Grod: UWC and National Unity Ministry develop joint approach to multiple citizenship bill

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and Ukraine’s National Unity Ministry have reached a joint position on the proposed law concerning multiple citizenship, UWC President Paul Grod said in an interview with Channel 5.

The statement follows remarks from Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for National Unity Oleksii Chernyshov, who confirmed that the law will be ready “by the end of the year” for a second and final vote.

Grod outlined three key recommendations: the introduction of a single class of citizenship, the establishment of security criteria to determine which foreign nationals can acquire Ukrainian citizenship, and the implementation of a mandatory exam on the Ukrainian language, history, and Constitution.

The concept of a “single class of citizenship” is critical, Grod said, as it ensures equal legal status for all Ukrainian citizens, regardless of whether they hold foreign citizenship.

“There is no division into two classes of citizens in democratic Western nations,” Grod said. “Such a concept is absent in both the European Union and North America, and the idea that some citizens would have different rights or responsibilities is unacceptable.”

He also said that introducing two classes of citizenship in Ukraine would contradict the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration goals.

UWC President Paul Grod and Andriy Shevchenko, Head of the UWC Mission in Ukraine, met with Oleksii Chernyshov on April 23.