CERTIFICATE OF PARENTS OF A LARGE FAMILY AS A BASIS FOR CROSSING THE BORDER

 With the beginning of a full-scale invasion Russian Federation, in Ukraine, there is a restriction on the departure of men abroad to ensure the security of the country. However, there are a number of exceptional situations when this is still allowed.

For example, when you are the father or mother of a large family. Guided by the norms of the current legislation, women or men who support 3 or more minor children (up to 18 years old) cannot be called up for military service and have the right to freely travel outside the borders of Ukraine.

However, many questions arise in practice, in particular, how to confirm the fact of keeping such children; whether all children must be from the same marriage; which authorities should I contact to obtain the appropriate certificate?

You can find answers to these and other questions in this article.

CRITERIA OF A LARGE FAMILY

In order to legally have the status of a father or mother of many children, your family must meet the following requirements.

Guided by the provisions of the relevant law, a family with many children is considered to be one in which:

• husband and wife have a registered marriage, live together, and raise three or more children
• one of the parents independently raises three or more children (under the conditions of cohabitation with them).

Separately, we note that children under the age of 23 who are studying in educational institutions (college, university, etc.) are also defined as members of a large family – until the end of such education.

Therefore, in order to receive a certificate confirming that you are a father or mother of many children, it is not necessary to be in a registered marriage or to have all children from one marriage. In the case of remarriage, the fact that all children live with one of their parents is taken into account.

WHICH AUTHORITIES SHOULD I APPLY TO REGISTER THE STATUS OF A LARGE FAMILY?

To obtain a certificate of a father (mother) with many children, you should contact the relevant authorities.

This can be done through:

• Center for the provision of administrative services ;
• District State Administration ;
• Executive bodies of the city, district councils in cities, villages, and city councils of the OTG.

In addition, we note that one of the parents (or a legal representative) can apply to any of the listed authorities regardless of the place of residence or registration, which is really convenient, especially during the period of martial law and the possible stay of one of the spouses abroad or in another region.

The term of production of this certificate is 10 days from the moment of submission of all documents.

WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE NECESSARY?

• Application (indicate personal information about one of the parents and his children);
• a photo with a size of 3 × 4 cm ;
• children ‘s birth certificate ;
• a certificate from an educational institution (if a child between the ages of 18 and 23 is studying);
• A document that confirms the fact that a child is raised by one of the parents. For example, a court decision where the child’s place of residence is determined; extract from the territorial community register; a copy of the conclusion of the children’s affairs service; a copy of the certificate on registration of IDPs, etc.

Separately, we note that difficulties most often arise with the last documents, because there is no clear list of them, so the onus is on you to prove that you are a single parent.

We should also not forget about the human factor, because it is the official of the relevant body who makes the decision about not (accepting) documents and their compliance with the requirements of the law.

Of course, if you believe that you are wrongfully denied a license, you can go to court to protect your rights and challenge the wrongful actions of employees. However, in order to save time, we recommend that you prepare all the necessary documents in advance to obtain a positive result without going to court.

It is important to note that confirmation of marriage/divorce/birth/other facts of legal significance takes place through the exchange of data between electronic information resources of the relevant state bodies. However, if you have reasonable concerns regarding the processing of your personal data or in the case of a lack of relevant information in electronic registers, you will need to provide additional documents to confirm such legal facts.

The validity period of the certificates is set individually for each family (depending on the age of the children). During martial law, the validity period of such a certificate can be extended by applying to the appropriate authority with a free-form application.

WHAT DOCUMENTS MUST BE SHOWN AT THE BORDER?

Current legislation does not establish an exhaustive and clear list of documents that a father of many children must have with him when he crosses the state border. We emphasize that it is necessary to confirm the fact of maintenance, and not only the paternity of the children.

Based on practical recommendations, for maximum safety and convenience, it is recommended to have the following documents:

• birth certificates of children ;
• marriage certificate;
• certificate or court decision on divorce;
• certificate of parents ( father /mother) of a large family.

In some cases, it is also necessary to present one of the documents confirming the fact that the child was brought up by one of the parents mentioned above.

However, remember that in case of disputed situations, the final decision regarding the possibility of crossing the state border will be made by an authorized person on the spot (employee of the State Border Service).

As of today, the father of three or more children has the legal right to cross the state border of Ukraine (provided that all conditions are met and there are legal grounds).

In order to find out about the availability of such an opportunity and to correctly draw up the necessary documents in accordance with current legislation, you need to contact a specialized lawyer who will help you in solving this issue.