Certificate of return to Ukraine from the USA: the one-way document, $30 and up to 30 days
Checked against the official pages on 22 October 2026. How we check.
The certificate of return, the so-called white passport, proves your identity and citizenship and lets you enter Ukraine. It is issued when your identity document was lost or stolen, has expired or turned out to be invalid, or when you never had one (Embassy page, in Ukrainian).
How long it is valid
The consul sets the validity from your real chance of getting home, and it cannot exceed 30 days. If you fall ill or have an accident on the way, an office along your route can extend it by up to 30 more days.
The certificate is not biometric, so the Embassy recommends returning through Moldova or Turkey (Embassy page, in Ukrainian).
It is issued within one working day, or five at most, after you hand in everything and pay. If the office has to write to Ukraine to confirm who you are, it can take up to 30 days.
Booking the visit
The Embassy asks you to email it before you come, to agree on the date and time (Embassy page, in Ukrainian). Its FAQ also lists the certificate of return among the urgent cases you can raise by email with a description and supporting papers (Embassy FAQ, in Ukrainian).
New York’s page on the certificate of return, published in March 2023, still sends you to register at online.mfa.gov.ua, while its appointments page books every visit through e-Consul (sources: 1 in Ukrainian, 2 in Ukrainian).
The documents
The Embassy’s list (Embassy page, in Ukrainian):
- the application, filled out beforehand and handed in personally;
- a police report on the loss or theft, or the invalid passport with a copy;
- any document that proves your identity or Ukrainian citizenship, or saved copies of it;
- for a child under 16, the birth certificate, or the certificate of registration as a Ukrainian citizen if the child was born abroad, plus the papers of the parent who acts;
- two photos of 3.5 by 4.5 cm (the U.S. 2 by 2 inch size works);
- a money order for $30, with a copy; nothing for a child under 16.
| What | Embassy | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $30, free under 16 | $30, free under 16 |
| Photos | Two of 3.5 × 4.5 cm | One of 4 × 6 in and two of 2 × 2 in |
| Booking | Email first to agree on a time | Its page points to online.mfa.gov.ua |
New York’s figures come from its own page (New York page, in Ukrainian).
Men aged 18 to 60
This is the one passport document a man of military age can get without the Reserv+ e-military document (Embassy page, in Ukrainian).
It is also what the Embassy issues to a man who has just been registered as a Ukrainian citizen and cannot log in to Reserv+, so that he gets his passports in Ukraine (Embassy page, in Ukrainian).
- The completed application
- The police report or the invalid passport
- Any proof of identity or citizenship
- Two photos of 3.5 × 4.5 cm
- A money order for $30 (adults)