Ukraine losing immigration appeal: permits issued drop from 16,000 to 2,800 per year

The chart of immigration permit issuances in Ukraine shows a sharp drop in foreigners’ interest in moving to the country.

This is reported by the online outlet Texty.org.ua, citing data from Ukraine’s State Migration Service.

Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine was slowly but steadily increasing the number of foreigners registered with the migration service. However, their share remained negligible — around 0.75% of Ukraine’s 40 million people.

Currently, the number of people registered has barely decreased, but the issuance of new immigration permits has dropped sharply. While in 2015–2019 Ukraine issued 14,000–16,000 permits annually (roughly 0.035–0.04% of the total population), in 2026 only around 2,800 were issued.

In addition, journalists at Texty.org.ua raised suspicions about the publication of inaccurate data.

“In the Migration Service data, the figure for the first quarter of 2026 repeats the figure for 2025. We suspect this is an ‘official typo,’ because the breakdown by men and women for 2025 and for the first quarter of 2026 is also identical,” the article states.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an outside adviser to the Office of the President, believes Ukraine will not be able to solve its labor shortage problem by attracting migrant workers, citing cultural differences as the reason.

According to the annual survey by the international sociological association Gallup International, an absolute majority of Ukrainian citizens — 63% — are convinced that Ukrainians moving abroad harms the country. The opposite view is held by 11% of respondents.