On August 12, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine officially enacted Resolution No. 981, radically changing the military registration procedure for male citizens aged 18 to 60 residing outside the country. The regulatory act aims to synchronize the work of diplomatic missions with the Unified State Register of Conscripts, Military Personnel, and Reservists ("Obereg"). The essence of the changes lies in the transition to automated data exchange between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the State Migration Service, which is intended to simplify the process of obtaining consular services for Ukrainians abroad.
Mechanism of Automatic Verification and Cancellation of Time Limits
The key innovation of Resolution No. 981 was the cancellation of the strict requirement to form an electronic military registration document (e-MRD) strictly 72 hours before visiting the consulate. According to the new rules, a document formed through the "Reserve+" mobile application is considered valid directly at the moment the citizen applies to the diplomatic institution. This change eliminates technical barriers that applicants faced when attempting to obtain passport services or notarize documents under conditions of unstable digital service performance.
Furthermore, the regulation provides for automatic registration. If there is no information about the citizen in the "Obereg" database, the diplomatic institution has the right to independently enter personal data into the system and form an e-MRD. It is important to note that this procedure does not require passing a military-medical commission (MMC) at the time of application abroad, which significantly accelerates administrative processes.
Conditions for Providing Consular Services
According to the updated regulations, the provision of administrative and consular services to persons of conscription age is now strictly tied to the presence of an updated status in state registers. Verification of data validity is carried out in real-time through interdepartmental data exchange. The only grounds for refusing to perform consular actions may be the invalidity of the provided e-MRD or the complete absence of updated data about the citizen in the register.
The legal position of the department is that undergoing registration verification procedures abroad is aimed exclusively at systematizing data. According to the Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization," the mere fact of registration through a consulate does not entail automatic referral to an MMC or conscription, unless otherwise provided by separate decisions of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TRSSC).
Contradictory Data
Despite the official clarification by the Cabinet of Ministers that the new order is intended to simplify citizens' lives, there are disagreements in the expert community and among human rights defenders regarding the practical implementation of Resolution No. 981. On the one hand, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense insist that automation eliminates corruption risks and the human factor in document verification. On the other hand, human rights organizations express concern that the automatic entry of data into the "Obereg" register without passing an MMC may lead to legal uncertainty regarding the category of fitness for service. According to critics, the lack of a medical assessment during remote registration may create precedents where citizens are listed as fit without actual confirmation of this status by doctors.
