Deferral from military service

From May 18, 2024, a new procedure for receiving a deferment from military service came into effect, which became possible thanks to changes to Art. 23 of Law No. 3543. From now on, along with the implementation of Order No. 560, new rules have been established under which conscripts can receive a deferment. Let's take a closer look at these innovations.

Who is granted the right to postponement

According to the first part of Art. 23 of Law No. 3543, groups of persons who are subject to mobilization but have the right to postponement are defined. There are a total of 23 categories, which, in particular, include:

• Workers reserved for the period of mobilization or wartime.
• People with disabilities or those who are temporarily unable to do military service due to their health for a period of 6 to 12 months.
• Fathers or mothers of three or more children who have not reached the age of 18, provided that there are no alimony debts, if the amount of arrears exceeds the amount of payments for three months.
• Guardians, custodians, foster parents or educators who take care of a child with a disability under the age of 18.
• Persons who provide constant care for sick family members, in particular, a husband, wife, child or parents.

In addition, there are individual cases when certain categories of persons are also deferment from mobilization. These include students who obtain professional, professional pre-university or higher education on a full-time or dual education basis and increase their educational level in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 10 of the Law of Ukraine "On Education"; persons studying in a doctoral program or internship; scientific and pedagogical workers with a scientific degree who work at the main place of work in institutions of higher education, scientific institutions or organizations for at least 0.75 rate; women and men whose close relatives (husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother or sibling) died or went missing during the anti-terrorist operation or as a result of the armed conflict with the Russian Federation.

These cases are prescribed in the Law.

Documents to confirm the postponement

From May 18, 2024, the new military registration document (VOK) becomes the official document confirming the existence of a deferment (clause 1 of Order No. 559). At the same time, according to Clause 2 of Resolution No. 559, documents of the old model remain valid until they are replaced by a new VOK.

Clause 8 of Order No. 559 lists the necessary data that must be specified in the military registration document, including:

1. Results of a medical examination to determine fitness for military service.
2. Information on the availability of deferment from the draft or reservation during mobilization for conscripts and reservists.
3. Column 8 of the military registration document indicates the reason for the postponement, which must be confirmed by the relevant laws. Conscripts who have old military registration documents should check their relevance.

Part 7 of Art. 23 of Law No. 3543 stipulates that the verification of the grounds for postponement and its registration shall be carried out by the territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCC and SP).

The procedure for issuing a postponement

In order to receive a deferment, a conscript must apply to the TCC and SP, submitting an appropriate application and the necessary documents confirming his right to a deferment (clause 57 of Order No. 560). Appendix 5 to Order No. 560 contains a list of documents that must be submitted for various reasons for postponement.

Consideration of the application by the commission

Analysis of submitted documents and applications for compliance with legislation.

Checking the validity of the grounds for postponement. If necessary, ask the state authorities for additional information.

The Commission considers the application within 7 days from the moment of its receipt, however, this period may be extended if it is necessary to obtain additional data (clause 60 of Order No. 560).  After the decision on granting or refusing to grant a deferment is made, the conscript receives a notification, which can be sent by e-mail, regular mail or telephone.

If a deferment is granted, the conscript receives a corresponding certificate in the form specified in Appendix 6 to Order No. 560. In case of refusal to grant a deferment, the conscript has the right to appeal the commission's decision in court.

Extension of postponement

Postponement of conscription for military service during mobilization is granted for the period of validity of the reasons, but not longer than the period of mobilization established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine. As a rule, this period does not exceed 90 calendar days, although exceptions are provided for certain categories, such as for persons with disabilities or those whose close relatives died during the anti-terrorist operation or as a result of an armed conflict (clause 60 of Order No. 560).