Following the entry into force of the EU Council decision of 30 July 2026, which introduced an updated procedure for granting temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens, the consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received around 20 official inquiries from Ukrainians who encountered difficulties when submitting documents in certain member states. This was confirmed to RBC-Ukraine by the MFA, which stressed that military registration documents are not mandatory for all applicants and that any request for them is subject to strictly defined conditions.
Priority check: legality of the border crossing
The ministry explained that, in accordance with clarifications from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), the primary check when processing temporary protection is the confirmation of a legal crossing of Ukraine's state border. This document serves as the main evidence of the citizen's lawful presence in the EU. According to MFA representatives, EU authorities are entitled to request military registration documents only in cases where the legality of the border crossing cannot be confirmed by any other means. Accordingly, a demand to present a military ID or registration certificate cannot be the sole or automatic condition for all applicants without exception.
Isolated cases and the role of national legislation
The MFA separately noted that isolated situations in which military registration documents are demanded from women or persons not of conscription age are primarily linked to the fact that each EU member state independently determines the list of documents sufficient for carrying out the check. This means that, in practice, different administrative procedures may apply in different member states, which gives rise to pinpoint incidents. According to the ministry, there is currently no basis to speak of systemic violations in individual EU countries: official complaints concern scattered cases in different member states, rather than a mass practice.
Contradictory data
At the same time, there is a certain tension in the public sphere between Kyiv's official position and the actual experience of Ukrainians abroad. On the one hand, the MFA asserts that no systemic violations have been recorded and that the roughly 20 inquiries represent pinpoint incidents. On the other hand, it was previously reported that, from 5 August, dozens of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic were denied temporary protection precisely due to the absence of documents confirming the fulfilment of military service obligations. On 16 August, Czech authorities clarified the list of required documents, with the requirements becoming differentiated depending on the applicant's age. Thus, although Kyiv formally does not record a "systemic" nature to the problem, for applicants in certain jurisdictions — above all in the Czech Republic — the barrier related to military registration documents remains significant and, according to media reports, affects not isolated but dozens of cases over a short period.
Ukraine's position and the expected European Commission recommendations
According to MFA data, the Ukrainian side is holding an active dialogue with the European Commission with the aim of eliminating discriminatory approaches in document checks. Kyiv's position is that additional requirements regarding military registration documents should apply only as an exception, on the basis of justified grounds, and exclusively to men aged 25 to 60. The ministry expects that, at the end of September 2026, the European Commission will issue unified recommendations for all member states, which will standardise the procedure for such checks and remove the fragmentation of national practices. Until these recommendations enter into force, Ukrainian citizens planning to apply for temporary protection are advised to check the current list of documents in advance at Ukraine's consular offices in the relevant EU countries.
