How a serviceman can travel abroad during martial law

After the full-scale invasion, many men joined the Armed Forces to defend their homeland, and their families moved to a safe place outside of Ukraine. Can a serviceman visit his wife and children abroad during martial law?

According to Art. 8-1 of the Law of Ukraine «On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Members of Their Families», servicemen have the right to travel abroad. However, this requires obtaining permission from the command and going through a certain procedure.

According to paragraphs 2-15 of the Rules for Crossing the State Border by Citizens of Ukraine (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 57 of January 27, 1995), military personnel are allowed to cross the state border by authorized persons of the State Border Guard Service on the basis of decisions taken by the Minister of Defense, the head of another military formation established in accordance with the law, the head of a special purpose law enforcement agency, or the head of an intelligence agency to perform tasks in the field of security and defense.

This means that the heads of military formations are authorized to grant permission to travel outside Ukraine.

A serviceman can receive up to 30 days of basic leave each year. The leave is granted in parts during the calendar year, provided that the main continuous part of it is at least 15 calendar days. Until May 18, 2024, the rule was in force that a part of the vacation could be no more than 15 days. That is, now the main part of the leave may be longer.

In order for a serviceman to receive permission to cross the state border of Ukraine during his leave, he must submit a leave request to the commander of the military unit through his immediate superior. The report must specify the dates of departure and return, the city and address of stay, as well as the type of transport and the checkpoint through which the border will be crossed.

The report must be accompanied by documents confirming the purpose of the trip. Such documents are marriage and birth certificates of children, as well as certificates of temporary protection of family members who are abroad. If your spouse and children have been granted temporary asylum abroad, you must provide proof of this fact. In other words, the legal basis for leaving is a meeting with the family that has temporarily left Ukraine.

After that, the report with the attached documents and the resolution of the immediate commander is submitted to the headquarters of the military unit for consideration by the commander of the military unit. On the basis of these documents, the commander of the military unit makes a decision on the leave and permission to travel abroad. This decision is made on an individual basis.

If the commander approves the leave, an order must be issued by the commander granting the right to leave. In addition, the authorization to leave must be indicated on the leave ticket.

It is also important to take an extract from the vacation order indicating the possibility of crossing the state border of Ukraine. Don't forget to use your vacation ticket, which indicates the duration of your vacation and your exit permit.

In order for the Border Guard Service to release a serviceman from Ukraine, the following documents will be required:

• a valid foreign passport;
• a military identity document (military ID card, officer ID card, etc.)
• an extract from the order of the relevant authorized person who made the decision to grant leave and the right to travel;
• a vacation ticket, which must indicate the place of stay of the serviceman during the vacation and permission to cross the state border of Ukraine.

The reasons for refusal to cross the border may be the existence of travel bans (in particular, court decisions or unpaid fines or alimony), as well as failure to indicate permission to travel abroad in the leave ticket and order.

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The material of the section «Defense of the military» was prepared by Svitlana Grushko, a member of the Center for Methodological Assistance and Coordination of the Volunteer Movement of Attorneys for the Legal Defense of Servicemen at the UNBA.