During the martial law in Ukraine, simplified rules for crossing the state border continue to apply for children under 16 years old. In most cases, the notarized consent of the second parent is no longer required, and the child can be accompanied not only by the mother or father. This was reminded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Who can accompany the child abroad
During martial law, a child under 16 years old can leave Ukraine accompanied by:
- one of the parents;
- grandmother or grandfather;
- an adult brother or sister;
- stepmother or stepfather;
- another authorized person.
At the same time, a child under 16 years old does not have the right to cross the state border alone.
To travel abroad, it is necessary to have one of the following documents:
- foreign passport;
- child's travel document;
- document about the inclusion of the child's information in the foreign passport of one of the parents (only if the child is traveling with that parent).
When the consent of the second parent is not required
In normal times, for the departure of a child abroad with one of the parents or another authorized person, a notarized consent of the second parent is usually required.
However, during martial law, this requirement is not applied. A child can cross the border accompanied by one of the parents without obtaining the notarized consent of the other parent.
Moreover, the legislation provides for cases when such consent is not necessary even in peacetime. This applies to situations where the second parent is a foreigner or stateless person, has died, lost parental rights, is declared missing or incapacitated, as well as when there is a corresponding court decision or custody authority decision or confirmed significant debt in alimony payments. Certain exceptions also apply to children with disabilities and other cases defined by law.
It is reminded that associate professor of Kyiv National University named after Shevchenko Mykhailo Vysotsky stated about semi-empty graduation classes in Ukrainian schools. The main reason for this phenomenon is the departure of young people abroad due to the war.