Ukraine adds Moldova to list of countries whose citizens can obtain Ukrainian citizenship through simplified process - Sybiha

The Cabinet of Ministers has added Moldova to the list of countries whose citizens can obtain Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced this on Facebook, according to the Ukrainian News agency. 

“A strategically important decision regarding Moldova was adopted at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. At the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government has expanded opportunities to acquire Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure and added the Republic of Moldova to the list of countries,” he said.

Sybiha noted that this is another step in implementing the new version of the Law “On Citizenship of Ukraine”; previously, the new procedure for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship without renouncing existing citizenship became available to ethnic Ukrainians from EU countries, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland.

“For us, adding Moldova to the list is not just a formal expansion of the geographical scope. It is a logical step in our relations with a country with which we share both a common border and a common path toward the European Union. A country that, from the very first days of the full-scale invasion, has been providing assistance to our citizens and supporting Ukraine,” the minister added.

Sybiha noted that there is a large and active Ukrainian community in Moldova, and Ukraine is interested in ensuring that ethnic Ukrainians abroad have as many opportunities as possible to maintain ties with their homeland.

Furthermore, he said, Ukraine’s decision is a logical, well-considered, and timely response to the aggressor state’s attempts to destabilize friendly Moldova by manipulating the issue of citizenship for residents of the Transnistrian region of the neighboring state.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in May, the Cabinet of Ministers expanded the list of countries whose citizens can obtain Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure from 5 to 33.

The law on multiple citizenship, initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on June 18, 2025, entered into force on January 16, 2026. In particular, the law provides for the simplified acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship by foreigners who are citizens (subjects) of countries whose citizens (subjects) acquire Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure, as well as the acquisition by a Ukrainian citizen of citizenship (subjectship) of countries whose citizens (subjects) acquire Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure.

In accordance with Article 4 of the Constitution of Ukraine, there is a single citizenship in Ukraine, and the grounds for acquiring and terminating Ukrainian citizenship are determined by law. Amendments to the Constitution are not possible during martial law.

In June 2025, the Ministry of National Unity announced that the law on multiple citizenship grants Ukrainians the right to officially obtain citizenship of another country without renouncing their Ukrainian citizenship.

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