Ukraine allows multiple citizenship as war drags on

Kyiv: Ukrainians will be able to hold dual or multiple citizenship under a law approved by the parliament on Wednesday that aims to ease a demographic crisis exacerbated by the four-year war with Russia and to improve ties with the country's large diaspora.

Previously, Ukrainian law did not recognise dual or multiple citizenship, meaning that ethnic Ukrainians living outside the country and holding other passports had to renounce their other citizenship if they wanted a Ukrainian passport.

Government officials estimate Ukraine's diaspora at some 25 million people. They put the current population in Ukraine at 32 million, down sharply from 52 million in 1991 when Ukraine became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world," Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a social media post on Facebook after Wednesday's vote.

The issue of multiple citizenship has become even more pressing since Russia's invasion in February 2022, exacerbating a demographic decline that had started years before.

Ukraine saw several large labour migrations in the early 1990s. With the start of the invasion, millions of Ukrainians fled the fighting. With the war now in its fourth year, data shows that more than 5 million Ukrainians live in Europe, while tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict. "Since the situation in Ukraine is unstable, people... do not know whether to return or not...," said Natalya Kostyk-Ustenko, who fled Kherson in southern Ukraine in June 2022 and lives in Lithuania with her two children.

"Our roots are Ukrainian, we love our country, we support it as best we can. This (move on citizenship) is significant support for us as refugees, we are all scattered around the world," she told Reuters.

Lawmakers said the new law would simplify procedures for children born to Ukrainian parents abroad and also for Ukrainians who obtain other citizenship by marriage.

It will also make it easier to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for foreigners fighting for Ukraine on the frontlines.

The law does not directly ban Russian citizens from obtaining Ukrainian passports but says the government will be able to implement restrictions related to the armed aggression against Ukraine.

Foreigners would have to pass a test to prove their knowledge of the Ukrainian language, history and constitution.