Members of Parliament propose to the Verkhovna Rada to allow men under 24 to travel abroad. The corresponding bill No. 13685 was registered in the Rada on August 22, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
The authors of the bill include parliamentarians from the pro-government "Servant of the People" faction, in particular members of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence Fedir Venislavskyi, Oleksandr Fediienko, and Yehor Cherniev.
"For the period of martial law or a state of emergency in Ukraine or in certain areas of the country, the right to leave Ukraine for conscripts, persons liable for military service, and reservists may also be temporarily restricted in accordance with the law. The specified temporary restriction on the right to leave Ukraine cannot be established for conscripts and persons liable for military service who are not subject to military service during mobilization in the current and next years due to their not having reached the age of conscription during mobilization," the bill states.
Currently, male citizens of Ukraine who have reached the age of 25 are subject to military service during mobilization.
The parliamentarians consider it appropriate to maintain the existing restriction on leaving Ukraine for male citizens of Ukraine who will reach the age of 25 in the current or next years.
The explanatory note to the bill notes that a large number of male Ukrainian citizens aged 18 to 25 who work or study abroad have been unable to return to their families in Ukraine for more than 3 years, as they will not be able to leave Ukraine again due to the restrictions imposed.
The parliamentarians also note that some families deliberately send their 17-year-old children from Ukraine abroad, understanding that after they reach the age of 18, departure will become impossible. There is also an increase in the number of high school students who go abroad to continue their studies in secondary educational institutions.
"Thus, the existence of a ban on free movement across the state border of Ukraine for male citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 25 creates serious obstacles for the return of young people to Ukraine, creates difficulties in maintaining ties with their families and the Motherland. In addition, this ban provokes the search for ways to circumvent it, which are usually associated with violating the law," the parliamentarians note.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on August 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to work out the possibility of simplifying border crossing for citizens under 22.
On August 18, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko reported that the Cabinet of Ministers was preparing a decision to allow men under 22 to travel abroad; according to her, this does not require changes to the legislation.
With the beginning of russia's large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the introduction of martial law and general mobilization in the country, restrictions were imposed on the right of persons liable for military service and male conscripts aged 18 to 60 to travel abroad.
At the same time, in accordance with the Law "On Mobilization Training and Mobilization", men under the age of 25 are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization. Thus, men under the age of 25, although they cannot be called up for military service during mobilization, cannot travel outside Ukraine either.
As an exception, two categories of persons have the right to leave Ukraine: contract servicemen under the age of 25 and students of domestic universities aged 18-22 who, on a full-time basis, are obtaining a bachelor's degree (master's degree in medicine, pharmacy or veterinary medicine) in higher education institutions of Ukraine of state or municipal ownership and who are participants in educational academic mobility programs and are going to study at foreign educational institutions.
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