Returning to Ukraine-controlled territory: checks, mobilisation, documents

• Entry check. Ukrainian border guards check belongings and documents thoroughly, sometimes the phone, and then the SBU carries out its own check. There is no published procedure or time limit. People have been held at the border, for example for having no relatives in Ukraine, and released after volunteers stepped in. Helping to Leave and Caritas Ukraine meet people at Domanove and help with the onward journey.
• Men. Under martial law men aged 18 to 22 may leave Ukraine; men of 23 and older liable for service only on specific grounds. Arrivals from occupied areas are registered for service at the enlistment office, the SBU or intelligence where they live. Online registration via Reserve+ works only the first time and with a biometric document. In August 2026 an Ombudsman representative reported men mobilised right after crossing the border and called it unlawful.
• Collaboration. Article 111-1 of Ukraine's Criminal Code punishes specific acts: working in occupation authorities, 'propaganda' and Russian standards in schools, serving in security bodies and 'courts', organising 'elections', business with the occupation authorities. A Russian passport alone is not a crime. According to the UN, 77% of verdicts are passed in absentia, and there is no right to a retrial after arrest.
• If you worked in occupation institutions, human rights groups advise talking to a lawyer before you enter. The UN says some people are convicted for work the occupier may lawfully require: for example, 5 years for two months in an occupation 'pension fund'. Free legal aid: state line 0 800 213 103; Right to Protection: 099 507 50 90, 068 507 50 90, 093 507 50 90 (Mon-Fri 8:00-21:00).
• Documents. A birth or death under occupation can be established by any local court in Ukraine in a special fast procedure. Passports are issued by the migration service; with few documents, identity is confirmed through a court or a video call with the migration service, which can take 1 to 6 years in hard cases. A return certificate only gives the right to enter; you then need to get a passport.
• IDP status. Register via Diia, an administrative services centre or social protection office. Living allowance: 2,000 hryvnias a month for an adult, 3,000 for a child or a person with a disability, granted for 6 months. It stops if you spend more than 30 days in a row or 60 days in six months abroad. The rules change often; the latest change was on 3 September 2026. The reintegration ministry no longer exists and its old guides are outdated.
• Property under occupation. Claims to the Council of Europe's Register of Damage for lost access to property (category A3.6) and forced displacement (A1.1) are filed via Diia. The register records damage for future compensation; there are no payouts yet.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: Criminal Code of Ukraine, art. 111-1; Law of Ukraine No. 4502-IX on citizenship; UN: human rights in Ukraine, 1 December 2025 - 31 May 2026 (report, PDF); ZMINA: collaboration case practice in 2025 (PDF) (undesirable); State Border Guard Service: men aged 18-22 may leave; Military registration procedure (Cabinet resolution No. 1487); Ministry of Defence of Ukraine: registration via Reserve+; Volynski Novyny: men mobilised right after the border (August 2026); Cabinet resolution No. 332 on IDP living allowance; Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, art. 317; Ukrainska Pravda: restoring documents after occupation (April 2026); Ombudsman and Right to Protection: guide (PDF, July 2025)