Ukrainian Police Certificate for UK Spouse Visa: Requirements and How to Get One

Do you need a Ukrainian police certificate for a UK spouse visa? Who must provide one, how to order it from the UK, and how long it stays valid.

Published September 16, 2026

A Ukrainian police certificate is one of the documents UK Visas and Immigration can ask for when you apply for a spouse visa, and it catches out many people who first arrived under the Ukraine schemes. This page explains when the certificate is required, how to order it from the UK, how long it stays valid, and what to do if the war makes it impossible to obtain. It also walks through the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, because most people applying for a spouse visa today are switching from one of those routes.

Does a UK spouse visa application require a Ukrainian police certificate?

Not as a listed mandatory document, which is the same position as other family visa routes. The Home Office guidance on criminal records checks for overseas applicants sets a mandatory certificate rule for specific work routes (for example Skilled Worker roles in health, education and social care), not for partner or spouse applications. UKVI can still ask for a Ukrainian police certificate mid-case if caseworkers need more information about your background.

UK police certificates for use abroad are issued by ACRO; that is a different document from a Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs extract. ACRO certificates cannot use the e-apostille route, so plan for paper legalisation only if a foreign authority asks.

Who exactly needs one: the 18+ and 12-month rule

The rule looks at your personal history, not your nationality. You count the last 10 years, flag every country where you lived for 12 months or more, and order a certificate from each of them, as long as you were 18 or older during that residence. Ukraine will be on the list for anyone who grew up there.

The list can be longer than people expect. If you spent a few years working in Poland or another European country before moving to the UK, that period can also cross the 12-month threshold, and a certificate from that country may be required alongside the Ukrainian one. Check your own timeline first.

Why this matters for people on the Ukraine schemes

Almost everyone reading this arrived in the UK on one of three routes: the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Ukraine Extension Scheme or the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. These routes are set out in the Immigration Rules Appendix Ukraine Scheme, and none of them asked for a foreign police certificate at the grant stage. A spouse visa is different, which is why the document suddenly appears in your paperwork when you switch routes.

Immediate family members: who the Ukraine Family Scheme covered

The Ukraine Family Scheme allowed immediate family members of British nationals and people settled in the UK to come to the UK, and it became the main route for relatives joining partners already living here. Eligibility focused on the family relationship to the sponsor rather than on employment or study. If you came to the UK this way and your relationship with a British citizen or settled person has since become a marriage or civil partnership, moving onto a spouse visa is the natural next step; the document checklist differs, so read the partner-route rules rather than assuming the Ukraine-scheme paperwork repeats.

The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE)

The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme exists for people already in the UK on one of the Ukraine schemes whose permission is running out. The process relies on digital identity checks: you confirm who you are using the UK Immigration: ID Check app, and your status is then held as an eVisa linked to your UKVI account. UPE does not, by itself, require a Ukrainian police certificate, which is why many applicants are surprised when the spouse visa route does.

Ukraine Family Scheme closure

The Ukraine Family Scheme has closed to new applications. People who already hold permission under it keep their status, but new applicants cannot join through it. For those already in the UK, the practical paths forward are an extension under UPE or, where the relationship qualifies, a switch onto a spouse visa with the full document set, including the police certificate.

Ukraine Extension Scheme closure

The Ukraine Extension Scheme, which originally allowed people already in the UK before the invasion to regularise their stay, has also closed to new applications. Existing permission is unaffected. The same fork in the road applies: extend under UPE where eligible, or move onto a partner route and prepare for the criminal record check requirement.

Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme: who can apply and who can sponsor

The Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme matched Ukrainians with individual sponsors in the UK who offered them a home. The sponsor had to be a named person or organisation in the UK willing to provide accommodation for at least the initial period, and the scheme remains the route through which many people first arrived. If your current permission comes from Homes for Ukraine and you have since married a British citizen, your spouse visa application will be assessed on the partner route requirements, police certificate included.

Sponsoring children under 18

Sponsors under Homes for Ukraine could also host children, subject to additional safeguarding checks and arrangements for their care and schooling. For a spouse visa, children may be included as dependants on the parent’s application, and the criminal record check rule applies to each dependant aged 18 or over in their own right. Younger children do not order police certificates.

Proving your identity: passports, the app and the eVisa

For most Ukraine scheme applications, identity is confirmed digitally. You scan your Ukrainian international passport with the UK Immigration: ID Check app, the data links to your UKVI account, and your permission appears as an eVisa rather than a physical document. Some applicants instead hold a Ukrainian national identity card (Passport card), and the schemes have allowed identity confirmation with that document where a passport is not available. Keep the app and your account access working, because you will need them again when you switch routes.

Applying without a valid passport

If you cannot use the UK Immigration: ID Check app, for example because your Ukrainian international passport has expired and you cannot renew it abroad, the process falls back to in-person checks. You book an appointment at a visa application centre (VAC), where your biometrics are taken and your identity documents are checked. Where a new grant is made for someone entering or re-entering the UK, a visa vignette is placed in the passport as the travel evidence before the eVisa takes over. Ukrainians holding a valid passport can rely on the app instead.

How long you can stay

Permission under the Ukraine schemes was granted in multi-year blocks, and UPE continues that pattern for those extending. A spouse visa is granted for an initial period, with further leave available afterwards and settlement further down the line, provided the relationship and the other requirements continue to be met. The police certificate requirement applies at the application stage, not for the whole duration of your stay.

Document translation requirements

UK Visas and Immigration works in English, so any supporting document in Ukrainian needs a full translation. The translation must be complete, covering every stamp and annotation, and it must be certified by the translator as accurate. A certified translation of your police certificate is not an optional extra: an uncertified translation is a common reason for follow-up requests from caseworkers.

How to order a Ukrainian police certificate from the UK

You do not need to fly home. Ukrainian criminal record certificates can be ordered through Ukrainian government online services or through a Ukrainian consulate in the UK, and the finished document can be delivered electronically or by post. The certificate must be no older than 6 months on the date you submit your spouse visa application.

Switching from UPE to a spouse visa inside the UK

Most people in this situation apply from inside the UK, moving from UPE onto the partner route without leaving the country. If UKVI requests a Ukrainian police certificate, you supply it whether you apply from inside or outside the UK; the location does not change the document itself. The identity process differs, since your biometrics and status are already held digitally through the UK Immigration: ID Check system and your UKVI account, but the document list does not shrink.

When war makes the certificate impossible

Some applicants genuinely cannot obtain the document: registries in occupied territories are destroyed or inaccessible, and some civil records infrastructure has been damaged. The Home Office policy anticipates this. An application can proceed with a satisfactory explanation in place of the certificate, supported where possible by evidence of why the document cannot be obtained. What is not an option is silence: without the certificate or a satisfactory explanation, the application will be refused. Write the explanation clearly, attach whatever proof you have, and do it before you submit rather than after a request arrives.

Police certificate rules elsewhere: useful context

The 18-plus and 12-months-in-10-years model is not unique to the partner route. Applicants under the Tier 2 (General) route working in health, education or social care have had to provide criminal record certificates from every country of residence of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 18, excluding the UK. The same consequence applies there: without the certificate or a satisfactory explanation, the application is refused.

ACRO police certificates are also recognised abroad: they are requested for visas and immigration to Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. ACRO also issues the International Child Protection Certificate, used for safeguarding checks. None of this changes your UK spouse visa paperwork.

Police certificate: spouse visa or Ukraine scheme extension?

It helps to know which route actually asks for what.

The short version: if you are staying in the Ukraine scheme system, you do not need to order a Ukrainian police certificate upfront. For a spouse visa, keep one ready if you lived in Ukraine, because UKVI can request it even though it is not a listed mandatory document.

Where to get legal advice and support

Immigration advice on a spouse visa application must come from a regulated adviser. The British Red Cross runs support services for people from Ukraine in the UK and can point you towards advice, and community organisations in many cities do the same. The British Red Cross is a sensible first call if you are unsure where to start, particularly if your case involves a missing certificate or a war-related explanation.

A worked example: from Homes for Ukraine to spouse visa

Situation: a 29-year-old nurse arrived in the UK in 2022 under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, lived with a sponsor for two years, and married a British citizen. Her permission under the scheme was approaching its end, and she wanted to switch to a spouse visa from inside the UK.

Steps: she checked her 10-year residence history and confirmed Ukraine was the only country past the 12-month mark. She ordered a Ukrainian criminal record certificate through the Ukrainian online service. She had the certificate translated and certified into English. She then submitted the in-country spouse visa application, confirming her identity digitally through the UK Immigration: ID Check app, since her Ukrainian international passport was still valid.

Result: the application went in with a certificate that was under 6 months old, a certified translation, and no gaps in the document set. No visa application centre visit was needed.

Document checklist for your application

• Your Ukrainian international passport, or your Ukrainian national identity card (Passport card) if the passport is unavailable.

• A Ukrainian police certificate issued no earlier than 6 months before your application date.

• A certified English translation of the certificate, covering every stamp and annotation.

• Police certificates from any other country where you lived 12 months or more in the last 10 years.

• Your marriage or civil partnership evidence, as the basis of the partner route.

• The financial evidence for the spouse visa, as set out in the current Home Office guidance.

Work through the list in that order.

This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Apostilles for UK public documents are issued exclusively by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Legalisation Office; this site is not affiliated with any government body. Please consult a qualified professional before making decisions.

FAQ

It is not on the standard mandatory document list for UK partner (spouse) visas, unlike some work routes. UK Visas and Immigration may still request a Ukrainian police certificate if it needs more background information, so keep a recent one ready if you lived in Ukraine.

The certificate must be issued no earlier than 6 months before the date you submit your spouse visa application.

With a valid Ukrainian international passport, you can confirm your identity through the UK Immigration: ID Check app instead of visiting a visa application centre in person.

Yes. Ukrainian government online services and Ukrainian consulates in the UK accept applications for criminal record certificates from people living abroad.

The Home Office can accept a satisfactory explanation instead of the certificate, for example evidence that registries in your area are destroyed or inaccessible. Without either one, the application will be refused.

Yes. UK Visas and Immigration reads documents in English, so a Ukrainian-language certificate must come with a full translation certified by the translator.

You submit the application online and confirm your identity with the UK Immigration: ID Check app, scanning your valid Ukrainian international passport. No visa application centre visit is needed in the normal case.

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