All Ukrainians, wherever they are — in Ukraine or abroad — can receive free legal advice. Such services are provided by the system of providing free legal aid. This is a state network of legal aid bureaus throughout Ukraine. Services are also provided by phone and online.
Online legal consultations
You can get a consultation online using social networks or messengers.
When advising Ukrainians, lawyers provide a clear step-by-step algorithm of actions. For example, a client who currently lives in Warsaw turned to lawyers of the BPD system via Telegram for help after the birth of her son. She was concerned about two questions: how to issue a Ukrainian birth certificate for her son and whether it was possible to receive birth assistance without returning to Ukraine. After all, with a baby and an older child, returning to her native Mykolaiv region, which is near the front, was impossible.
The lawyers explained what documents are needed, how to submit them remotely, and provided step-by-step instructions. Such support is not just legal advice, but real help for Ukrainians abroad to exercise their rights, even when they are far from home.
When consultation is not enough
Sometimes legal advice is only the first step, because to solve the problem, you need to go to court. This was the case with a woman who left occupied Mariupol for Estonia with her newborn daughter. Without Ukrainian documents and a birth certificate issued by the occupation authorities, she found herself in a situation of legal invisibility: she could not return to Ukraine, because they did not let her in at the border without confirming the child's citizenship. Lawyers from the BPD system prepared a statement to the court to establish the fact of birth in the occupied territory, which the court granted. Now the woman can receive a Ukrainian birth certificate for her daughter.
Another client has been in Poland with her son since the beginning of the invasion and needed help in collecting alimony arrears and continuing their payment after her son, who is studying at a university, comes of age. A lawyer cooperating with the BPD system filed two lawsuits with the court, which the court granted.
So how to get legal help from abroad
Legal advice
Anyone can get a consultation. This can be done in several ways — orally or in writing.
To communicate with a lawyer verbally, you need to:
- Call +38 (044) 363 10 41. This is a special number for calls from abroad - the cost of the call is according to the tariffs of your telecommunications operator.
- Call from the mobile app Telegram.
Lawyers are available on weekdays from 8:00 to 18:00 Kyiv time.
To receive written advice, write to:
- in private chat in Telegram
- In a private chat with Viber
- у Facebook (write a private message to the page)
- у Instagram (write a private message to the page).
Messages are processed on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00.
Assistance with going to court
In this case, we are talking about secondary legal aid. Certain categories of citizens can receive it free of charge, in particular, children, war veterans, family members of fallen Defenders of Ukraine, and people with low incomes. All categories can be viewed at Article 14 Law of Ukraine "On Free Legal Aid".
Applications for free secondary legal aid (BVLA) can also be submitted online - documents are signed with an electronic digital signature.
Read how to complete and send such an appeal in step-by-step instructions.