The Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a resolution allowing sailors to travel abroad for training and work during martial law. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers resolution No. 992 dated 2 September 2022 made the relevant changes to the Rules for Crossing the State Border by Ukrainian Citizens.
The State Border Service of Ukraine announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports. According to the statement, the changes stipulate the documents that sailors require to leave Ukraine, the period for which they can remain abroad, and the government agencies that can issue these documents.
In particular, the resolution sets separate requirements for the following categories of sailors:
- cadets traveling abroad for practical training on vessels flying the Ukrainian flag or foreign flags;
- persons traveling abroad to work as crew members of ships operating services to/from Ukrainian seaports;
- other persons going to work on sea vessels, inland navigation vessels as part of the crews of such vessels.
According to the Shipping Administration, people in the second and third categories must obtain "confirmation of receipt of copies of educational and qualification documents" from the Shipping Administration. Within two days of receiving the certified copies of these documents, the Shipping Administration is to issue a confirmation signed by the head or deputy head of the Shipping Administration. The confirmation must carry a seal or a qualified electronic signature.
As reported earlier, sailors can travel abroad only with the approval of military recruitment offices. According to some media reports, military recruitment offices have not yet received instructions on how to handle applications from sailors.
