Ukraine marriage law and Assistance in making a marriage for a foreigner with a citizen of Ukraine
Why do foreigners need a marriage?
In fact, many Ukrainian girls and women, as well as men (though they hide it), dream of marrying a foreigner (foreigner). Such an opportunity seems to them a very attractive move in life.
Someone may say that these are marriages of convenience, someone will condemn them, and someone may consider that this is everyone’s business. We believe that heart matters are purely personal relationships, but their design already applies to a separate entity – the state.
In any case, the registration of marriage in state bodies in accordance with legislative norms creates legal facts, and also provides certain rights and obligations. The state actually wants to control everything that happens in the country, and of course the process of registering marriages is also a source of income for it, because it regularly receives fees for any registration actions. For example, recently the state has made good money on accelerated registration of marriages of foreigners.
Of course, the state provides additional benefits to those who have used the services of state bodies. For example, if you are officially married, you are given the right to register for additional real estate, or to buy it under preferential government lending programs for young families. If you live together without formalizing your marital relationship, then you lose some rights.
In addition, for example, for foreigners or stateless persons who wish to obtain an immigration permit, a permanent residence permit, and then Ukrainian citizenship, one of the main reasons (and often the only possible) is to register a foreigner’s marriage with a citizen of (civilian) Ukraine and stay in such a marriage for more than two years.
In fact, legislation has created conditions under which it is difficult for a foreigner who has no relatives in Ukraine to obtain a permanent residence permit and immigrate to Ukraine.
Why not a foreigner to exercise this right, if he has such an opportunity?
The grounds for obtaining an immigration permit and a permanent residence permit in Ukraine are very limited and impossible for many, and even more so in the countries of the European Union, UK and the USA.
Human rights to freedom of movement, as enshrined in European conventions and other international instruments, are reluctantly protected by national authorities.
However, international treaties establish the inviolability of natural human rights to freedom of movement and this must be remembered by any public servant.
Such injustice and discrimination on racial or national grounds, although not officially supported by the authorities of Ukraine and other European countries, nevertheless exists in fact.
What are the dangers for a foreigner?
Immigration (do not confuse with a temporary residence permit) to Ukraine after marriage with a Ukrainian (Ukrainian) is possible and requires a certain period of time (about 3 years).
It is also necessary to observe guarantees that a citizen of Ukraine after registering a marriage will not unilaterally dissolve him, nor will he extort money from a foreigner and blackmail him with divorce unilaterally through a court. This is often the case when a husband or wife in case of problems in a relationship forcibly holds a spouse, threatening him with deportation.
Remember that in the event of a conflict with your spouse, he may terminate the marriage unilaterally. Such a procedure is possible through a court in a few months and you will lose the possibility of both a temporary stay in Ukraine and obtaining a permit for immigration, as well as the possibility of subsequently obtaining a permanent residence permit.
Of course, people who engage in fraud in this area can be identified and information about them is laid out on various sites, as a result of which they spoil their reputation for life. Nevertheless, one must be careful.
Who can help?
Specialized firms in Ukraine provide their clients with services to assist in the marriage between a foreigner and a citizen of Ukraine, as well as in the future obtain a foreigner first a temporary and then a permanent residence permit in Ukraine and an immigration permit, and then subject to certain conditions established by the state , citizenship of Ukraine.
For foreigners from post-Soviet countries and some countries of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, a country in the center of Europe is simply the only opportunity to change their status and become a European.
Unlike the United States and EU countries, where a marriage with a foreigner for signs of fictitiousness is thoroughly checked, and even criminal liability is provided for fraud, in Ukraine, liability is not provided at first glance. But this is not so, it exists and it is better to consult individually with our criminal lawyer here.
Service includes:
- Providing legal advice.
- Negotiations with the parties and clarification of all legal norms.
- Collection of necessary documents for marriage and their legalization in consular services and foreign ministries.
- Assistance in marriage registration procedures (expediting marriage – in one day or two days).
- The conclusion of a marriage contract and certification of signatures is notarized.
- Registration of marriage with a competent authority or institution.
- Legal border crossing advice.
- Registration of temporary and permanent residence permits, immigration permits and citizenship.Benefits:
- Verification of applicants and marriage with citizens of Ukraine and foreigners who were not sentenced to imprisonment, were not previously in fictitious marriages, their loans, debts were not repaid, and there were no offenses. Marriages in this case are issued with those who have a good reputation.
- The company collects all the necessary documents, makes their correct translation and legalization in the competent authorities.
- If a foreigner stays in the country within 1-2 weeks and the marriage cannot be concluded within a month after submitting the application (usually this procedure is established by law), you can make it so that the foreigner does not come to Ukraine twice and speed up the procedure marriage registration within 1 or 2-3 days.
- To protect the interests of the foreigner and the bride, a prenuptial agreement is concluded, which states that the parties do not have property claims against each other, and the property they acquired in the future is each private property; obligations to third parties are their personal obligations (for example, loans or debts).
Assistance in divorce, including in court (if the need arises).
Stages of cooperation with us:
- Come to the office and get a consultation.
- Draw up a contract for legal services.
- Pay the cost of services.
- Provide the necessary documents.
- Make a marriage and get a marriage certificate.
- Registration of a temporary residence permit (every year), and after 2 years of marriage – a permanent residence permit (paid separately).
- Obtaining Ukrainian citizenship after 2 years of marriage (paid separately).
Documents from honeymooners:
- The original passport of the bride or groom is a Ukrainian and a certificate of assignment of an identification code.
- Original passport of a foreigner with a note on obtaining a residence permit or visa, or a stamp on crossing the border.
- A certificate from the border service if the alien’s passport was issued less than 6 months ago.
- Translation of a foreigner’s passport into Ukrainian with notarization.
- Certificate of temporary residence (if any).
- A document on the dissolution of a previous marriage, if previously one of the spouses was married. This can be a certificate of divorce or a court decision, it may also suffice and a stamp in the passport, if at the same time there is information on the dissolution of this marriage in the state register of Ukraine.
Responsibility for a fictitious marriage or suspicion of such:
If you thought that you can arrange fictitious marriage as well, then you should know that today the Ukrainian legislation at first glance is quite liberal regarding this issue, since it does not directly imply legal liability for fictitious marriage.
The only thing that is indicated in the legislation (established in part 2 of article 40 of the Family Code of Ukraine) on this issue is that a marriage can be dissolved in court if it was concluded by a man and a woman or one of them without an intention to start a family and get the rights and obligations of spouses.
According to the law, future spouses do not have to live together and lead a common household; the spouse will not pay child support to strangers, be responsible for financial obligations and perform other duties of the spouses.
Thus, marriage with a foreigner can be a good tool, subject to the interests of all parties.
However, we recommend not to engage in such things, but to enter into real marriages and build a normal family.
Attention:
Some intermediaries offer services in parallel with fictitious marriage, which include the execution of fake certificates or documents. We advise you not to contact such persons or companies. Such experience can be very problematic, since forgery of documents provides for criminal liability under art. 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Yes, this responsibility is not very severe and usually does not reach imprisonment, but no one is immune from illegal actions by police and prosecutors who may try to abuse their position and engage in extortion, making you suspicious of a more serious article.
It should be borne in mind that in the internal affairs bodies there is a special unit of the national police that deals with cases related to human trafficking. Behind the scenes, the area of authority of these units also includes migration control.
Operational employees and agents of this unit often operate semi-legal methods, including by creating the appearance of artificial relevance of the crimes identified. Sometimes, having exceeded their authority and illegally charging, for example, Art. 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, they disseminate false information in the media, contributing to the unjustified detention of suspects. This article is difficult, therefore it is possible to apply the measure of intersection in the form of detention to suspected persons.
Recently, there have also been frequent cases of attempts by law enforcement officials to document the activities of some travel and consulting companies and even to detain their employees related to allegations of facilitating illegal border crossing under Art. 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This is also a serious article and it also makes it possible to apply measures of intersection in the form of detention to suspected persons.
The legality of such actions is highly questionable and only the court will determine whether the guilt of specific mediators in the commission of these crimes or whether operational workers, investigators, prosecutors and judges exceed their authority.
Our partner lawyers are defending such cases and in the future the position of the courts of both the first and higher instance in such criminal proceedings will be understood.
The lawyers of our company have more than 15 years of experience in protecting citizens from illegal actions of the department and territorial departments of the BTL and other law enforcement officials. Work is ongoing on several cases in this category. There are positive results of such protection. Work is underway to bring several “werewolves in uniform” to criminal liability under art. 365, 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Remember that if you were illegally detained on suspicion of human trafficking or illegal movement of a citizen across the state border, and you did not even suspect that you could be charged with such a crime, then this is far from a joke.
If police officers demand a bribe from you, then you must act quickly and for sure. You can turn to us for help and we will help defend your rights.
You can also file a complaint about a crime committed by police officers with you to the territorial bodies of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
Our office is located in the building located at the center of Kyiv.
Together, we will achieve our goals, because with our help, the interests of each spouse will be protected.