Due to the difficult situation in the country, a large number of people were forced to leave Ukraine and seek support and asylum abroad. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of mid-February 2024, there were 6.479 million refugees outside Ukraine. The average age of people who left Ukraine is 44 years. Of this number, more than three million are persons of working age.
The longer the war goes on, the less help Ukrainian refugees receive, so more and more people are looking for opportunities to find legal employment. To work abroad, citizens of Ukraine need a certificate of criminal record certified by an apostille. Apostille is a special stamp that gives a document legal force abroad, in countries that are members of the Hague Convention.
A criminal record certificate is an official document that confirms the absence of a criminal record of the person submitting it. This document is required for:
- employment abroad;
- submission of visa documents;
- obtaining citizenship of another country;
- registration of guardianship;
- obtaining education in higher educational institutions.
It is important that even the original document has no legal force abroad. Apostille must be affixed, because it certifies the authenticity of the document and allows its use in other countries.
In order to find out where to put an apostille on a certificate of criminal record, it is necessary to understand which departments have the right to do this. These are the following institutions:
- Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Puts a stamp on documents about education, professional development, diplomas, etc.
- Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. Deals with documents issued by the Registry Office, as well as all notarial documents.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Is engaged in apostillation of medical certificates, certificates of residence or registration, and certificates of criminal record.
Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is the body where you can put an apostille on a certificate of criminal record. This certificate has a longer term of validity than the usual certificate in Ukraine. Therefore, you should check the validity period so that the document is valid at the time of submission to the foreign authorities or companies to prove that you are not currently wanted and have no conditional terms. Some countries require a double apostille or translation with consular legalization.
A citizen can independently obtain a criminal record certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and then submit it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for affixing an apostille stamp.
