The State Border Service informs that, in accordance with the Rules for crossing the state border by citizens of Ukraine, in the event that a citizen permanently residing in Ukraine has lost passport documents or if such documents expired during the citizen’s stay outside Ukraine, or it is established that they are invalid for other reasons, the document giving the right to enter Ukraine is a person's certificate of return to Ukraine, issued by a diplomatic mission or consular office of Ukraine abroad.

At the same time, Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Procedure for Departure from Ukraine and Entry into Ukraine of Citizens of Ukraine" provides that a citizen of Ukraine for any reason cannot be restricted in the right to enter Ukraine. The speaker of the State Border Guard Service, Ihor Matviychuk, confirmed that during the legal regime of martial law, border guards accept documents in the Diia application.

It is more difficult for persons without identity documents to cross the border, because the border guards must identify the person. But even such citizens are not refused - they are searched for by photocopies and databases.

However, citizens of Ukraine who plan to return home without a passport should remember that these rules apply only when crossing the border to enter Ukraine. Accordingly, the border guards of a foreign state may not let a person out of the respective country without documents to travel abroad. In this case, a valid document for foreign border guards is a person's certificate of return to Ukraine. You can be issued with it within one working day at a consulate / consular department of a Ukrainian Embassy abroad.

More detailed instructions on obtaining a certificate here.

If you have any other questions about crossing the border, we recommend that you consult a personal lawyer.