Author
| Name in English | Number of staff | Ministry responsible | Is there any political interference possible by the responsible Minister with the decision making in individual cases by the first instance authority? |
| State Migration Service of Ukraine | 4,814 as of 31 December 2024 | Ministry of Internal Affairs | No |
Source: On approval of the Regulation on the State Migration Service of Ukraine, the official web portal of the Parliament of Ukraine, available in Ukrainian here. Statistical information, State Migration Service of Ukraine, April 2025.
The SMS was established in 2010 as a governmental institution coordinated by the MoI.[1] The SMS’s competence in asylum is part of a broader set of tasks, including various migration policy aspects. The SMS is a central executive body that implements state policy in the areas of migration, including combating irregular migration, citizenship, registration of individuals, refugees, and other categories of migrants prescribed by law.[2] In 2024, the SMS annual budget was set at 5,618,055,700 UAH (118,774,962 EUR).[3] The total number of people responsible for making decisions on asylum applications is 86 persons.
Regarding its internal structure, the SMS has different departments and units dealing with various tasks assigned by the Regulation to the SMS. The structure also includes the headquarters based in Kyiv and the territorial bodies of the SMS.[4] A territorial body of the SMS is a primary authority responsible for accepting and making decisions on asylum applications.[5]
Overall, the SMS has 23 territorial bodies.[6] However, only 12 of them accept asylum applications. Thus, in case a person resides in a region where a territorial body of the SMS does not accept asylum applications they have to apply to the neighbouring region. One territorial body of the SMS which accepts applications covers 1-3 regions. It is worth noting that the legislation does not require specifying a fixed number of branches that accept applications. Thus, it is the SMS that has anchored this function to a limited number of branches.
Considering the status of Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the EU, in 2023 the SMS and EUAA outlined the possible cooperation in awareness raising and workshops in the field of asylum. However, throughout 2024 and as of 15 February 2025, the SMS has not received any financial or legal support from the EUAA.[7]
Ukraine is one of the European Migration Network Observer Countries.[8] In 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine established the Coordination Centre for Cooperation with the European Migration Network as a temporary advisory body to support the functioning of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network in Ukraine. Its purpose is to facilitate coordination among state authorities in providing the EMN with up-to-date, objective, reliable, and comparable information on the migration situation in Ukraine.[9]
There is no separate unit/staff which would work on the quality assurances. However, the structure of the SMS and the flow of the asylum procedure inherently allow for regular quality checks through the review at the central SMS level of the draft assessments prepared by the regional MS asylum units.
Also, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been present in Ukraine since 1994 and plays a crucial role in supporting the government’s efforts to protect refugees and asylum seekers. Its mission includes advocacy for effective asylum systems, combating statelessness, ensuring protection for vulnerable individuals, and fostering local integration. Executive partners of the UNHCR, such as R2P, the Tenth of April, ROKADA and Neeka, play a pivotal role in various types of assistance to asylum seekers and refugees.
[1] SMS, General Information, available in Ukrainian here.
[2] Regulation on the State Migration Service of Ukraine.
[3] Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, Budget for 2024, available in Ukrainian here.
[4] SMS, Organisational structure, available in Ukrainian here.
[5] Section (II)(2.1) Rules for the Consideration of Applications.
[6] SMS, Territorial Bodies of the SMS, available in Ukrainian here.
[7] Information provided by the SMS, April 2025.
[8] European Commission, EMN Member and Observer Countries, available here.
[9] Resolution on EMN.