How to Apply for Family Member of a Fallen Defender Status in Ukraine

Who can receive this status?

The status is not available to every relative automatically. Ukrainian law defines the eligible family categories. They include parents, a spouse who has not remarried, specified categories of children, and dependants who receive a survivor's pension because of the person's death.

The circumstances of the fallen, deceased or missing person also matter. The authority must establish that the person and the circumstances of death, disappearance or later death fall within a category covered by Article 10-1 of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection.

If you are dealing separately with pension rights after the breadwinner's death, see the Helpydo guide on applying for a survivor's pension in Ukraine.

What documents do you need?

The evidence is partly determined by your relationship to the deceased and partly by the legal category under which the Defender's death, disappearance or later death qualifies. This is why there is no single death-document checklist that is correct for every case.

Relationship documents

A spouse may need a marriage certificate, a parent may use the fallen or deceased person's birth certificate, and a child may use their birth certificate. A dependant relies on evidence that a survivor's pension has been awarded. A child claiming under the disability-before-adulthood category needs the relevant medical evidence.

Death and service-related evidence

Depending on the statutory category, the file can require a death certificate, court decision, military medical commission or other competent medical conclusion, forensic medical conclusion, Ministry for Veterans Affairs certificate, or records proving participation in the relevant defence activities. Do not assume that a death certificate alone establishes entitlement in every case.

Under the current procedure, where specified information or documents are unavailable to the applicant, the authorised authority can request them through inter-agency cooperation. The veterans law requires such a request to the competent body or person no later than five calendar days after receipt of the application where the applicant does not possess the relevant information or documents.

How to apply online through Diia

The service is available electronically through Diia for eligible applications. Diia instructs the applicant to authenticate, provide information about criminal-record status and the fallen or missing person, attach evidence of the family relationship, identify the relevant category and legal basis, choose the certificate type, review the information and sign the application electronically.

Diia states that an applicant using the portal must have an RNOKPP. If you do not have an RNOKPP, use the paper procedure instead. If you need to obtain an RNOKPP first, Helpydo has a separate guide on getting a Ukrainian taxpayer identification number.

How to apply offline

A paper application can be handled by the relevant local structural unit responsible for veterans policy. Applications can also be accepted through a CNAP and transferred to the competent veterans policy unit. The rules also provide for submission personally, through a legal or authorised representative and, in applicable cases, by post directly to the local veterans policy unit.

The competent unit is normally determined by the applicant's declared or registered place of residence or stay. For an internally displaced person, the procedure also provides for the address of actual residence. If displacement affects your case and you have not yet formalised that status, see how to apply for IDP status in Ukraine.

How much does it cost and how long does it take?

The administrative service is free. The official period for a decision granting or refusing the status is 30 calendar days.

For an electronic application, the applicant receives notification of the decision electronically. Diia states that after the application is processed, an eligible person can generate the digital family-member certificate in the Diia app.

For the paper route, the result can include the appropriate paper family-member certificate. Adults and children who have reached age 14 receive the prescribed certificate, while for a child under 14 the rules provide for a certificate issued to the mother, another adult family member or guardian as applicable. A colour matte 3 x 4 cm photograph is required when a paper certificate is being prepared from a paper application.

When can the authority refuse the status?

Official grounds for refusal include the applicant not belonging to an eligible statutory family category, absence of necessary documents, false information or forged documents, specified final criminal convictions, and cases where the person's cause of death is not connected with circumstances covered by the law.

A common practical mistake is treating proof of kinship as sufficient by itself. The authority must also be able to establish the qualifying status and circumstances of the fallen, deceased or missing person. Another mistake is using the online route when the applicant lacks the identifiers or registry information required by Diia; the official Diia guidance directs such applicants to the offline procedure.

What happens after the decision?

If the status is approved, the relevant certificate or electronic result confirms the recognised status. If an application submitted electronically is approved, Diia says the digital certificate can subsequently be generated in the Diia app.

If the authority refuses the application, the decision should identify the basis for refusal. The Ministry for Veterans Affairs service information identifies the administrative court as the body to which a refusal may be challenged. Before reapplying or challenging a decision, check whether the issue is a missing document that the authority can obtain through inter-agency exchange or a substantive eligibility issue.