On November 7, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted resolution No. 1160 regarding the implementation of an experimental project for obtaining consent from one of the parents for the temporary departure of a child under sixteen years old outside Ukraine, accompanied by the other parent, in the form of a statement formed through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services (Resolution 1160). Resolution 1160 introduces the possibility for one of the parents through the mobile app "Diia" to provide consent for the temporary departure of their child under sixteen years old outside Ukraine, accompanied by the other parent. The idea behind implementing this consent mechanism was its cost-free nature and speed compared to the traditional notarized consent process. Additionally, electronic consent cannot be lost or destroyed, unlike a paper document.
The procedure for granting consent through the "Diia" mobile app is considered to be as follows. After electronic identification and authentication of the parents in the "Diia" mobile app, each of them will be able to generate a statement granting consent for the temporary departure of their child under sixteen years old outside Ukraine, accompanied by the other parent (Consent). It is envisaged that each parent can provide Consent either on their own initiative or in response to a request from other parent intending to leave Ukraine with the child.
The Consent formed in the "Diia" mobile app includes all mandatory details provided for a document in paper form, including information about both parents and the child (surname, first name, patronymic, date of birth, passport details, taxpayer identification number, unique number in the Unified State Demographic Register, series and number of the child's birth certificate, as well as information about the destination country, duration of Consent, and the date of its issuance). All specified details of the Consent are certified by the Qualified Electronic Signature of the applicant, which is accessible through the functionality of the "Diia" mobile app. All details of the certified Consent are automatically verified in the relevant state registers. Subsequently, the signed Consent will be displayed in the "Diia" mobile app on the mobile devices of both parents, and officials of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine will be able to verify its validity by sending a request to the State Register of Civil Status Acts of citizens.
Currently, the development of the technical functionality for implementing the Consent mechanism, as introduced by Resolution 1160, is in progress. The full launch of the new service is planned to be completed by July 2024. As the project is experimental, the mechanism for granting Consent, stipulated by the Resolution 1160, is initially introduced for two years from the moment of creation the necessary technical functionality. Notably, Resolution 1160 does not impose restrictions on the subsequent use of the paper notarized form of Consent. Therefore, parents will retain the option to choose the format of Consent that is acceptable to them.
In essence, Resolution 1160 is a component of e-governance development in Ukraine, aimed at leveraging modern technologies to simplify the interaction of citizens with state authorities regarding the temporary departure of a child abroad if agreed by both parents.
For further information, please contact Asters' Partner Talina Kravtsova and Senior Associate Yuri Neklyaev.
