Traveling abroad during mobilization and appealing the conclusion of the VLK: what do lawyers advise in light of the latest clarifications from the Ministry of Justice

Despite the fact that the military legislation of Ukraine has remained formally stable in recent months, in practice law enforcement continues to generate new questions, conflicts and interpretations. The situation when legislative norms already exist, but their implementation in practice requires constant clarification, became common in the field of military law during the war. Each new case, legal gap or inconsistency of administrative decisions leads to the need for additional clarifications from the state authorities. That is why, even in the absence of new legislative initiatives, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine continues to provide official clarifications regarding the nuances of mobilization, military service, deferments, dismissals, issues of status, deadlines, documentation and many other aspects. Some of these explanations have already become a reference point for social security agencies, military commissariats, employers, lawyers, and conscripts themselves.

Lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association commented on some relevant clarifications of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine regarding the departure of conscripts abroad and the appeal of the conclusion of the VLK, as well as what risks they may face.

Travel abroad on leave of reserved employees

As you know, according to the general rule, during martial law, travel abroad for men aged 18 to 60 is limited. The exception is certain categories of persons, among whom are reserved employees. The rules for crossing the state border by citizens of Ukraine provide that conscripts who are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization have the right to cross the state border.

In accordance with paragraph 1 of the first part of Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “About mobilization training and mobilization“, conscripts who are reserved for the period of mobilization and in wartime, are not subject to conscription. Such persons are on special military registration.

In turn, these Rules only provide for the procedure for crossing the state border of a booked employee for the purpose of a business trip. As for the possibility of crossing the border during vacation, there is no clear legal regulation of this issue. Not that it’s outright forbidden, but not that it’s allowed either. The Ministry of Justice insists that you can find out about the procedure for crossing the border for the specified category of men exclusively from the explanations of the State Border Service of Ukraine.

According to the clarifications of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, booked employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations can leave the borders of Ukraine during the martial law only if they have a complete package of documents. First of all, we are talking about the documents provided for in Article 2 of the Law of Ukraine dated January 21, 1994 No. 3857-XII “On the procedure for departure from Ukraine and entry into Ukraine of citizens of Ukraine”. At the same time, it is necessary to document the fact of reservation in accordance with the Order of reservation of conscripts during martial law, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 27, 2023 No. 76.

In addition, a mandatory condition is the presence of a military registration document, which contains information about the reservation with a specific date (“Reservation before”). This information must be entered into the electronic system of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine “Oberig”.

In addition, a man must have with him:

• passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad;
• service card or certificate from the place of work;
• a paper military registration document or an electronic version in the Reserve+ application (must contain a reservation mark and entered in the “Oberig” system);
• an extract from the leave order or its copy (it should contain information about the country of departure, the period of stay, the employee’s position, etc.);
• other documents to confirm the purpose of the trip.

At the same time, the State Border Service separately advises you to contact the head of the enterprise before leaving to clarify whether your data has been transferred to the Administration of the State Border Service in accordance with Cabinet Resolution No. 69 dated January 27, 2023. In some cases, border crossing for booked persons is possible only for the purpose of a business trip, which is also reflected in official registers.

The final decision on permission to cross the state border is made by authorized officials who carry out border control directly at checkpoints. They check the completeness and correctness of all submitted documents and only then make a decision.

We note that some civil servants, for example, members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, deputy ministers, judges, prosecutors, heads of state bodies, deputies of local councils, as well as other persons specified in Art. 2-14 of the Rules cannot cross the state border for the purpose of vacation under any circumstances.

We pay special attention to the fact that an employee who plans to go on vacation abroad must not have any prohibitions that would prevent him from traveling abroad or violate the rules of military registration.

The Ministry of Justice notes that since the Rules change frequently and currently do not provide for a clear procedure for traveling abroad on leave for reserved employees, the final decision is made individually – at the discretion of the border guard during the inspection. Also among his recommendations – on the eve of the trip, clarify the crossing procedure with employees of the State Border Service by phone: 1598 or through other communication channels.

We believe that the specified order of departure is quite risky, because after purchasing tickets and booking a hotel, it is possible not to leave anywhere. Therefore, we strongly advise you to obtain a written explanation from the State Border Service in advance regarding your specific situation, taking into account your documents.

Regarding the documents that must be presented when crossing the state border. It should be noted that the legislation does not provide for the employee’s obligation to inform the employer about where exactly he plans to spend his vacation. Just as no regulatory legal act provides for the indication of the country of departure and the period of stay there on vacation in the company’s order on the employee’s vacation. However, if these conditions will help you go abroad on vacation, check the availability of the specified information in the documents.

 Appealing the conclusion of the VLK

On June 5, the deadline set aside for re-passing the Military Medical Commission (MMC) for conscripts who were previously recognized as being of limited fitness expired. According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense, approximately 7% of people are currently recognized as unfit for military service after re-passing the VLK. According to him, about 7% of people are recognized as fully fit, about 7-8% of people are determined to be unfit for military service. Others are suitable for service in TCC and SP support units, higher military educational institutions, medical units, and so on. Therefore, the question of how to act for a person whose status has changed after passing the VLK, but the husband categorically does not agree with the conclusion of the VLK, is quite relevant.

It is important to know that the conclusion of the VLK can be challenged in two ways:

• in the pre-trial procedure;
• in court.

The pre-trial appeal procedure is an effective way of protection in the event that the VLK did not take into account certain diagnoses (incomplete certification).

First of all, it is necessary to apply to the highest military medical commission with a written application. Depending on the level of the commission that adopted a conclusion with which you do not agree, you can appeal it to a higher court subordinated to the VLK according to the following hierarchy:

• Resolutions of the VLK of the district (city) territorial recruitment and social center (TCC and SP) are appealed in the regional VLK or VLK of the city. Kyiv;
• resolutions of the regional VLK (Kyiv city) TCC and SP, are appealed in the regular VLK (Central VLK or VLK of the region);
• Resolutions of the regional regional executive committee are appealed to the Central Executive Committee or in a court of law. Resolutions of the Central Committee of the Central Committee of Ukraine are challenged in court.

Based on the results of such consideration, the higher instance of the VLK may take the following actions:

• leave the application without satisfaction;
• to make a decision to conduct a repeat or control medical examination in order to finally resolve the issue of fitness for military service.

In order to challenge the resolutions of the VLK in the pre-trial procedure, the following documents must be submitted:

• an application for review of the resolution with a clear statement of the reasons for the disagreement (for example, an unaccounted for diagnosis, an error in the diagnosis, etc.);
• add to it all the necessary documents issued by the military medical commission;
• if available, add other documents that confirm your disagreement with the conclusion of the VLK (medical certificates, expert opinions, research protocols, etc.).

The judicial appeal procedure makes sense only when procedural violations have been committed, because the court in no case checks the established diagnoses and their plausibility and appropriateness. The court examines only the extent to which the procedure for carrying out VLC was in accordance with the legislation, without touching the medical part of the issue in any way.

It should be noted that the appeal in the court procedure takes place in the order of administrative proceedings through the district administrative courts, since the VLK are bodies of military administration that perform powerful administrative functions.

The law establishes clear deadlines for submitting an administrative claim to court:

• 3 months — if there has already been an appeal to the higher instance of the VLK: this period is counted from the date of delivery of the decision.
• 6 months – if there was no appeal in the pre-trial procedure: this period is counted from the moment when it became known about the violation of your rights (that is, from the date of the conclusion of the VLC).

The requirements for the statement of claim and the necessary annexes are submitted taking into account the requirements of Articles 160 and 161 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine (KASU). In particular, the statement of claim must necessarily contain the following:

• name of the administrative court to which the application is submitted;
• full name of the parties and their location (place of residence);
• the content of the disputed decision (resolution of the VLK);
• a statement of the circumstances on which the requirements are based;
• the claimant’s requirements and their justification;
• the list of documents attached to the application.

In addition, copies of the contested resolution of the VLK and documents confirming the circumstances on which the claims are based (for example, medical reports, certificates, etc.) must be attached to the application.

The main thing that must be remembered is that filing a lawsuit challenging the conclusion does not stop the effect of the conclusion of the VLK. Therefore, it is important to act as soon as possible and complete all documents properly in accordance with the requirements. In turn, the official authorities note that citizens who managed to receive a referral to the military medical commission by June 5, 2025, will be able to complete the medical examination and receive a new status without problems.

As for those with limited fitness who did not pass the re-inspection by June 5, 2025, they may be held administratively liable as persons who have violated military registration with all the consequences:

• a fine in the amount of 17,000 to 25,500 hryvnias
• automatic search.

Military registration document and travel abroad

Separately, we would like to draw your attention to the following question. When traveling abroad, does an adult child with a disability with a father who has a deferment need to have his military registration document?

The issue of crossing the state border during martial law has become one of the most regulated and at the same time difficult areas for men of military age in Ukraine. Especially many nuances arise in cases when several relatives try to cross the border at the same time — in particular, a father and his adult son with a disability. Even though both belong to the categories that have the right to postponement, the procedures for them remain clearly regulated and quite formal.

The situation looks like this: if the father has a deferment from mobilization due to the presence of an adult child with a disability, and the child himself is an adult man with an established disability, both of them must have properly issued military registration documents with up-to-date data on the grant of the deferment when crossing the state border. This is required for each of them separately.

The law of Ukraine directly obliges all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 to submit, among other things, a military registration document when crossing the border. This requirement is universal and does not contain any exceptions for persons with disabilities. That is, even in the case of having a certificate of a disabled person, medical certificates or other documents of a social nature, the fact of disability in itself does not release a person from the obligation to have a military registration document with properly prepared information about the deferment.

During control, the State Border Service has the authority to check a complete set of documents of every man who leaves Ukraine. If at least one of them does not have a military registration document or it does not contain current information about the postponement, the border guards have the legal right to refuse to cross the state border. In this case, no other certificate replaces the military registration document.

The key point here is the formal completeness of documents for each of those leaving, separately. The father’s benefit does not automatically “cover” his son, and the son’s benefit does not extend to the father without a separately documented basis. Each of them must go through their own procedure for obtaining a deferment, receive a corresponding confirmation from the military commissariat and update their military registration data. All this information must be entered into the central accounting system of the Ministry of Defense and displayed in electronic documents or in paper form. Therefore, the law does not contain exceptions for persons with disabilities.