The Supreme Court explained when the SMS can accept a declaration of renunciation of Russian citizenship

After the start of the full-scale war, citizens of the Russian Federation who previously acquired Ukrainian citizenship faced the same problem: how to fulfill the obligation to terminate Russian citizenship if the Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine ceased their work. Some of these individuals began to apply to the State Migration Service with declarations of renunciation of Russian citizenship, but not all received a positive decision.

In its ruling dated July 13, 2026, in case No. 160/9564/23, the Supreme Court put an end to this issue and determined under what conditions the SMS has the right to accept such a declaration.

What caused the dispute

The plaintiff, a citizen of the Russian Federation, acquired Ukrainian citizenship in 2021 based on territorial origin according to Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Citizenship of Ukraine." At the same time, she signed a legally required written obligation to terminate Russian citizenship within two years after acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

In 2023, she went to court. The lawsuit was justified by the fact that after returning from Russia to Ukraine in April 2021, she applied to the SMS body in Zaporizhzhia region with a request to formalize the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship based on territorial origin, in connection with which she preliminarily undertook to terminate Russian citizenship within two years from the moment of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

As a result of reviewing this application, on October 21, 2021, she acquired Ukrainian citizenship according to part one of Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Citizenship of Ukraine", which is confirmed by a temporary certificate dated December 22, 2021.

After the start of the full-scale war, the woman explained that she was unable to apply to Russian diplomatic missions due to the severance of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia. She submitted a declaration of renunciation of Russian citizenship to the territorial subdivision of the SMS but received a refusal.

The SMS stated that the applicant had not applied to the authorized bodies of the Russian Federation with a request to terminate citizenship, so there were no legal grounds for accepting the declaration. After that, the woman went to court.

How the courts considered the case

The court of first instance – the Dnipro District Administrative Court – denied the claim, agreeing with the position of the migration service. As an argument, the court noted that inconveniences and difficulties for the plaintiff in obtaining a document on renunciation of Russian citizenship at any diplomatic or consular institution of the Russian Federation in another foreign state are not defined by law as grounds independent of the person for not obtaining a document on termination of foreign citizenship.

The Third Administrative Court of Appeal, by its ruling dated January 16, 2023, on the contrary, sided with the plaintiff. The judges recognized that after February 24, 2022, a person objectively could not apply to Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine, so the refusal of the SMS was recognized as illegal and the acceptance of the declaration was ordered.

However, the Supreme Court did not agree with this approach. It canceled the appellate ruling and upheld the decision of the district court, effectively supporting the position of the SMS.

The procedure for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship is defined by the Law of Ukraine "On Citizenship of Ukraine". According to part five of Article 8 of this Law, foreigners who have acquired Ukrainian citizenship and have undertaken to terminate foreign citizenship must within two years submit a document confirming its termination. Only if obtaining such a document is impossible for reasons beyond the person’s control does the law allow submitting a declaration of renunciation of foreign citizenship.

At the same time, the very concept of "reasons beyond the person’s control" is defined by Article 1 of the Law. Such grounds include, in particular:

• if the competent authority of the foreign state accepted the application for termination of citizenship but did not issue the relevant document within the established period,
• if the legislation of the state does not provide a procedure for termination of citizenship at all,
• if such a procedure is effectively not carried out.

The Supreme Court called these grounds exhaustive.

The severance of diplomatic relations does not cancel the obligation to apply to the Russian authorities

The Supreme Court separately noted that after February 24, 2022, Ukraine indeed severed diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, and Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine ceased their work. However, this does not mean that the procedure for renouncing Russian citizenship completely ceased to exist.

The court pointed out that Russian legislation provides several ways to submit an application for termination of citizenship. In particular, Russian citizens can apply to Russian diplomatic missions operating in other countries, as well as use other mechanisms for submitting documents provided by Russian law. Therefore, the mere absence of the Russian embassy in Ukraine cannot automatically be considered a reason beyond the person’s control for not submitting a document on termination of citizenship.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court formed a clear legal position. The State Migration Service bodies may accept a declaration of renunciation of Russian citizenship only when the person proves that:

• they have already applied to the authorized bodies of the Russian Federation with an application for termination of citizenship,
• the application was accepted or properly submitted,
• within the period established by law, the document on termination of citizenship was not issued or other circumstances beyond the applicant’s control, as provided by Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Citizenship of Ukraine," arose.

If a person has not applied to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation at all, there are no legal grounds for accepting the declaration.

This was exactly the situation in this case: the plaintiff herself confirmed that she did not apply to the Russian authorities with a request to renounce citizenship. Because of this, the Supreme Court recognized the refusal of the SMS as lawful.

Earlier, the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" reported on how to obtain Ukrainian citizenship if there are no documents of residence.

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