Ukrainian identity card
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The Ukrainian identity card or Passport of the Citizen of Ukraine (also known as the
Internal Passport An internal passport or a domestic passport is an identity document. Uses for internal passports have included restricting citizens of a subdivided state to employment in their own area (preventing their migration to richer cities or regions), cle ...
or Passport Card) is an identity document issued to citizens of Ukraine. Every Ukrainian citizen aged 14 or above and permanently residing in Ukraine must possess an identity card issued by local authorities of the State Migration Service of Ukraine. Ukrainian identity cards can be used as a
travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...
to enter Ukraine,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
(only if arriving from Ukraine),
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
(only for purposes of local border traffic), and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. Identity cards are valid for 10 years (or 4 years, if issued for citizens aged between 14 and 18) and afterwards must be exchanged for a new document.


Current identity card

The current Ukrainian identity card takes the form of a credit card sized plastic card with an integrated contactless microchip on which personal data is held. The top of the card bears the
coat of arms of Ukraine The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a gold trident. Officially referred to as the ''Emblem of the Royal State of Volodymyr the Great'', or, colloquially, the ''tryzub'' ( uk, тризуб), the insignia derives from the seal-tri ...
, the name of the country -
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, and the words 'Passport of the Citizen of Ukraine' in both Ukrainian and English. The flag of Ukraine appears in the top right corner of the card, whilst the international symbol for biometric documents can be found in the top left corner. The front of the card bears a black and white laser embossed image of the holder, their signature and the following key personal details in both Ukrainian and English (
Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...
): The reverse of the card bears the following pieces of information: *Date of issue *Authority *Place of birth


Security features

Other than the integrated contactless microchip which holds a wider range of personal data than the information visible on the front or reverse of the card, the Ukrainian identity card makes use of a range of modern security techniques, including micro-printing, holographic elements, colour-changing ink, raised printing, laser embossing, and UV elements, visible only under ultraviolet light. A number of personalised security elements are also used, such as a hologram on the card's reverse which alternately displays an image of the holder and their date of birth. Other personalised security elements include a metallic tape running along the reverse of the card into which the holder's name is laser engraved, and a machine readable zone.


History of identity cards in Ukraine

Ukraine first planned to introduce ID cards in 2004 during the presidency of
Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...
, with the start of production planned to coincide with the launch of a new Unified State Demographic Register. These cards were designed to contain a contactless chip - a design element which led to unease in certain sections of society. The planned introduction of both elements of this plan was cancelled by the newly elected President
Viktor Yuschenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...
on 10 March 2005. Later in 2005 the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство внутрішніх справ України, Ministerstvo vnutrishnikh sprav Ukrainy, MVS) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior aff ...
initiated a programme to introduce plastic ID cards which would have held tax and pensions data on an integrated electronic chip. This plan was later dropped after being criticised for having a lax approach to the security of personal data by ordinary citizens and the
Ukrainian Helsinki Group The Ukrainian Helsinki Group ( uk, Українська Гельсінська Група) was founded on November 9, 1976, as the "Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords on Human Rights" ( uk, Українс ...
. Similar plans were resurrected again in 2008, but were postponed to the future. On 23 September 2011, The
Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
voted to replace domestic passports with ID cards (''Ukrainian: Паспортна картка''). The law provided for the new form of ID to be issued from 1 January 2012. However, the bill was vetoed by Ukrainian president
Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...
on grounds of supposed failings in providing adequate personal data safeguards. After numerous delays, the bill for the creation of the Unified State Demographic Register was passed and signed into law on 29 November 2012. This paved the way for the introduction of biometric passports for foreign travel and the replacement of internal passports with ID cards. On 10 July 2015, the Ukrainian government announced that internal passports would be abolished and replaced with ID cards, starting from 1 January 2016. The first ID cards were issued to first-time applicants on 11 January 2016.


Previous internal passport (1992-2016)

From 1992 until 2016 Ukrainian internal passports were only produced and issued in the form of a traditional passport booklet. Regardless of the move to the new ID card format from 2016, all 1992 series passports currently remain valid. 1992 series passports had a dark blue cover and contained 16 pages. All information in the passport is recorded in the
Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...
, except for the holder's name, date and place of birth, and issuing authority, which are given both in Ukrainian and Russian, or stamps about person's residence in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or Sevastopol, which could be written only in Russian. The information contained within the passport included the holder's: 1992 series passports do not have an expiration date; they remain valid throughout the holder's life. Despite this, additional photographs need to be affixed on reaching the age of 25 and 45. It is also expected that any changes in marital status, eligibility for military service, and registered place of residence are subsequently recorded in the passport. Since 2016, the change in marital status is no longer recorded in a passport or on a biometric chip of an ID card A new passport can be obtained if there is a change in holder's name, most commonly due to marriage. New passports are also issued in cases when the original passport has been subject to significant wear or tear, or has been lost or stolen.


International travel

In 2017, Turkey granted Ukrainian citizens the right to enter visa-free (up to 90 days) with an ID card. Furthermore, since March 2019, Georgia accepts the Ukrainian ID card if the passenger arrives directly from Ukraine.


References

{{Identity cards Identity documents National identity cards by country Society of Ukraine