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In an attempt to motivate people to come back home, Ukraine is allowing multiple citizenship for the first time ever in the country’s history, the parliament in Kyiv, Verhovna Rada, decided in a bill passed on Wednesday.
The president must now sign the law before it enters into force, which is expected to be a formality, given that Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself submitted the bill last summer.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister for national unity, says it is a crucial step to motivate the Ukrainians to come back home — not only those who left after Russia’s all-out war in 2022, but also those who had to leave Ukraine when Russia first invaded in 2014.
The number of Ukrainians currently abroad is very close to the number of those living in Ukraine: approximately 32 million Ukrainians reside in their home country, while up to 25 million Ukrainians are abroad.
With this move, Kyiv wants to “unite Ukrainians throughout the globe,” Chernyshov told Euronews.
“There are Ukrainians who stepped into the citizenship of other countries and we want to keep their Ukrainian identity, to give this opportunity to them. Within the current setup, there was only one choice of Ukrainian passport so now our citizens have the solution,” he explained.
Chernyshov: Ukrainians bring a lot of value to EU countries
The Ukrainian government now needs to draft a list of countries whose citizens will be eligible for dual Ukrainian citizenship.
Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia said the law does not apply to Russian citizens or citizens of countries that do not recognise Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Chernyshov told Euronews that Kyiv expects a third of those who left Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022 to come back once the “the peace solution is reached,” while the rest are likely to “monitor the situation and see whether it makes sense to come back.”
“The answer lies in the framework of economic development and further reforms of our country that would definitely pave the way for future development and creation of new jobs, new opportunities, new business developments. And we are very, very dedicated to it,” Chernyshov explained.
“I think they bring a lot of value to countries of the European Union right now. I heard it from many ministers of European Union countries, they value a lot the Ukrainian presence. That is why we will also have to compete among the labour markets and to provide better conditions:”
What makes Ukraine optimistic about the return of its people is the past experience when the Ukrainians rushed to go back after Russian troops were pushed out of the Kyiv region and Kherson city, but also the fact that they were forced to leave their homes, rather than being willing to do so.
“Ukrainians came to Europe because of the full-scale aggression. They were not planning to do that. They feel, of course, in a way, homesick, and it’s well understood,” Chernyshov said.
The bill also establishes new grounds for losing citizenship, including receiving a Russian passport or serving in the Russian military.
Multiple citizenship will be recognised for foreigners from the listed countries who apply for Ukrainian citizenship, or if Ukrainian citizens apply for citizenship in these countries. It will also be recognised for Ukrainian spouses of foreign citizens and other specific cases.
