On April 3, under certain conditions, male students were given the opportunity to cross the border during martial law.
"The new rules are already coming into force. Starting today, we will allow this category of men to pass, provided that they have all the necessary documents," said Andriy Demchuk, the spokesman of the DPSU.
The resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted on April 2 expanded the possibility of traveling abroad for male students. This was reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. According to the new rules, male students can go abroad if they:
- aged from 18 to 22 years and are not subject to conscription for military service during mobilization;
- study full-time in higher education institutions of Ukraine of state or communal ownership and obtain a bachelor's degree (if a master's degree, then in a medical, pharmaceutical or veterinary field);
- are participants in the "educational academic mobility" program, that is, they go abroad temporarily for study or internship in order to gain new knowledge and experience;
- plan to study in foreign educational institutions for no more than 1 semester.
The decree also requires students to provide the following documents for departure:
- certificate from the institution of higher education of Ukraine on the referral of the participant of the academic mobility program to study in a foreign educational institution with the indication;
- the grounds of cooperation, the duration of the academic semester abroad;
- absence of negative grades and facts of retaking tests and exams for the last two semesters;
- confirmation of the level of knowledge of the language of instruction in a foreign educational institution;
- a copy of the academic mobility agreement, certified by the educational institution of Ukraine;
- e-ticket of the student through the Diya portal;
- military registration documents with the appropriate markings of district, city TCC and social support.
In the fall of 2022, Ukrainian male students who had the opportunity to study at foreign universities witnessed difficulties with going abroad.
At the checkpoints, long queues formed of students who were not allowed to leave Ukraine, despite having all the necessary documents for studying abroad.
The border service explained its refusals by the fact that during martial law, all men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from traveling abroad, and students were not included in the category of exclusions provided by the law.
Officials recognized that training abroad became an excuse to avoid mobilization, so this option was discontinued.
At the same time, lawyers stressed that such a state of affairs could violate the right to education enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine.
During the martial law, there was no conscription into the army. According to the latest changes, from now on those who did not perform military service will be mobilized at the age of 25. It is also possible to voluntarily mobilize until the age of 25.
