President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to work out the introduction of a mandatory exam for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship. This is how he responded to the petition, which gathered the necessary 25 000 signatures.
Zelensky noted that the issue of the mandatory exam will require legislative regulation. He reminded that in order to acquire citizenship, it is necessary to confirm the possession of the state language or its understanding in an amount sufficient for communication. However, it is the government that is responsible for the implementation of policy in the fields of education, the functioning of the state language, the implementation of state legal policy and the regulation of migration processes.
"Thatʼs why I turned to the Prime Minister of Ukraine D. Shmygal with a request to comprehensively work out the issue raised in the electronic petition," the President said.
Zelensky promises to inform the author of the petition about the results of the review.
- The petition was created on May 23. Its initiator Vitaliy Kapustyan asks to introduce a mandatory exam for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship, which should contain tests on the Ukrainian language, history of Ukraine, and a test on knowledge of the Constitution. The author suggests studying the national anthem.
- At the beginning of June, it became known that Russian journalist Oleksandr Nevzorov applied for Ukrainian citizenship. This caused discussions and outrage in society.
- There was also information that Russian oligarch Mykhailo Fridman wanted to obtain Ukrainian citizenship, but his consortium denied this.