

Start with the archive of the region where the village or town is today, then check the neighbouring regions: administrative borders moved many times, and records followed the old borders.

The lawyer’s request

A lawyer’s request is a written demand by an attorney to a state or local authority, an enterprise, institution or organisation for information and copies of documents needed to provide legal assistance to a client (Article 24, part 1 of the Law “On Advocacy and Advocacy Activity”).

• Deadline: the body must answer no later than 5 working days after receiving the request. For a large volume or a search through a large amount of data, it may extend the term to 20 working days, and must notify the attorney in writing with reasons within the first 5 working days (Article 24, part 2).
• Attachments: only certified copies of the attorney’s certificate of the right to practise law and the attorney’s warrant (order) for the client. The body may not demand other documents.
• Copying costs: if copies exceed 10 pages, the attorney reimburses actual copying and printing costs within limits set by the Cabinet of Ministers.
• Refusal: refusal, late or incomplete answers carry liability established by law, except where the information has restricted access (Article 24, part 3).

The restricted access exception matters for family research. Under Article 16 of the Law “On the National Archival Fund and Archival Institutions”, access to archive documents containing confidential information about a person is restricted for 75 years from the date the document was created, unless the person consents or, after his death, his heirs consent. Records of your own parents and grandparents are often younger than 75 years, so we prepare the consent or proof of kinship together with the request.

Civil status certificates themselves are reissued only to a limited circle of persons named in the Law “On State Registration of Civil Status Acts”, which is another reason the request is framed around the document the archive can lawfully give.

If the archive was destroyed

Many records did not survive the Second World War, and some archives and registry offices have been damaged since 2022. A missing record does not end the case.

1. Get the certificate of absence. The archive or DRACS office confirms in writing that the record is missing or was destroyed. A court requires this: under Article 318 of the Civil Procedure Code, the application must state why the documents cannot be obtained or restored, and a certificate of impossibility of restoring the lost documents is attached.
2. Try restoring the civil status record. Under Article 23 of the Law “On State Registration of Civil Status Acts”, a missing civil status record can be restored by the civil status office where it was originally made, if its absence is documented. This works only where supporting documents survive.
3. Collect indirect evidence. Passport and household records, military and employment files, school certificates, church records, family documents kept abroad, and witness statements.
4. Establish the fact in court. Article 315 of the Civil Procedure Code lets a court establish the fact of family relationship, of birth where the civil status office cannot register it, and other facts on which a person’s rights depend. The decision states the fact, its purpose and the evidence (Article 319), and it serves as the basis for the citizenship file under paragraph 60 of the Procedure.

A court case is not a formality. The State Migration Service checks court decisions closely, and a case built on one witness is weaker than one built on several independent records. In practice we file the case with the court at the location of the archive that answered our request, or where you will apply for your residence permit in Ukraine. We prefer the first.

If the documentary case for citizenship cannot be completed yet, a person of Ukrainian origin may consider foreign Ukrainian status or an immigration permit in the meantime, as described in our overview.

How long the search takes

• Lawyer’s request: 5 working days by law, up to 20 working days when the body extends the term.
• Archive searches by a genealogist: no statutory deadline; depends on the archive and on how well the place and date are known.
• Court case to establish a fact: depends on the court and on the evidence.

We tell you after the first archive request, at stage 1, whether a usable record exists before you decide on stage 2.

Price

We work in two stages, the same as on our citizenship by descent overview and our services page. You do not pay for the full process before you know it is worth pursuing.

Paid separately

• Certified translation and notarisation, billed on the actual volume of documents in your case.
• A genealogist, if one is needed to trace records beyond the first archive request, quoted and billed separately.
• Exam fees charged by the testing bodies for the language exam and for the Constitution and history exam: official fee as set by the state, we tell you the exact amount before you pay.
• Court proceedings to establish a fact, if they become necessary: handled by a litigation attorney, from $2,000 per case, plus the court fee payable to the state.
• Apostille or legalisation of foreign documents, archive copying charges where an archive bills them, and courier delivery.

Total legal fee for both stages: $1,800. Every separate cost is named to you before you pay it.

Questions we are asked

UA-Residency is the practice of Taras Guk, a licensed Ukrainian attorney in Kyiv (certificate KV No. 000685). The decision on citizenship by territorial origin is made by the territorial body of the State Migration Service of Ukraine or, for applicants living abroad, by a Ukrainian embassy or consulate, not by us, and we do not guarantee the result of any application. You may apply to these authorities yourself and pay only the official fees. This article is general legal information current as of 28 September 2026 and is not individual legal advice. Laws and government resolutions may change without notice.

Contact: WhatsApp +380 73 728 4656, email info@uaresidency.com.

Last updated: 28 September 2026