Which Ukrainian university students can travel abroad during the war?

Ukrainian students have the right to study abroad temporarily. Find out more about who can take advantage of this opportunity and what rules apply to men during martial law

Legal assistance on migration issues for Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad

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Despite martial law and mobilization, Ukrainian students have the opportunity to temporarily travel abroad. This involves participating in academic mobility programs that allow them to spend one semester at universities in other countries.

Academic mobility for students

As former Deputy Minister of Education Mykhailo Vynnytskyi explained in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, the academic mobility system in Ukraine has been actively developing in recent years. It involves a competitive selection process, so not all students can take advantage of this opportunity, only those who pass the selection process at their higher education institution.

According to Vynnytskyi, this practice promotes socialization, development, and improvement of the quality of education:

- students gain international experience;

- teachers have the opportunity to attend conferences, internships, and professional development programs;

- universities exchange experience with European and global colleagues.

In the last two years alone, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has issued over 4,000 permits for academic mobility. At the same time, only 8 cases of non-return were recorded, which is an extremely low figure.

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Which men are allowed to leave the country during martial law?

It is important to take into account the general rules for men leaving Ukraine during mobilization. According to CMU Resolution No. 57, not everyone is allowed to leave the country, only certain categories of people:

men with disabilities;

those accompanying parents with disability group I or II;

men with three or more minor children;

parents of children with disabilities;

other categories provided for by law.

Young men under the age of 18 and men over the age of 60 may also leave Ukraine.

Each category requires a separate set of documents to cross the border. For more details on the requirements, please refer to Resolution No. 57, as well as the hotline of the State Border Service of Ukraine at 1598.

Thus, students can legally travel abroad only within the framework of academic mobility programs and after passing a competition, and men can only do so if they have grounds specified by Ukrainian law.

If you are planning a trip abroad, contact Visit Ukraine's migration lawyers who will help you check the legal grounds, prepare documents and explain the current requirements. This will help you avoid mistakes and undesirable situations at the border.

We remind you! The government has changed the process of issuing passports for men of mobilization age who are abroad. Now all checks are carried out automatically through an electronic registry. Read what this means and how passports will be issued to such persons in our previous article.

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