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Following the full-scale invasion and until now, humanitarian organisations reported limited access to asylum for the citizens of Belarus and Russia, who faced barriers to renewing residency in Ukraine and risked deportation.[1]
An analysis of judicial practice conducted in 2025 in cases covering the period from 2022 to May 2025 concerning the inaction of the SMS (see Registration of the asylum application) indicates that the refusal to accept asylum applications is not limited to specific nationalities. In practice, the SMS refuses to accept applications without issuing a written decision, providing only oral refusals, in violation of the Law on Refugees and the Rules for the Consideration of Asylum Applications. The analysis of 92 court cases shows that oral refusals were recorded regarding applicants of various nationalities, including nationals of the Russian Federation (65 cases), Belarus (13 cases), Iraq, Tajikistan and Palestine (2 cases each), as well as Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the former USSR (1 case each).[2] This practice demonstrates that refusals to register asylum applications affect applicants irrespective of nationality, suggesting that the issue reflects a systemic practice of the SMS rather than differential treatment based on nationality.[3]
[1] US Department of State, 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, 12 April 2024, available here.
[2] An alysis of court practice in cases of inaction by the State Migration Service with the participation of beneficiaries of the Right to Protection Charitable Foundation, R2P, 2025.
[3] R2P observations, 2025.