Old Soviet passports were deemed valid for a fairly long time after Ukraine declared independence: initially they were extended until July 1, 2002,45 and then until September 1, 2002, December 1, 2004, and January 1, 2005. But far from all residents of Ukraine exchanged their passports before the deadline of January 1, 2005. This was due to lack of knowledge about the process of exchanging passports and the consequences of living with an invalid former Soviet passport, the lack of desire to exchange a passport for ideological reasons, and so forth. Thus, people who did not exchange their Soviet passports prior to the date established by law found themselves on Ukrainian territory without a valid identity document and with nothing to confirm citizenship. Providing these people with legal assistance to obtain citizenship is extremely challenging because they can rarely prove that they were permanently residing in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991 or November 13, 1991 (they lost their Soviet passport, have no evidence of a residence permit). Without this written evidence, they must appeal to a court. Once they have a court ruling confirming the fact of their residence in Ukraine as of the abovementioned dates, then they can apply for a Ukrainian passport. In addition to applications to establish evidence of residence in Ukraine as of 1991, attorneys providing legal assistance to stateless persons must also submit in separate proceedings an application to establish identity and an application to establish the fact of birth and recognition of motherhood, since the possibility of exercising the right to citizenship also depends on these circumstances. A separate category of stateless persons who have a difficult time regulating their legal status are people who have historical and family ties to Ukraine and who want to acquire Ukrainian citizenship, but who previously lived in other countries (generally former Soviet countries) and have lost ties with these countries. These people have grounds for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship on the basis of territorial origin.46 However, they still must confirm the legality of their 45 Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 79 “On the Period of Validity of Passports Held by Ukrainian Citizens Issued Using Blank Passports of the Former Soviet Union,” http://search.ligazakon.ua/l_doc2.nsf/link1/KP020079.html 46 People who, prior to August 24, 1991, were born or permanently resided or had at least one parent, grandparent, sibling, half-sibling, child, or grandchild born or permanently residing on a territory that became a territory of Ukraine under the law “On the Legal Succession of Ukraine,” or who were born or permanently resided or had at least one parent, grandparent, sibling, half-sibling, child, or grandchild born or permanently residing on other territories that, at the time of their birth or permanent residence, were part of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the West Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Ukrainian State, the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, Transcarpathian Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and are stateless persons or foreign nationals who submitted an obligation to terminate foreign citizenship and who submitted an application to acquire Ukrainian citizenship and their minor children shall be registered as citizens of Ukraine. (Article 8 of Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine,” https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14/print). 28