The Rada aims to allow students under 24 to travel abroad: details of the draft law.

Ukrainians under the age of 24 who have deferments due to studying at foreign universities are apprehensive about returning to Ukraine, as explained by the members of parliament. They propose amending the laws to enhance the demographic situation.

https://focus.ua/voennye-novosti/686236-vyezd-za-granicu-studentam-chastichno-razreshat-peresekat-granicu-novosti-ukrainy2024-12-31 08:03:41

A group of people's deputies has initiated bill No. 12361, which addresses the permission for certain categories of conscripted men to travel abroad. If the bill is supported in the Verkhovna Rada, citizens who are students at foreign educational institutions as of 2025 will be allowed to travel. Furthermore, the text of the forthcoming regulatory act clearly specifies the documents required for crossing the border. The draft law, initiated by 21 deputies, is posted on the parliamentary portal.

Travel Abroad — Bill for Students Under 24

The text of bill No. 12361 indicates that amendments are planned to be made to four laws: "On Military Duty," "On the Procedure for Traveling Abroad," "On Martial Law," and "On Education." According to the deputies' proposal, the changes concern students at foreign educational institutions who are studying in full-time or dual forms. They will be allowed to travel abroad without hindrance while their deferment from basic military service is in effect (i.e., until the age of 24).

The parliamentarians outlined two additional conditions that will allow students under 24 to travel abroad:

the citizen enrolled in a foreign educational institution within one year after graduating from high school (that is, after obtaining a complete general secondary education) or after completing a technical school;
as of January 1, 2025, the citizen is already a student at a foreign educational institution.

What documents will be sufficient to cross the border if the above conditions are met:

a document confirming the fact of study (this can even be a student ID);
a military registration document in electronic or paper form.

In justifying their proposals, the deputies explained that they are concerned about Ukrainians under 18 and over 18 years old. They reminded that, on one hand, young people of non-draft age are being taken abroad to enroll in foreign universities. Moreover, there are already young men over 18 studying outside Ukraine. Both groups do not return home due to the risk that they will not be permitted to leave the country. As a result, connections with their homeland are lost, and the demographic situation worsens, which worries the politicians, prompting them to propose a solution to this issue.

Bill No. 12361 was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada on December 26 and must first be reviewed by the relevant committee on foreign policy and inter-parliamentary cooperation. Following this, it will be analyzed by other committees, and only then will the deputies' proposal likely be considered in the parliamentary chamber.

On the Facebook page of the head of the foreign policy committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Merezhko, there are currently no comments regarding the bill on students traveling abroad.

We remind you that on December 24, information surfaced from the 14th brigade of the National Guard about the possibility of mobilization for young men aged 18 and older: representatives of the command explained what happened.