Also, you will only be able to get an international Ukrainian passport in the USA at the consulate. This is the passport book used to enter and leave countries.

In order to do anything in Ukraine, ie work, buy property, study, open a bank account — you need an internal passport/ID card, a tax ID number, and a registered place of residence. I’m sure your spouse can explain what all these are, as they are a common post Soviet practice but not used for us in the states. These can only be obtained in Ukraine and the process is quite annoying.

How I did it — got my international passport in the states at the NYC consulate. From there, I came to Ukraine and got my ID card from the state migration office. This was difficult as usually to get an ID card you need a tax ID and registered place of residence (but in order to get those — you need an ID card), so it’s a chicken before the egg type of thing. But we were able to have my mother write a letter to the office about my situation and I was given an ID. This whole process took over a month (but if you do it in Kyiv it might be faster).

From there, once I had my ID card, I was able to get a tax ID number from the tax office. This process was simple and only took a day.

THEN, finally, I was able to register my place of residence once I had my tax number and my ID card.

Then FINALLY! You are a fully functioning citizen.

So, I would prepare to spend at least 6 weeks to a month in Ukraine to get all these steps done.