Documents for a residence permit in Ukraine
Whatever the ground for your application — work, marriage, study or family reunification — every foreign document in the file has to be translated into Ukrainian and notarized.
Documents we translate most often
Passport
Identity pages, and the reference point for how your name is spelled everywhere else.
Police clearance
A criminal record certificate from your home country. Note that these expire — check the validity period before you start.
Birth and marriage certificates
Especially where the application is based on family ties.
Employment or study papers
Contracts, invitations, enrolment confirmations, professional qualifications.
If your permit is based on marriage
This is the most common route, and it has requirements the official guide does not spell out.
A long-term D visa
You need a D visa to apply for the permit. A tourist visa or visa-free entry is not enough, even if you are already married to a Ukrainian citizen.
Marriage certificate issued in Ukraine
A notarised copy is required. The original stays with you.
Marriage certificate issued abroad
It must be legalised — an apostille if your country is in the Hague Convention, consular legalisation if it is not — and then translated into Ukrainian with notarisation.
Order matters
The apostille goes on the original first, the translation comes after. Done the other way round, the translation has to be redone with the apostille stamp included.
If your permit is based on employment
This route runs through the employment centre, and the first step is not yours to take — your employer applies for the work permit, not you.
What gets translated on this route
Passport pages
The employer submits copies of your passport pages with the application. A certified Ukrainian translation is required.
Diploma and qualifications
Often requested to show you match the position. Foreign diplomas need legalisation from the issuing country plus a notarised translation.
Employment contract
If drawn up in a foreign language, a Ukrainian translation is needed for the file.
For the residence permit itself
The work permit, an undertaking from the employer to notify the authorities if the contract ends early, valid health insurance and proof of the fee.
What the law requires
Two rules from the official procedure are worth knowing before you collect anything.
Timing, cost and one common mistake
15 working days
That is the processing time once your application is accepted.
State fees are paid separately
The State Migration Service charges its own fees for the application and the card; check the current amounts before you file. Translation and notarisation are separate.
Health insurance
A valid policy covering the whole period of the permit is required.
Apply 15 working days early
Documents must be filed no later than 15 working days before your permitted stay expires. This is where most applications fail — people leave it until the last week.
Apostille from the issuing country
Most foreign documents need an apostille from the country that issued them before Ukraine will accept them. It cannot be arranged here. Countries with a legal assistance treaty with Ukraine are exempt — see the list.
One spelling of your name
How we work with you
Send scans by email from anywhere — that is enough for a quote and for the translation itself. Notarization is the step that needs the original document in our hands, so plan for the originals to reach us in Ukraine. Finished documents go out by Nova Poshta to any Ukrainian address at our expense. Payment by card or PayPal.
Office: Olzhycha St 9, office 14, Zhytomyr, Ukraine
Hours: Mon–Fri 09:00–16:00 (EET)
Phone: +380 98 748 2944 (office) · +380 96 221 3310
Telegram: @global_lingo_ukraine
WhatsApp: +380 96 221 3310
Send us the list
Tell us what the migration service asked for and we will quote the whole set with a single deadline