Travel ban for ”critically important Ukrainians”: who does it apply to?
A new bill has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that restricts travel abroad during martial law for persons who fail to meet military registration requirements, despite the existence of preferential reservations.
On November 14, a draft law “On the Procedure for Exiting Ukraine and Entering Ukraine for Citizens of Ukraine” appeared on the parliament’s website. It proposes introducing restrictions on citizens who have received reservations for the mobilization period in cases where the rules of military registration have been violated.
Deputy Oleksandr Fedienko from the Servant of the People party emphasized that the initiative aims to address the situation in which critical state employees are abroad but are still obligated to perform their duties in Ukraine. He noted that critically essential employees must be physically present in Ukraine.
The bill applies only to those persons who have received preferential reservations for 45 days and have not fulfilled the requirements of the legislation on military registration. Persons booked under the standard procedure can continue to travel abroad to perform official tasks, sign contracts, or deliver humanitarian aid.
The author of the bill, EU Party MP Iryna Friz, stressed that booking should not be used to avoid mobilization. She also noted that there is a risk of new schemes for traveling abroad based on preferential booking, since persons who have not updated their military data may use this loophole.
The bill does not provide for a complete ban on travel for all those booked. Its goal is to create mechanisms to prevent the abuse of the status of a critical worker in cases of violation of military registration.
Persons of draft age who are abroad must update their data at territorial recruitment centers. Without this process, they will face difficulties obtaining several essential documents.
