CrimeaSOS “legal hotline” specialists received 3,386 appeals

Since April 2022, specialists of the “CrimeaSOS legal hotline” have received 3,386 appeals from people affected by russia’s war against Ukraine.

The “legal hotline” is addressed with questions about affixing an apostille on official documents, in particular – remotely. The Ministry of Justice reminds that since March 23, 2023, on the territory of Ukraine, originals and notarized copies of documents issued by institutions of the former union republics of the USSR can not be affixed with an apostille.

“If you have a certificate of state registration of acts of civil status (birth, marriage, divorce, death, etc.) issued by the authorities of Ukraine in Soviet times, then you can put an apostille on this document only after you receive the certificate again in any department of state registration of acts of civil status in the controlled territory of Ukraine”, —in the Ministry of Justice explained.

At the same time, certificates issued by the authorities of the former union republics within the USSR, except for the Ukrainian SSR, are accepted for affixing an apostille only by the authorized authorities of these states.

Apostille is a special stamp certifying the validity of signatures, status of persons, seals, which makes these documents valid in all countries participating in the Hague Convention.

We shall remind you that CrimeaSOS lawyers can provide consultations to people who are in the occupied and controlled territories of Ukraine, as well as from abroad.

CrimeaSOS has a “hotline” for legal consultations at the numbers +380962240123 for calls within Ukraine and the world, +38 095 277 53 55 and +38 063 077 16 19 in Viber, Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp. Specialists accept calls from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends, you may send messages in messengers to the indicated numbers.