Passport application forms (Form 1) are an important and very often indispensable source both for researching family history and for collecting documents within the process of confirming nationality.
In Ukraine, the oldest preserved forms date back to the passport reform of 1974. During this period, passports were exchanged, and citizens of the USSR received identity documents which they used until the dissolution of the state. The process of issuing Ukrainian passports began in 1994, so until and including 1993 Ukrainians used Soviet passports.
The passports themselves are not stored anywhere; that is, no archive of such documents exists. A passport is issued/printed in a single copy for each specific request for a specific person (passport exchange/loss, change of surname, etc.). Upon registration of a person’s death, their passport is confiscated by the civil registry office where the death is registered, and according to the law, the passport of the deceased is subject to destruction. Only the application forms are preserved – these are forms that individuals fill out by hand when submitting documents to obtain a passport.
What is their value?
Form 1 is a relatively small document, but it contains a significant amount of important information: nationality, date and place of birth, full names of parents, marital status, full name of spouse, date and place of marriage registration, place of residence registration, and a photograph. Very often, this form can reveal previously unknown information.
Where are they stored?
In Ukraine, all available passport application forms are stored by the State Migration Service, specifically in the Central Interregional Office of the State Migration Service in Kyiv and the Kyiv region (Kyiv, 4-A Berezniakivska Street), where they were transferred for centralized storage.
Forms from Donetsk region, Luhansk region, and Crimea were not transferred before 2014, so unfortunately, access to these documents is currently unavailable – they remain in the temporarily occupied territories. Documents from all other regions of Ukraine have been transferred to Kyiv.
How can you obtain them?
You can obtain a copy of a passport application form (Form 1) only for your direct relative – parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. Since these documents still fall under the scope of the Law on Personal Data Protection, it is necessary to confirm your family relationship with the person whose form you are requesting.
If you wish to obtain a form for a living relative, they must provide written consent for the transfer of their personal data. This consent must be attached to your request along with other documents.
If you wish to obtain a form for a deceased relative, you must attach a death certificate to your request. You must also provide a complete chain of documents proving the family relationship from you to the relative whose form you are requesting.
Passport issuance process began in 1974 and lasted for more than 10 years. It is important to consider that this was a lengthy process, as millions of people were exchanging passports, so it is always necessary to look at the year of death to determine whether the person could have received this passport. For example, if your grandfather died in 1975, there is a 99% chance that he did not manage to exchange his passport, and his form will not be held by the Migration Service. If your grandfather died in 1980, the chances of success are significantly higher.
We will be happy to assist you in preparing a proper request with a list of the necessary supporting documents for the Migration Service, or we can submit the request on your behalf under a notarized power of attorney.
