How to Get Your First Ukrainian ID Card After Turning 14

Who needs a Ukrainian ID card at age 14?

Every Ukrainian citizen who reaches 14 years of age is required to obtain a passport of a citizen of Ukraine. For a first-time applicant, the passport is issued as an ID card containing a contactless electronic medium.

This procedure is specifically for the first Ukrainian internal passport after age 14. Replacing a lost ID card, exchanging an existing passport or obtaining a passport for travel abroad are separate procedures.

How much does the first ID card cost?

The administrative service is free of charge for a Ukrainian citizen who has reached age 14 and is obtaining the passport for the first time.

This fee exemption applies to the first internal ID card itself. A separate service, such as simultaneously applying for a passport for travel abroad, can have its own administrative charge.

What documents do you need?

For the usual first application, the key documents are the applicant's birth document and evidence allowing the authority to confirm Ukrainian citizenship.

• Birth certificate or a birth document issued by a competent foreign authority.
• Original documents confirming the citizenship and identity of one or both parents who were Ukrainian citizens at the time of the applicant's birth, where these documents are needed to establish that the applicant belongs to Ukrainian citizenship.
• A certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine if required because the relevant parental documents are unavailable, a parent was a foreign citizen or stateless person at the time of birth, or Ukrainian citizenship was acquired in circumstances requiring that certificate.
• Documents supporting additional information to be entered in the passport, where applicable.

The State Migration Service lists additional documents for less common situations, including applicants who permanently lived abroad and returned to Ukraine, homeless persons, applicants using a legal or authorized representative, and applicants whose identity requires a special verification procedure.

Where can you apply?

You can apply through a territorial body or territorial subdivision of the State Migration Service of Ukraine, an authorized Centre for the Provision of Administrative Services, commonly known as a CNAP, or a Passport Service centre that provides the service.

The official procedure states that the application questionnaire is completed by the employee who receives the documents. There is no official end-to-end online application that replaces the visit needed to submit the first ID-card application.

The State Migration Service also provides an electronic queue system for booking a visit, but booking an appointment online is not the same as applying for the ID card online.

How long does the first ID card take?

The State Migration Service currently states that a passport being issued for the first time must be provided no later than 7 working days from the day the application questionnaire is completed.

Cases involving first-time applicants aged 18 or older who require a formal identity-establishment procedure can take longer. That exception does not describe the ordinary application of a 14-year-old whose identity and citizenship can be confirmed from the required documents.

How long is an ID card issued at age 14 valid?

An ID card issued to a person aged from 14 to under 18 is valid for 4 years. An ID card issued to a person who has reached age 18 is valid for 10 years.

Because the first card obtained at 14 expires after four years, the holder will normally need to exchange it after reaching adulthood when its validity ends.

Can you get a taxpayer number with the first ID card?

Ukraine's ID-14 service allows eligible young people aged 14 to 18 who are not yet registered in the State Register of Individual Taxpayers to request registration and assignment of a taxpayer registration number when applying for the first ID card.

The State Migration Service explains that this avoids a separate visit to the tax authority. Tell the employee receiving the ID-card application that you want the taxpayer number to be assigned at the same time. The combined first-ID and taxpayer-registration service is provided free of charge.

Check the spelling of your name before submitting

The surname and given name are entered in Ukrainian and in Latin letters. The Latin spelling normally follows Ukraine's official transliteration rules.

If the applicant needs the Latin spelling to match qualifying documents issued earlier, the applicant should raise this during preparation of the application questionnaire and provide the document supporting the requested spelling. Checking this before the application is finalized can prevent a later passport exchange caused by inconsistent transliteration.

When can the application be refused?

The official procedure identifies several grounds for refusal. These include lack of Ukrainian citizenship, applying before age 14, failure to provide the required documents and information, discrepancies between the supplied information and data obtained from the Unified State Demographic Register, or failure to establish the person's identity when identity verification is required.

An application can also be refused as a first-passport application if the person has already received a Ukrainian citizen passport.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Arriving without the original birth document.
• Assuming the birth certificate alone will always be sufficient to confirm Ukrainian citizenship.
• Failing to bring parental citizenship and identity documents when they are required for citizenship confirmation.
• Waiting until the appointment to notice that the Latin spelling of the applicant's name does not match important existing documents.
• Confusing an electronic queue reservation with an online ID-card application.
• Paying an administrative fee for the ordinary first ID card after age 14 even though this specific service is officially free.

What happens after you apply?

Once the application questionnaire and supporting documents have been accepted, the passport is produced using information entered into the Unified State Demographic Register. The result of the service is a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in card form.

For an ordinary first application after turning 14, the official deadline is no later than 7 working days. The applicant should follow the collection instructions provided by the office where the documents were submitted.