Ukrainian citizenship through a grandparent or great-grandparent

The short answer

Yes. Under Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine”, in the wording of Law No. 4502-IX that entered into force on 16 January 2026, a foreigner or stateless person may acquire Ukrainian citizenship by territorial origin if his or her grandparent or great-grandparent was born, or permanently resided, before 24 August 1991 on territory that is now Ukraine or on certain historical Ukrainian state formations. The line stops at a great-grandparent: an earlier ancestor does not qualify you on its own.

Eligibility is only the first half. An adult applicant must also pass the exams on the state language, the history of Ukraine and the fundamentals of the Constitution before filing, unless an exemption applies, and must prove every link in the family chain with documents or, where the documents are lost, with a Ukrainian court decision. See the Law “On Citizenship of Ukraine” and Law No. 4502-IX.

This article expands on our overview of what changed under the 2026 law.

Which relatives count

Article 8, part 1 names two kinds of territory, and the list of qualifying relatives is slightly different for each.

The same part of Article 8 adds that the children of an eligible person also have the right to acquire citizenship by territorial origin. The link has to be by blood: marriage to a person with Ukrainian roots does not make you eligible under Article 8.

The key date is 24 August 1991. A grandparent who was born in Kyiv in 1930 and emigrated in 1950 qualifies. A great-grandparent who lived his whole life in a village that is today in western Ukraine but was then part of another state still needs to be checked against the list of territories, and that check is part of stage 1.

Conditions after Law No. 4502-IX

Article 8, in the wording of Law No. 4502-IX, sets these conditions for an adult applicant:

• Recognition of and compliance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, confirmed in the application itself.
• Knowledge of the fundamentals of the Constitution and the history of Ukraine, and command of the state language at the level set by the National Commission on State Language Standards. The exams are covered in our article on exams under Law No. 4502-IX.
• One document on foreign citizenship filed with the application: a declaration recognising yourself as a citizen of Ukraine (for citizens of states on the Cabinet of Ministers list), an undertaking to terminate foreign citizenship, a declaration of renunciation, or a declaration of absence of foreign citizenship. Which one applies to you is explained in our article on dual citizenship countries.
• No bar under Article 9, part 8. A person convicted in Ukraine of a grave or especially grave crime (until the conviction is spent), a person who committed abroad an act that the Criminal Code of Ukraine treats as a grave or especially grave crime, and a person whose unlawful actions threaten the national security of Ukraine cannot acquire citizenship by territorial origin.

Applications filed before 16 January 2026 are considered under the rules that applied before Law No. 4502-IX, under item 2 of its final and transitional provisions.

How to prove the family link

The documents are listed in the Procedure approved by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 215/2001, paragraphs 33 to 40, in its current wording (last amended by Decree No. 110/2026 of 11 February 2026). You have to prove two things: that the ancestor was born or lived on the qualifying territory before 24 August 1991, and that you descend from that ancestor.

If the ancestor was born on the territory

For a grandparent or great-grandparent, paragraphs 37 and 39 accept one of: the ancestor’s birth certificate; an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts on birth or death; for a deceased ancestor whose birth record was made before 1945 and is not in the State Register, a document from a state archive; or a Ukrainian court decision establishing the fact of birth on the territory.

If the ancestor lived on the territory but was born elsewhere

Paragraphs 38 and 40 are narrower. They accept a court decision establishing the fact of permanent residence, a Ukrainian passport of the 1994 model with a residence entry showing permanent residence before 24 August 1991, or an ID-card passport together with an extract from the territorial community register. For a great-grandparent who died decades ago, a court decision on the fact of permanent residence is in practice the usual route, and archive documents are the evidence the court relies on.

The chain between you and the ancestor

• Your own birth certificate, an extract from the Ukrainian register, or a birth document issued by a foreign authority.
• Documents confirming each family link: the birth certificates of your parent and, for a great-grandparent, of your grandparent; for deceased relatives, extracts from the State Register of Civil Status Acts on birth or death.
• For a great-grandparent, paragraph 39 expressly allows a court decision establishing the fact of family relationship where documents are missing, and paragraph 60 allows the same generally.
• Documents on every change of surname, first name, patronymic, date or place of birth of you, your parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, for example marriage certificates. A spelling that differs between a Soviet record and a foreign birth certificate is the most common reason a chain breaks.

A court case to establish a fact is heard in special proceedings under Article 315 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, which covers the fact of family relationship, birth and other facts on which a person’s rights depend. The court decision does not replace a civil status certificate, it is the basis for obtaining one or for filing the citizenship application. 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. Court proceedings are handled by a litigation attorney and cost from $2,000 per case, separately from our citizenship fee.

Documents issued abroad are filed with a certified translation into Ukrainian, and usually need an apostille or legalisation. Our article on archive records and lawyer’s requests explains where the Ukrainian documents are kept and how we obtain them.

Who decides and how long it takes

The application is decided by the territorial body of the State Migration Service of Ukraine or, if you live abroad, by a Ukrainian embassy or consulate. Citizenship by territorial origin does not go through the Presidential Commission and does not need a Presidential decree: the date of acquisition is the date of the decision of the authorised body (Article 8, last part).

• Collecting records: a Ukrainian public body must answer a lawyer’s request within 5 working days, extendable to 20 working days for a large search. Archives that search manually often take the longer term.
• Exams: for the Constitution and history exam, the testing centre sets a date no later than two months after your registration. Both exams are taken in person in Ukraine.
• Court case, if needed: depends on the court and the evidence, and is the least predictable part.
• Decision: the state services guide lists 90 calendar days for this service. Our overview gives the same order of timing, about three months once the file is complete, and longer if the State Migration Service asks for extra verification.

What we do

1. We check your file: the documents you already have, and whether your family line realistically supports a claim.
2. We send the first archive request to locate your grandparent’s or great-grandparent’s birth or residence record, and tell you honestly what it shows before you pay for stage 2.
3. We arrange a genealogist if the archives need deeper digging.
4. We take the case to court to establish the fact of birth, residence or family relationship if no record can be found.
5. We support you through the exams, filing and follow-up with the State Migration Service or the consulate until a decision is made.

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