The Ukrainian parliament on Dec. 17 supported in the first reading a bill allowing multiple citizenship for Ukrainian citizens, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
The Ukrainian law currently specifies that Ukrainians can hold only a single citizenship, while multiple citizenship is not recognized.
President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted the bill legalizing multiple citizenship in August and stressed its importance as part of his internal resilience plan in November.
The bill, supported by 247 lawmakers in the first reading, still has to pass a second reading and be signed by the president before becoming law. The parliament also asked the Constitutional Court to review the document.
The legislation lists permissible cases for holding multiple citizenship, simplifies procedures for foreigners to obtain Ukrainian citizenship, and establishes new grounds for losing citizenship, such as receiving a Russian passport or serving in the Russian Armed Forces.
The bill is also seen as part of Ukraine's effort to strengthen ties with the Ukrainians living abroad. Zelensky said the document should allow ethnic Ukrainians born abroad to obtain citizenship.
Even before the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian diaspora has been widespread around the world, with particularly large communities in the EU, the U.S., and Canada. The war drew millions more from their home, with some 6.7 million living as refugees abroad as of August 2024.
To foster the relationship with the Ukrainian community abroad, the government launched a new department called the National Unity Ministry, headed by former Naftogaz chief Oleksii Chernyshov.
Andrea Januta
(Updated: )
