To renew a Ukrainian passport in the USA, you book an in-person appointment at the Ukrainian embassy or consulate general that covers your state, bring a set of identity and status documents, pay a consular fee by money order, and give fingerprints and a digital photo. The passport itself is manufactured in Ukraine and shipped back to the mission, so plan on three to four months at minimum, and longer if you factor in the wait for an appointment slot. Men aged 18 to 60 have an extra requirement that can block the whole process, so read the next section first.
If You Are a Man Aged 18 to 60, Check This First
Ukraine’s wartime mobilization law (No. 3633-IX), signed in April 2024, changed consular access for military-age men living abroad. Consulates will process a passport renewal for a man aged 18 to 60 only if he holds a valid, up-to-date military registration document. If your military records are not current, the consulate will not accept your application, no matter how complete the rest of your file is.
Contact the mission covering your state directly for guidance on updating your military registration from abroad before you do anything else. The requirement does not apply to women or to men outside the 18-to-60 range.
Which Mission Handles Your State
Passport renewals in the United States are handled only by the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C., and the three Consulates General. Applying at the wrong one gets your application rejected, so confirm your jurisdiction before booking.
- Embassy in Washington, D.C.: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Consulate General in New York: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- Consulate General in Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
- Consulate General in San Francisco: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Booking Through eConsul
Every renewal requires a pre-scheduled, in-person appointment. Walk-ins are not accepted. Appointments are booked through the eConsul electronic queue at e-consul.gov.ua, run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Logging in requires one of three digital verification methods: a Diia Signature created through the Diia mobile app, a qualified electronic signature, or BankID through a participating Ukrainian bank. For most Ukrainians in the United States, Diia is the practical choice. Even without a Ukrainian bank account, you can authorize through Diia using your biometric passport’s NFC chip: hold the passport against the back of your smartphone, let the app read the chip, and verify your identity with a photo. You then create a Diia Signature and use it to enter the eConsul queue.
If none of the electronic methods work for you, contact the consulate by email or phone. Staff can schedule outside the electronic queue, but they will first check whether you genuinely cannot use the digital system. Slots fill fast, and booking several months out is realistic.
Documents to Bring
Bring everything to your appointment. A missing document means rejection and another months-long wait for a new slot.
- Your current international passport, even if it has already expired.
- Your internal Ukrainian passport (booklet or ID card), if you still have one. It is not always required but bring it if available.
- Your birth certificate. If issued in Ukraine, bring the original. If issued abroad, it needs an apostille and a notarized Ukrainian translation.
- Your Ukrainian taxpayer identification number (identification code). If you never received one, the consulate can help you apply, but this adds time.
- Proof of legal U.S. status: Green Card, valid visa, I-94 arrival record, or similar.
- Name-change documents if applicable, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court decision. Your domestic passport or ID card should already reflect the new name before you apply for a new international passport.
- The application form for your consulate, downloaded from its website and filled out before your visit.
Some consulates also ask for a passport-sized photograph (35 mm by 45 mm, color, light background, taken within the past six months) on top of the digital photo taken at the appointment. Requirements vary between missions, so confirm with yours when you book.
What Happens at the Appointment
The visit covers two things: document verification and biometrics. A consular officer reviews your paperwork against the application form, checks that originals and copies are present, and confirms your identity. If anything is missing or filled out incorrectly, the application is rejected on the spot.
Once your documents pass, the consulate scans your fingerprints digitally and takes a high-resolution photograph for the passport’s embedded chip. Your biometric data and application are then transmitted to Ukraine, where the passport is produced. Fingerprinting is mandatory for the international passport, but children under 12 are exempt.
Fees and Payment
You pay the consular fee at the appointment. Fee amounts are set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and can change, so confirm the current amount with your consulate before you go. Ukrainian consulates in the United States typically accept money order only, made payable to the specific mission. Personal checks, cash, and credit cards are generally not accepted.
Some consulates also charge an additional service or administrative fee on top of the passport fee itself. Ask for the full cost breakdown when you book so you bring a money order for the correct amount. The wrong amount will delay your application.
How Long It Takes and How You Get the Passport
Because the passport is manufactured in Ukraine and shipped back to the consulate, the wait is longer than a domestic renewal. Ukrainian regulations set a processing standard of up to three months, but real timelines can stretch further due to shipping, wartime manufacturing constraints, and consular workload. Planning for three to four months is reasonable, and longer is possible.
The consulate notifies you when your passport arrives. Collection methods vary. Some missions let you leave a self-addressed, pre-paid envelope for return by registered or certified mail. Others require a second in-person visit to pick up the new passport and have the old one canceled. Confirm the collection method at your first appointment.
If your current passport expires while you wait, you may run into travel and identification problems, because an expired Ukrainian passport is considered invalid. Contact the consulate about your options if you have upcoming international travel.
Renewing a Child’s Passport
Ukrainian international passports for children under 16 are valid for four years, compared with ten years for anyone 16 and over. The process is similar with a few differences.
Both parents generally need to consent to the issuance of a child’s passport. If one parent cannot attend, notarized consent from the absent parent is typically required. Children under 12 do not need to appear in person for biometrics and are exempt from fingerprinting. Children 12 and older must attend in person for fingerprint scanning and a digital photograph.
Document requirements mirror those for adults: the child’s current passport, birth certificate, proof of Ukrainian citizenship, and proof of legal U.S. status. A parent or legal guardian completes and signs the application form. Rules for minors can be stricter about parental documentation, so confirm the specifics with your consulate.
Start Early and Keep Copies
Between the wait for an eConsul slot, the appointment, and the months-long manufacturing process, a renewal from the United States can easily take six months or more end to end. If your passport expires within the next year, begin now. Take photos of every document page on your phone before the appointment, because the consulate retains originals during processing in some cases and backup copies prevent problems if anything is lost.