The DESS approved the reservation procedure for clergy traveling abroad

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has introduced new rules of reservation from mobilization for clergymen who provide spiritual care for Ukrainians outside the country. The initiative is aimed at providing for the religious needs of Ukrainian citizens abroad during martial law.

According to the Institute for Religious Freedom, the relevant order was signed on April 1, 2026. The document supplements the existing reservation procedure with a new category of military personnel. We are talking about clergymen from organizations recognized as critical to the functioning of the economy and vital activities of the population, who are sent on official business trips abroad to perform divine services, rituals and preaching activities.

According to the new norms, a mandatory condition for obtaining a reservation is the clergyman’s permanent or temporary consular registration in Ukrainian diplomatic institutions abroad. The order also updates the regulations for submission of required documents, which defines a clear mechanism of interaction between religious centers and state authorities to confirm the status of seconded employees.

These changes are made in addition to the previously adopted orders of February and November 2025, systematizing the process of registration of clergy who perform important social and spiritual functions in a special period.

At the same time, it should be noted that the changes in the legislation will not affect the priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who are abroad for the purpose of pastoral care of Ukrainian citizens – IDPs. We shall remind you that earlier we reported that the State Service of Ukraine on Ethno-politics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) confirmed discrimination against UOC priests in the issue of reservation of clergy from mobilization.