How will the life of Ukrainians abroad change after the cessation of consular services for men

How will the life of Ukrainians abroad change after the cessation of consular services for men

What are the reactions to the Law on Mobilization and the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to suspend the provision of consular services to men of military age?

A conversation between journalists from the Nova Poscha publication and Oksana Pestrikova, an expert on legalization issues and coordinator of the Ukrainian House Support Center in Warsaw.

Mariya Shahuri: Your center advises thousands of Ukrainians in Poland. What are the reactions to the Law on Mobilization and the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to suspend the provision of consular services to men of military age?

Oksana Pestrikova: In fact, this law was expected, there was a lot of talk about it - both in Ukraine and here in Poland. However, no one expected that the issuance of passports and the provision of consular services would suddenly and without explanation cease. Perhaps this is what causes panic, because there are restrictions, but it is not clear how everything will work.

MS: What will be the situation of a Ukrainian citizen whose foreign passport is expiring and does not plan to return home? Could he be deported from Poland or other EU countries to Ukraine?

OP: In Poland there is a law on temporary assistance to citizens of Ukraine. The Law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict came into force on March 12, 2022. which makes it possible not to begin the process of their return while the war is going on. The absence of a valid passport can cause many problems for a foreigner, for example, during employment, legalization, in particular, during the procedure for obtaining a temporary or permanent residence card. This is not possible without a valid passport.

MS: A person is not outside the law, but what about on the edge?

OP: In the current climate, yes.

MS: Can a Ukrainian citizen with an expired passport travel around the EU countries?

OP: No. There are no physical borders in the Schengen area, but travel rules require a valid passport and a document giving the right to travel. For Ukrainian citizens, it is enough to have a valid biometric passport. But, for example, if a person has a valid card, but does not have a valid passport, he will not be able to travel.

MS: What legalizes a foreigner in Poland?

OP: I’ll say right away that PESEL (Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności) is the identification number of the general electronic population registration system. is not a legalization document. If a person has PESEL with the status “ukr”, this means that he received it while fleeing the war, and with its help he can issue an electronic document “Diya.pl”.

And it is “Diya.pl” that gives the right to travel with a valid passport. This situation concerns 90% women. However, if there is no other document other than, for example, a beaten card, then the card in some cases can prove identity. For example, a person can receive a package at the post office without any problems, but when he needs to open a bank account, find a job, or travel, difficulties will arise.

MS: So a citizen of Ukraine with an expired passport will not be able to work legally?

OP: Definitely not. There must be an identification document, and in this situation we are talking about a passport. The social insurance office can register on the basis of PESEL, but will always require a valid document, in the case of a foreigner - a passport.

MS: Does Polish legislation provide for the issuance of temporary documents to foreigners who, for some reason, cannot renew their passport in their home country?

OP: No. Documents, including a passport, are issued by the Ukrainian side. Ukraine does not refuse to issue passports to its citizens, but puts forward specific requirements. A man who has updated his data in the registry has the right to continue to use consular services. If a Ukrainian citizen in Poland applies for refugee status or supplementary protection status, the Polish Office for Foreigners will see that this person has the opportunity to obtain a foreign passport, and therefore will not issue him a temporary document.

MS: Or does the resolution of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs somehow differentiate between men permanently residing abroad, having a residence permit (residence card), and others?

Oksana Pestrikova. Source: personal archive

OP: In the latest clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this does not differ, but if we are guided by previous laws, then yes, there is a category of persons who have a permit for permanent residence in Poland and are permanently registered with the consulate.

This is very important, because a huge number of Ukrainian citizens believe that if they already have a permanent residence permit (the so-called permanent resident, beaten resident), then they are exempt from the obligation to register with the consulate.

No, they must have the appropriate Ukrainian documents, in particular, that if they are discharged from their permanent place of residence in Ukraine, their passport must have a corresponding stamp about this registration. Only then are they not considered liable for military service. Persons who were on permanent consular registration were removed from military registration when they left Ukraine for permanent residence abroad.

But after the changes adopted on April 23, 2024, the consulates do not yet accept any documents - neither from those who are abroad temporarily, nor from those who are permanently. However, over time these procedures will be streamlined.

MS: Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resolution stipulate what to do for a man who has lost his passport? They won’t accept his documents either.

OP: He must update his data in the military registration register and for this purpose then contact the state enterprise “Document” or the consulate.

MS: International law prohibits the deportation of refugees to a country where they are in danger, where there is a war. Do Ukrainian men abroad fall under this standard?

OP: Interesting question. It is important to understand who a refugee is. Very few Ukrainian citizens have this status officially. Our citizens who crossed the border after the full-scale invasion are de facto refugees, but de jure they do not have this status. Their stay is regulated by the law I mentioned earlier.

So if a citizen of Ukraine applies for refugee status, the inspector who will consider his situation will most likely refuse to grant this status, but will grant supplementary protection status. True, a document confirming this status does not replace a passport. But the refugee status document provides: a person receives a Geneva passport with which he can travel, he does not need to apply for a passport of his country.

MS: How can a Ukrainian couple in Poland who wants to get married get the necessary documents? In case a man does not have documents for the TRC, and if he does.

OP: No way without a valid passport. And if a man has documents on the TRC, then we also do not yet know how the procedure for updating the information will take place. For example, if a person calls the TRC at his place of residence and updates his information, how does he have the right to use consular services abroad? And there are many such organizational issues. There are no explanations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says only one thing: “Wait.”

MS: When might these clarifications appear?

OP: On May 16, the law comes into force; Ukrainians will have 60 days to update their data. Therefore, we hope that these procedures will be spelled out in detail by May 16th. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself notes that the procedure for updating information is designed to restore order and help find out how many Ukrainian citizens live where. Often citizens of Ukraine live in the territory of another state and are not registered with a temporary consulate. So a person is registered in Ukraine, but in fact he is not there and the state does not know where his citizen is.

MS: Are consular services provided to men who, after a full-scale invasion, updated their data in the TRC or were excluded from military registration by decision of the Military Military Commission and legally left Ukraine?

OP: Also unknown yet. The resolution states: “All men of military age, from 18 to 60 years old, who are abroad.” Therefore, there are no distinctions yet, but we hope there will be some soon.

MS: Foreigners in Poland are required to change their driving license to a Polish one. If they do not do this, their rights will become invalid. Will the suspension of consular services affect this?

OP: It is unknown yet. If a person contacts, for example, the communications department in Warsaw and wants to change his rights, the department transmits the information to the Ukrainian consulate, and they check whether these rights really exist. That is, in this case, the Polish institution will apply to the consulate, and not directly the citizen of Ukraine.

MS: All these innovations apply to men of military age, but what about women? Will they be provided with services?

OP: The cessation of services so far only affects men. In the case of women and children there should be no problem. But it’s not a fact that this won’t change. We are waiting for clarification.

MS: The question of whether Ukrainians abroad will be served with subpoenas is a very pressing question on social networks.

OP: So far there are no procedures for this. It is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that notes that the purpose of updating the data is not to serve subpoenas, but to restore order. However, there is no certainty that this will not change.

MS: As far as I understand, the goal of the authorities is to bring men home, to mobilize them. How effective do you think the changes we are talking about are? How much thanks to them will men of military age who are abroad return?

OP: It’s difficult to predict. Most of our visitors are critical of such changes. On the other hand, we do not know what the results will be other than those officially expected. Often those who are legally abroad, who left before February 24 (and in Poland these are the majority), and those who potentially or actually evade are treated the same way, everyone is treated with the same brush.

Ukrainian citizens abroad do not violate anything. For example, a man who does not plan to evade, wants to update his data - he goes to Ukraine, puts his documents in order at the TRC, does not join the army, but can no longer return back to Poland.

He will lose his job there, because Ukrainian legislation does not affect the preservation of a job for a Ukrainian citizen in Poland. Finding himself without work in Ukraine, he will not be able to support his family, which, for example, remained in Poland. This kind of uncertainty is scary. The lack of answers to many questions generally causes an ambiguous attitude towards this law.