Photo: RBC
Ukraine’s new law on internally displaced persons (IDPs) establishes the circumstances under which displaced people can be removed from the official register, including cases where no application from the individual is required.
Article 10 of Law No. 4924-IX, “On Internally Displaced Persons,” sets out the grounds for deregistration. The law entered into force on October 22.
Removal at the individual’s request
An IDP can be removed from the register after submitting an application to:
End their registration as an internally displaced person;
Confirm their return to their previous place of residence;
Declare their departure abroad for permanent residence.
Removal without an application
The law also allows authorities to remove a person from the register without their request if:
They voluntarily return to their previous home but fail to report the return in time;
They move abroad for permanent residence;
They remain outside Ukraine for more than 90 consecutive days or more than 180 days cumulatively within a year;
They provide knowingly false information to obtain IDP status;
They receive a criminal conviction for crimes against national security or for justifying Russian aggression under Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code;
Safe and dignified conditions for returning have been restored in the area they left;
They die or are declared dead.
Exceptions will apply to people who remain abroad for valid reasons. The Cabinet of Ministers is expected to determine the list of acceptable reasons and the applicable time limits. It will also establish the procedure for determining when it is safe for displaced people to return home.
What does not qualify as grounds for removal?
Changing one’s registered address within Ukrainian-controlled territory does not, by itself, constitute grounds for removal from the IDP register if the person has not returned to their previous home.
The new law also introduces changes to the IDP registration system, which will eventually be maintained in a Unified Information Database. Certificates issued before the law took effect remain valid and do not need to be renewed.
Financial assistance may also change. The Verkhovna Rada’s Budget Committee has included recommendations for the government to increase monthly IDP living assistance by UAH 1,000 from 2027, bringing payments to UAH 3,000 for adults and UAH 4,000 for children and people with disabilities.
