During the war in Ukraine, many parents sent their children abroad, some of them accompanied by relatives or friends, and some of them left on their own. Read more about how the rules for independent travel of teenagers out of the country will change now

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The Verkhovna Rada has drafted a draft law №9480 to protect children's rights during temporary travel outside the country. Thus, parliamentarians want to limit the independent travel of teenagers abroad. Here's what will change.

According to the draft law, teenagers aged 16 to 18 will be able to cross the border:

- accompanied by one parent and with the consent of the other

- accompanied by an authorized person;

- in the case of an orphan or a child deprived of parental care, with the permission of the guardianship and custody authority, which will be granted in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Adolescents who have already reached the age of 18 will be able to cross the border on their own, unaccompanied by their parents or an authorized person. This will help to avoid cases when social services in the EU take young Ukrainians to special institutions.

Why did MPs decide to change the rules?

As of June, at least 240 cases of children being taken away from Ukrainian refugees have been recorded in European countries. This is mainly due to differences in legislation with Ukraine.

According to Iryna Suslova, a representative of the Ombudsman for Children, Family, Youth and Sports, children were taken away from Ukrainians, for example, when a mother was forced to stay at work in Ukraine and sent her grandmother and granddaughter to the evacuation. Because the grandmother does not have any power of attorney to represent her interests and is not considered a relative of the child under European law. Therefore, social services can involve the police and remove the child from the family.

"We are now working with international organizations to resolve this issue and to ensure that those who find themselves in this situation receive two things - legal aid and translation. Then, in order to represent their interests in court, they must have a lawyer and an interpreter," the ombudsman said.

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What to do if your child is taken away by EU social services?

If you sent your child abroad with a grandparent and your child was taken away by social service workers, contact the Ukrainian consulate in the host country.

This institution will be able to help you, as consulates are the official representatives of Ukraine in other countries.

Parents can also contact the Office of the Ombudsman. They assure that they take such issues under control and independently communicate with the consul and international partners to resolve this situation.

We remind you! During martial law, children can leave Ukraine accompanied by third parties. However, the State Border Guard Service clarifies that some of the rules for leaving have changed. You can find out what documents are required for minors to travel abroad here.

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