вторник, 6 мая 2014 г.

Visa rules in Ukraine

As amended on 07.03.2012
APPROVED
by the Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
as of 01 June 2011, No. 567

RULES
for Issuing Visas for Entrance into Ukraine and Transit through Its Territory

General part
1. The Rules regulate the procedure for issuing visas for foreigners and stateless persons for entrance into Ukraine and for transit through its territory, storage and mailing blanks of visa labels to authorized bodies, destruction of the blanks of visa labels, and issuing of a document entitling to cross the state border within local frontier traffic.

2. Definitions used in the Rules shall have the following meaning:

visa – a permit issued by the authorized body of Ukraine in a form specified by legislation, that is required for entering or transit passing through the territory of Ukraine within a certain period of time;

visa application – an application for obtaining a visa for entrance into Ukraine and transit through its territory, the form of which is approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

visa label – a coloured sticker that is attached to a visa page of a passport document;

document entitling crossing the state border within the local frontier traffic – a permit for a foreigner and stateless person to cross the state border and to stay within the territory of Ukraine according to international agreements of Ukraine on the local frontier traffic;

foreigner – a person who is not a Ukrainian citizen and is a citizen (national) of another state or states;

stateless person – a person who is not considered by any state as its citizen according to legislation of such a state;

passport document – a document issued by an authorized body of a foreign state or a statutory organization of the UN that confirms a citizenship of a foreigner, identifies him or identifies a stateless person, gives the right to enter or departure from the state and is acknowledged by Ukraine.

certificate of a foreign Ukrainian – a document that identifies that a person has the status of the foreign Ukrainian citizen according to the Law of Ukraine On Legal Status of Foreign Ukrainians;

hosting party – Ukrainian companies, institutions and organizations, representative offices (branches) of foreign companies, institutions and organizations, representative offices of international organizations registered according to law, and also private individuals (Ukrainian citizens, foreigners and stateless persons), who permanently live or temporary stay on the territory of Ukraine for studies, training, work or other legitimate reasons and invite or host foreigners and stateless persons;

family members of a foreigner or stateless person – spouse, minor children, including minor children of any of the spouses, parents unable to work and other persons who are considered family members according to legislation of a state of origin.

3. The authorized bodies authorized to issue a visa shall be the following:

diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine;

consular service department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the territory of Ukraine.

4. A decision on issuance of a visa is made for each foreigner and stateless person separately by an officer of the authorized body that is imposed with respective obligations according to a written decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

5. To obtain a visa foreigners and stateless persons shall submit, in person or by authorized representatives, the visa application and necessary documents to the diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine.


6. The consular service department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a visa at the state border checkpoint for foreigners and stateless persons who was unable to promptly obtain the visa at the diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine and have a reasonable cause to urgently enter into Ukraine, in particular:

1) with a diplomatic or business purpose petitioned  by the state bodies of Ukraine;

2) with a purpose of liquidation of results of disasters in Ukraine petitioned by the Ministry of Emergency Affairs;

3) with a purpose of urgent medical treatment or participation in family member funerals, which is confirmed by respective documents;

4) in case of necessary transit through the territory of Ukraine by crew members of foreign vessels being in Ukrainian ports provided that the extract from the vessel role is provided;

5) with a purpose of activation of cooperation in the cultural and sports spheres and protecting interests in the sphere of foreign policy or other spheres, which are vital for the society, or with humanitarian purposes. The procedure for entrance of foreigners and stateless persons into Ukraine with the said purpose is established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In cases specified in sub-clauses 1 – 3 and 5 of this clause visas are issued as one-time visas for up to 15 days, and in cases specified in sub-clause 4 of this clause – for up to 5 days.

7. Entrance visas for citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Mauritius Republic, El Salvador Republic, the Seychelles Republic, Turkey Republic for tourist purposes may be issued at the check-point on the border by the department of consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or by the representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the territory of Ukraine as one-time visas for up to 15 days, provided that the necessary documents confirming the tourist nature of their travel are available as prescribed by the Law of Ukraine On Tourism.

8. The department of consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues visas in cases specified by international treaties.

Registration, storage, use and destruction of forms of visa labels

9. Blanks of visa labels shall be strictly accountable documents and shall be delivered by the Banknote Printing and Minting Works of the National Bank of Ukraine to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by feldjäger service. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides blanks of visa labels to diplomatic missions or consulates of Ukraine by diplomatic mail service only.

10. The procedure for registration, storage, use, destruction of blanks of visa labels, reporting on issuance of visas for foreigners and stateless persons is determined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Types and kinds of visas, their validity terms, grounds for issuance

11. Depending on the purpose of the trip visas are divided into the following types respectively labelled with letters and a digital code (with Latin letters – in data processing zone).

1) transit visa (labelled with letter B, in the data processing zone – VB). This visa is issued for foreigners and stateless persons in case of their transit through the territory of Ukraine to a third country as well as in case of transit of goods and passengers by motor transport).

The transit visa is issued as one-time, two-times and multi-entrance visa for a period stipulated in the documents being a ground for the visa issuance, not longer, however, than up to one year, unless otherwise is prescribed by the international treaties of Ukraine. In this case the duration of stay on the territory of Ukraine during each transit through its territory shall not exceed five days.

The grounds for issuance of the transit visa shall be one of the following documents:

- document confirming transit nature of the trip (visa to a third country (if necessary), travel document, etc.);

- document confirming transit nature of goods and passengers transportation by motor transport;

- license for international transportation, issued by a relevant authorized state body of the state of stay;

2) short-term visa (labelled with letter C, in the data processing zone – VC). This visa is issued for foreigners and stateless persons for entrance into Ukraine if the term of their stay in Ukraine does not exceed 90 days within 180 days from the date of the first entrance.

The short-term visa is issued as one-time, two-times and multi-entrance visa for six months or for the period stipulated in documents being a ground for issuance of such a visa, but not longer than up to five years.

In case a foreign state issues visas for Ukrainian citizens for a period exceeding five years, then the validity term of the short-term visa for citizens of this state is determined be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs taking into account the reciprocity approach.

The ground for issuance of the short-term visa shall be one of the following documents:

- invitation of the hosting party in the specified form, issued by the local body or unit of the State Migration Service;

- invitation of a ministry, other central executive body, state institution, state company or state organization;

- contract on cargo and passengers transportation by motor transport as well as the license for international transportation;

- certificate of a foreign Ukrainian or his own statement supplemented with the results of the interview with a representative of the diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine and documents or testimonies confirming the Ukrainian ethnical origin or origin from Ukraine of the foreigner or stateless person, and a spouse of the foreign Ukrainian and his children, in case they all enter and stay on the territory of Ukraine, submit the application and document confirming their family relationship;

- document confirming tourist nature of the trip according to the Law of Ukraine On Tourism;

- invitation of a Ukrainian hospital;

- document confirming state registration of a foreign investment into economy of Ukraine in foreign currency at the amount of not less than USD 50 thousand;

- confirmation of the Commission on Humanitarian Aid under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine about an entrance of a foreigner or stateless person with the purpose of providing humanitarian aid or charity;

- invitation of a religious organization, agreed with a state body that registered the relevant religious organization, for a short-term stay with the purpose of propagating religious believes, performing religious ceremonies or other canonical activity;

- request of director of the foreign mass media organization to issue a visa for a foreign reporter or representative of the foreign mass media organization, who is entering Ukraine for a short-term stay within his professional responsibilities;

- request of state bodies of foreign countries or international organizations;

3) long-term visa (labelled with letter D, in the data processing zone – VD). This visa is issued for foreigners and stateless persons for entrance into Ukraine for the purpose of documents preparation authorizing staying or living in Ukraine for a period exceeding 90 days.

The long-term visa is issued by a diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine as one-time visa for 45 days, unless otherwise specified by the legislation, and if issued on the territory of Ukraine – by the department of consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs according to clause 8 of this Rules as one-time, two-times and multi-entrance visa for a period of up to three years.

The ground for issuance of the long-term visa shall be one of the following documents:

-  duly certified copy of a permit to use labour of a foreign or stateless person issued by the State Centre of Employment or by its order by the employment centres of the Autonomic Republic of Crimea, oblasts, Kyiv and Sevastopil Municipal Employment Centres (for foreigners employed by investors within scopes and positions (professions) determined by agreement on product distribution according to clause 2 article 35 of the Law of Ukraine On Agreements on Product Distribution, duly certified copies of the agreement on product distribution and an employment agreement (contract) indicating the position (profession) are to be submitted);

- copy of a decision on granting an immigration permit, issued by the local body or unit of the State Customs Service;

- permit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue the visa for family members of the person who is granted with the refugee status;

- original of an invitation for studies issued  in due form and in the period from November 15 to August 15 - petition of the Ministry of Youth and Sports about granting visa support;

- invitation of a state institution, enterprise or organization which is a recipient of an international technical assistance program;

- invitation of a religious organization that was agreed with a state body that carried out registration of a relevant religious organization, for a long-term stay with the purpose of propagating religious believes, performing religious ceremonies or other canonical activity;

- invitation of a branch office, department, representation office or another structural centre of a public (nongovernmental) institution of a foreign state, registered according to the established order;

- invitation of a representative office of a duly registered foreign commercial entity that is also agreed with the Ministry of Economy Development;

- invitation of a branch or representative office of a duly registered foreign bank;

- petition of a foreign mass media, agreed with the State Committee of Television and Radio;

- document that affirms the purpose of the trip, issued by the official body managing organization and holding of the final stage of Euro 2012 soccer championship in Ukraine according to the Law of Ukraine On Organization and Holding of the Final Stage of Euro 2012 Soccer Championship in Ukraine;

- reference note of state bodies of foreign states or international organizations regarding issuance of visas to employees of the diplomatic missions or consulates, international organizations and their representative offices, who enter into Ukraine for a long stay with the purpose of performing their service duties, and for their family members;

- invitation of the respective state body responsible for implementing cultural, educational, scientific, volunteer programs for participation in which a foreigner or stateless person enters Ukraine, or of a volunteer organization duly registered in Ukraine;

- document that affirms the fact of being married to a Ukrainian citizen (in cases the marriage between a Ukrainian citizen and the foreigner or stateless person is registered outside Ukraine according to the law of the foreign state the validity of this marriage is determined according to the Law of Ukraine On International Private Law);

- document that affirms the relation to family members of a foreigner or stateless person, who have a temporary or permanent residence certificate in Ukraine (documents issued by authorized bodies of a foreign state shall be legalized, unless otherwise specified by the law or by the international treaty of Ukraine, and shall be submitted along with a duly attested Ukrainian translation, and if such a possibility is not available – into the English language), copy of the relevant temporary or permanent residence certificate in Ukraine and the document in due form confirming the foreigner or stateless person has sufficient financial funds for supporting his family members in Ukraine;

- other documents as required by the international treaties of Ukraine.

12. The period of time the foreigner or stateless person can enter into and stay within Ukrainian territory shall be specified on the visa label.

The aggregate period of stay within the territory of Ukraine for foreigners and stateless persons holding transit or short-term visas shall not exceed 90 days within 180 days starting from the date of the first entrance.

13. A short-term visa is issued without submitting relevant invitations for the citizens of Australia, Albania, Guatemala, Malaysia, the Mexican United States, New Zealand, Panama, Singapore, Turkey and Croatia, except for the case envisaged by clause 7 of this Rules.

14. If necessary, an officer of the authorized body may invite a foreigner or stateless person applying for the visa for an additional interview and may require to submit additional documents specifying the purpose of the visit, in particular:

- documents that confirm booking and payment for accommodation and food in Ukraine;

- letter of guaranty issued by the hosting party about his/her commitment to cover all expenses pertinent to the foreigner’s or stateless person’s stay in Ukraine and his/her departure from its territory;

- other documents proving that the foreigner or stateless person has enough financial resources for the planned period of staying in Ukraine and for departure to the state of his/her origin or transit through the territory of  Ukraine to a third state or ability to receive enough financial resources in a legitimate way on the territory of Ukraine;

- documents allowing to determine the intent of the foreigner or stateless person to leave the territory of Ukraine before the expiration of the visa (tickets, bank statement, letter from the place of employment, existence of real estate or family relationship, etc.).

15. Foreigners and stateless persons shall submit their applications for obtaining short-term visas not earlier than three months before the planned trip.

Provided that the authorized body has the system of preliminary registration, the documents from the foreigners or stateless persons shall be accepted not later than within two weeks since the visa application has been submitted.

16. The authorized body makes its respective decision within 15 calendar days starting from the date of receiving a visa application, visa form and the documents required for issuance of the visa.

The term for consideration of the visa application may be prolonged for up to 30 calendar days if a further check of the documents submitted is required.

The procedure and terms for consideration of an urgent visa application is determined by the authorized body.

17.  For citizens of the states the list of which is agreed with the Administration of the State Border Service, State Customs Service and State Security Service is determined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and for stateless persons, who permanently live in the listed state, visas are issued by the diplomatic missions and consulates of Ukraine abroad in the states of temporary or permanent residency, and in case of absence of these missions and consulates – in any other state according to the zones of competence of diplomatic missions and consulates of Ukraine established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after a personal interview with the foreigner and stateless person and by consent of the State Security Service, except for the cases specified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The procedure of obtaining the consent is specified by the State Security Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

18. The authorized body shall ensure free access to visa application forms for foreigners and stateless persons.

A foreigner and stateless person submit a duly filled and signed visa form. An incapable person submits visa forms signed by his/her legal representative. Persons who are indicated in the passport document of the foreigner and stateless person, and who are following after with him/her shall submit a separate visa form. Visa forms of minors are submitted signed by either of the parents or by a legal representative.

19. A passport document shall comply with the following requirements:

- be valid for not less than three months after the declared date of departure from the territory of Ukraine. This requirement may be omitted provided that a reasonable explanation submitted;

- contain at least two empty pages;

- be issued not later than 10 years ago.

20. The authorized body checks up the following documents:

- visa form submitted within the term determined by paragraph 1 clause 15 of these Rules;

- valid passport document;

- two 3x4 centimetres photos;

- document affirming the payment of the consular duty, unless otherwise specified by the legislation and international treaties of Ukraine.

In case the documents specified in paragraph two – five of this clause has not been submitted, the visa application shall be left without consideration and the authorized body is obliged to immediately return to the foreigner or stateless person his/her visa form along with other documents as well as the consular duty.

A visa application that does not meet the requirements stipulated in this clause may be accepted for consideration for the sake of protecting national interests according to the procedure set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

21. In case of consideration of a visa application for a minor, existence of consent of one of the parents or legal representative and other necessary documents needed for independent departure of the said persons abroad or their departure together with either of the parents or legal representative should be additionally checked.

22. In case a visa application is rejected the foreigner and stateless person shall be entitled to submit another visa application in accordance with these Rules.

Visa Issue

23. Once a visa application is submitted personally by the foreigner and stateless person or by duly authorised person, the authorised body shall:

- accept the visa form and other documents, register and consider the visa application;

- adopt the decision regarding the visa issue;

- ensure filling of the visa label form and attaching it to the passport document;

- return the passport document with the attached visa label to the foreigner and stateless person or to the authorized person.

In case the visa application is rejected the visa form and the other documents submitted are not to be returned, except for the passport document. In this case the passport document is marked with a note about the visa application, date and a signature of the respective official.

In case a technical mistake is found, was made while filling in the visa label form and attaching it to the passport document, the visa shall be cancelled by crossing it out and marking it with the word “Cancelled”, date and a signature of the respective official.

24. The procedure of filling out the visa label is determined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

25. Information about foreigners and stateless persons, who were granted the visa or whose applications were rejected, shall be communicated to the Administration of the State Border Service according to the rules and within the terms established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Administration.

26. Visa forms and documents being a ground for issuance of visas shall be kept by the authorized body for five years and shall be destroyed according to the procedure determined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the said term has passed.

Consular duty

27. The issue of visas by a diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine is levied by the consular duty according to the following tariffs, unless otherwise is specified by the international treaties of Ukraine:

- one-time visa – USD 85;

- two-times visa – USD 130;

- multi-entrance visa – USD 200.

The consular duty at a doubled rate shall be paid for an urgent visa issue or for the issue during non-working time. The urgent visa issue shall be available at foreigners’ and stateless persons’ will, provided that the respective possibility is available.

In case a foreign state imposes a consular duty on Ukrainian citizens and the duty tariff exceeds the tariffs set forth in this clause, a diplomatic mission or consulate of Ukraine shall impose a consular duty on the citizens of such state according to the reciprocity principle and in accordance with the order established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In cases prescribed by clause 6 thereof, the Department of Consular Service or a representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the territory of Ukraine shall charge the consular duty at the amount of 70 personal tax-exempted minimums for visas issued at the check points of the state border, unless otherwise is specified by the international treaties of Ukraine.

The Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the territory of Ukraine levies a consular duty for visas issued for tourist purposes at border entrance check points for citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Mauritius, El Salvador, Seychelles and Turkey at the amount of 14 tax-free allowances of minimum incomes of the citizens of Ukraine, if otherwise is not foreseen by an international treaty of Ukraine.

In cases specified by clause 8 of this Rules the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs levies a consular duty for issued visas at the amount of 13 personal tax-exempted minimums, unless otherwise is specified the international treaties of Ukraine.

28. A zero consular duty tariff rate shall apply in case a visa is issued:

1) for children under six years old;

2) for foreign Ukrainians, provided that their foreign Ukrainian passports are provided, for married couples of foreign Ukrainians, their children in cases of their common entry and stay on the territory of Ukraine;

3) for persons entering Ukraine with business purposes and using their diplomatic or service passport;

4) for personnel of foreign diplomatic missions and consular institutions in Ukraine as well as for their family members;

5) for personnel of international organizations and their representative offices as well as for their family members;

6) for personnel of representative offices of member states of international organizations headquartered in Ukraine and enjoying diplomatic privileges and  immunity according to the statutory documents of these organizations or relevant international treaties, as well as for their family members;

7) for heads and members of official delegations of foreign states and persons accompanying them, who enter Ukraine on invitation of the President, Verhovna Rada of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

8) for persons carrying out functions of honorary consulars of Ukraine;

9) for persons entering Ukraine for providing humanitarian aid or carrying out charity provided that the respective confirmation of the Commission of Humanitarian Aid Affairs affiliated to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is provided;

10) for persons entering Ukraine for realization of international technical aid projects that are duly, on invitation of a state institution, enterprise or organization being a recipient of the said project;

11) for personnel of rescue services entering Ukraine for the purpose of relieving the consequences of emergency at request of the Ministry of Emergency Affairs;

12) for family members of persons granted with the refugee status in Ukraine;

13) for representatives of military formations and institutions entering Ukraine for professional purposes on invitation of the respective ministry, other central body of the executive authority;

14) for persons planning to enter Ukraine for up to a 2 year period before commencement of the final part of Euro 2012 soccer championship or up to one year after its completion with the purpose of organization and managing the final part of Euro 2012 soccer championship under a document issued by the body managing the final part of Euro 2012 soccer championship in Ukraine;

15) for other persons entering with the purpose of protecting interests in foreign policy or humanitarian matters, under a reasoned petition of the chief officer of the authorized body according to the Regulation On Consular Duty in Ukraine and provided that the respective endorsement of the Ministry of Finance is given.

29. The consular duty shall not be refunded if the visa application is rejected.

Grounds for rejection of visa application and
its cancellation

30. A decision to deny visa issuance shall be made in case of:

1) a necessity to ensure national safety and protection of the civil order;

2) a necessity to protect health, rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens and other persons residing in Ukraine;

3) there is information about a foreigner or stateless person in the database of persons whose entry to Ukraine is prohibited according to the legislation or they are temporary restricted to enter Ukraine;

4) the passport of a foreigner of stateless person is forged, defective or does not correspond to the due sample or belongs to another person;

5) false information or forged documents are intentionally submitted;

6) a foreigner or stateless person does not have a medical insurance policy provided that it can be obtained on the territory of the state where the visa application is submitted;

61) a foreigner or stateless person does not have sufficient financial founds for the period of the planned stay and for return to the state of origin or for transit to a third state or does not have an ability to legitimately get the sufficient financial founds in Ukraine;

7) a foreigner or stateless person does not confirm his/her purpose of stay in Ukraine;

8) a foreigner or stateless person does not have documents allowing to determine his/her intent to leave the territory of Ukraine before the expiration of the visa term;  

9) the applicant’s petition to cease consideration of his/her visa application.

Should visa application be rejected, a foreigner or stateless person shall be informed about the reasons of such a rejection. A form for the visa application rejection is set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A foreigner or stateless person whose visa applications has been rejected shall have the right to appeal against such rejection by addressing the director of the authorized body, responsible for consideration of the visa application, with the reasoned letter of appeal with due explanations and the petition for reconsideration of the visa application. The letter of appeal shall be submitted within two months after the rejection of the visa application is received.

In case a foreigner or stateless person files a petition to withdraw his/her visa application, the following decision on rejection of the visa application shall not be a subject for appeal.

31. A decision on rejection of the visa application is adopted by the authorized bodies that have adopted the decisions on visa issue.

32. A visa may be cancelled by the authorized officer of the State Border Service when a foreigner or stateless persons is under the border control in the following cases:

- a decision of the authorized state body of Ukraine to prohibit the entrance into Ukraine of the foreigner or stateless person;

- reasonable grounds exist to treat the visa as issued illegally.

A visa shall be cancelled during the foreigner’s or stateless person’s stay within the territory of Ukraine in the following cases:

- it was discovered that the foreigner or stateless person has submitted the passport document which is void or issued in the name of another person or that the other documents are forged or false information has been intentionally provided;

- there is an adopted decision on compulsory return or deportation of a foreigner or stateless person outside the territory of Ukraine.

Visa cancelation shall be made in the following cases:

- in cases listed in paragraph 5 of this clause, - by the authorized officers of the State Migration Services or the State Border Service;

- in cases listed in paragraph 6 of this clause, - by the authorized officers of the body that has adopted a decision on compelled return or that filed a suit on compelled  deportation, - after such decision is adopted by court.

321.  A decision on rejection of visa application can be appealed under the rules specified by the law.

Document authorized to cross the state border within the limits of the local frontier traffic

33. The document authorizing to cross the state border within the limits of the local frontier traffic (designated by the letters ДПК, in the data processing zone – VN), shall be issued by diplomatic missions or consulates of Ukraine, as defined by international agreements of Ukraine on the local frontier traffic according to the procedure set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on an A4 page with the visa label attached thereto. These documents shall contain all information prescribed by the agreements mentioned.


34. The consular duty shall be paid for issuance of the document entitling to cross the border within the limits of the local frontier traffic according to international agreements of Ukraine on the local frontier.

Marriage Registration in Ukraine.

Registration of marriages
If are going to get married with a Ukrainian woman or man, then please accept my sincere congratulation. However, please take into account that some paper work must be done before the wedding party. In general the process is not difficult yet problems do happen. Let me share with you my experience that I’ve obtained in this field not because of a number of my unsuccessful marriages (thanks God) but due to my professional occupation.

The main normative act regulating marriage registration in Ukraine is the Order of the Ministry of Justice, No. 52/2 as of 18.10.2000, On Approval of the Rules of the State Registration of Acts of Civil Status in Ukraine.

The first step on the way for getting married is…yes love but speaking about formal proceedings I mean… submission of the mutual application by the fiancé and fiancée. This application is submitted to a special body of the state registration of acts of civil status. Those who are going to get married must have heard about ZAGS (in the Russian language) or RAGS (in the Ukrainian language). This ZAGS/RAGS is nothing else as this special state body. Hereinafter I will use “ZAGS” as it is more commonly used among both locals and foreigners. You can freely choose and submit the application to any ZAGS throughout Ukraine disregarding a place you and your fiancée/fiancé are registered at.

The general rule is that both of you should submit the application to ZAGS personally. However, if you or your sweetheart cannot personally submit the application, then the one who cannot do so should visit a notary office and notarize his/her signature on the application and issue a notarized power of attorney (POA) authorizing someone to submit the application on his/her behalf. Actually not only one but both of the applicants can sign the application in a notary office and submit it through their representatives. This can be done also abroad but this variant requires legalization of the notarized signature and POA, if otherwise is not determined by law.

By submitting the application Ukrainian citizens should provide their passports. Foreigners should provide, if otherwise is not determined by law, an identification document containing a check proving their legitimate stay in Ukraine. This could be a visa, temporary or permanent residency certificate or a last stamp affixed by the customs service.

Those who have been previously married should provide a document certifying termination of that marriage. Such a document could be a certificate of marriage termination, court decision, death certificate, etc. Documents issued outside of Ukraine should be legalized, if otherwise is not determined by law.

If the foreigner’s identification document does not contain information about his marital status, then he should provide a document certifying that he is not married now. In case the ID contains the marital status check, the document certifying the marital status should be provided for the period from the date of that check. Such a document should be issued by a relevant body of the foreigner’s country. So it is impossible to tell a foreigner where to get such a document. However, consulates often issue such documents too. As you may have guessed already, this document needs to be legalized, if otherwise is not determined by law. This document is valid for 6 months and is not returned by ZAGS.

All documents prepared in a foreign language should be translated into the Ukrainian language by a qualified translator and notarized. The translation could also be certified by a diplomatic office or consulate of Ukraine or of the foreigner’s country, by a ministry of foreign affairs or another authorized body. However, it is better to translate and notarize the documents in Ukraine because in all of the other cases you will need to legalize them.

After the application and other documents are submitted, you will agree on the date of marriage registration that under the general rule cannot be sooner than in one month from the date of your application. However, having a reasonable excuse you and your soon-to-be-spouse can ask for an urgent marriage registration. There is no exhaustive list of such reasonable excuses. It can be pregnancy, business trip to another country, illness, etc. However it is not enough to say you have a reasonable excuse. You will need to prove it. Pregnancy or illness can be proved by a health certificate, business trip can be proved by the employer’s letter, etc. A ZAGS is free to decide at its own discretion whether your excuse is reasonable enough.

Remember that marriage registration is carried out only in personal presence of both fiancé and fiancée. This cannot be done via representatives. If the fiancé or/and fiancée cannot be personally present at the ZAGS because of a reasonable excuse, then you can ask for the ceremony to be performed outside. Requirements to the “reasonable excuse” are the same as mentioned above.

Recognition of foreign marriages
When you get married outside of Ukraine your marriage is not automatically recognized by Ukraine. To do so you have to provide ZAGS with a translated and legalized, if necessary, official document certifying marriage registration by the relevant state.

Proof of marriage
The marriage record is entered in the passports or identification documents of the spouses. When a foreigner also has the permanent residency certificate, then the marriage record is entered in this certificate as well. When you get married in Ukraine information about your marriage is recorded into a special register. You can go to a ZAGS and get an extract from this register proving your registered marriage. However, when you get married abroad and legalize your marriage information, then you marriage is not always recorded to the register by default. To be sure your marriage is added to the register you better go to a ZAGS with your legalized marriage certificate and make sure your marriage is either already there or a ZAGS officer will add your marriage to the register. It is not obligatory to have your marriage in that register. But I would advice you have it there because in the future it may make your life easier.

A few tips
Actually this is all.  However having some experience in this matter I would also suggest doing the following before going to a ZAGS:
(i) make copies of all documents you need and try to get texts of those documents you do not have for now;
(ii) take all documentation and texts available and visit a consultant in a ZAGS of your choice; and
(iii) make sure that your ZAGS is happy with the documents you have or that you will obtain.

The above 3 steps will minimize your time and money expenses. I had experience when:
·         a fiancé provided his translated and legalized dissolution judgment that in fact was a kind of another judgment. So he had to get another document in court, to legalize and translate it and then urgently mail it to Ukraine.
·         ZAGS officials refused to accept the dissolution judgment because at their opinion (in fact they were wrong) the provided document was merely an application for divorce. The problem was solved simply by applying to another ZAGS.
·         a marital status certificate contained the fiancé’s name in Ukrainian language that differed from the same name in other documents provided to ZAGS. The fiancé had to translate and notarize some documents one more time to have all the documents correspond with each other.
·         a letter from the fiancé’s employer was not good enough to prove the urgency of marriage registration. The fiancé had to ask his employer to issue another letter, the text of which was agreed with ZAGS, then to urgently mail it to Ukraine, translate and notarize it.
·         instead of legalizing a foreign marriage certificate a Ukrainian consulate certified its translation into the Ukrainian language. The fiancé had to visit the Ukrainian consulate one more time to have the consulate correct its mistake.

понедельник, 5 мая 2014 г.

Invitation Letter Preparation in Ukraine.

An invitation letter is a document needed for obtaining the short-term visa in case a foreigner is invited to come to Ukraine by a persons or legal entity being on the territory of Ukraine (hereinafter the “host”). To find out more about the issuance of the short-term visa please read the Rules for Issuing Visas for Entrance into Ukraine and Transit through Its Territory.

The invitation letter is prepared upon request of the host and below we will find out how to do this. Those who speak Ukrainian or Russian can just read the Rules of Preparation and Issuance of Invitation Letters to Foreigners and Stateless Persons for Obtaining the Visa for Entrance into Ukraine. Others may find useful to read this article further.

The first step in the process should be a submission of an application by the host to a territorial bodies (administration or chief administration of the migration service in the Autonomic Republic of Crimea, oblasts, Kiev and Sevastopol) or subdivisions of the State Migration Service (administrations, departments (sectors) of the migration service in districts, city districts, oblast or the Autonomic Republic of Crimea capitals) by his place of residence.

The application should be filled out with hand-printed or printed characters, in the Ukrainian language, without abbreviations, acronyms and corrections. The other documents should be submitted with the application are:
·         the passport (returned after being provided);
·         the permanent residence certificate (for hosts who are foreigners or stateless persons and permanently reside in Ukraine) (returned after being provided);
·         documents certifying the host studies, undergoes a training, works, etc. in Ukraine (for host who are foreigners or stateless persons and permanently reside in Ukraine);
·         a bank receipt certifying the payment of the state duty (as of now this is UAH 51);
·         a bank receipt certifying the payment of the fee for consideration of the application (as of now this is UAH 56.52);
·         a copy of the invitee’s passport or another identification document containing identification data. The copy should be translated into Ukrainian and duly certified.

The applications of foreigners or stateless persons temporarily residing in Ukraine should be approved by the management of schools, companies, etc. at which the hosts study, work, etc.

The package of documents is considered for up to 20 days however this term may be shortened to 10 working days for a payment of the double state duty. In case of successful consideration of the documents the invitation letter is granted and handed over to the host against his signature. Its validity term is 6 months.

In case of rejection of the application the host is notified by mail about the reasons of denial the invitation letter. Grounds for a refusal in granting the invitation letter are set forth by the Law of Ukraine On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons. After a rejection of the application it can be resubmitted in 6 months unless the reasons for the rejection do not exist anymore.


The host is responsible for financial provision of the invitee while he is in Ukraine as well as for the invitee’s departure from Ukraine.

Immigration to Ukraine by investing USD 10 th.

Anyone interested in a possibility of permanent residence in Ukraine heard about the option of “purchasing” this right but the insight does not go further. Taking into account the frequency foreigners ask about this option and its requirements it became clear that this procedure should be explained in details.

First of all, lets get a clear understanding of the terms. According to the Law of Ukraine On Immigration, the immigrant is a foreigner or stateless person who has obtained the immigration permit and has arrived into Ukraine for permanent residence, or this is a person who has obtained the immigration permit being in Ukraine on legitimate grounds and has perpetually stayed in Ukraine. So we see that a person has to obtain the immigration permit in Ukraine in order to be an immigrant.

The immigration permit is granted either within the immigration quota or over this quota. The immigration quota is a maximum number of foreigners and stateless persons to be granted the immigration permit in a certain year. According to the Law of Ukraine On Immigration, the immigration permit is granted within quotes (additionally to other groups of persons like scientists, art workers, etc.) to persons who invested in Ukraine not less than USD 100 thousand in a foreign convertible currency and duly registered this investment.

So we have just ascertained now that the current Ukrainian legislation provides for a possibility to obtain the right of permanent residency in Ukraine for foreigners and stateless persons who have invested in Ukraine not less than USD 100 thousand. However it should be kept in mind that a mere transfer of the money into Ukraine does not grant the Ukrainian permanent residency. This investment has to be duly registered and only after that an applicant can apply for the immigration permit.

It should be noted that according to the Law of Ukraine On Immigration, the immigration permit is not granted to:
·         persons convicted to imprisonment for a period longer than 1 year for actions that are recognized as crimes according to Ukrainian law or if a previous conviction is still valid;
·         persons who committed peace crimes, military crimes or humanity and peoples crimes, as they are determined by international law, or to persons who are wanted for serious crimes under Ukrainian laws, or who are under prosecution or investigation;
·         chronic alcoholics, inhalants addicts, drug addicts or those who have infectious diseases the list of which is determined by a central body of the executive authority responsible for health protection matters;
·         persons who deliberately stipulated false information in their immigration applications or submitted forged documents;
·         persons who are prohibited from entering into Ukraine by law;
·         other persons according to the legislation of Ukraine.

As you can see the list above is not exhaustive but it gives general understanding of other possible cases. For instance, if there is information that a person is a member of some terrorist organization, then this person could hardly obtain the immigration permit. Now lets proceed further with the immigration process in Ukraine.

The next crucial requirement is a duly registration of the investment made. This subject matter is quite intricate and thus it is better to study it separately. Further we will proceed assuming that an immigration permit applicant has already registered his/her investment and is ready to apply for the immigration permit.

As was have already explained above, the Ukrainian immigration permit, in our case, could be granted only within the immigration quota. The immigration quotas are determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for every administrative regional unit of the country annually, yet not later than March 1. In 2012 there are the following quotas for investors:
·         Zhytomyrska oblast – 2 persons;
·         Zakarpatska oblast – 5 persons;
·         Khersonska oblast – 2 persons;
·         Chernivetska oblast – 1 person;
·         Zaporizska, Ivano-Frankivska, Khmelnytska, Chernigivska oblasts, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Kyiv city – no limits;
·         for the other oblasts and Simferopol city – no quota for 2012 year.

But if there is some quota available, then the immigration permit application shall be submitted to:
(i) regional departments of the State Migration Service by persons temporary residing in Ukraine;
(ii) diplomatic institutions in a place of residence by persons who reside outside of Ukraine.

The applicant shall submit (together with the application) a copy of the document certifying the registration of the investment and also:
·         a copy of an identification document certifying the applicant’s citizenship or stateless status;
·         three 3.5 x 4.5 centimeters photos;
·         a document certifying the place of residence (in Ukraine and abroad);
·         documents proving information about the family members (birth certificates, marriage certificates, adoption, wardship and guardianship certificates, etc.);
·         a document issued by a medical institution certifying absence of diseases determined by the relevant state body. Persons permanently residing outside of Ukraine shall submit such a document that is issued by a medical institution of the state of their residence and is duly legalized, if otherwise is not determined by a relevant international treaty of Ukraine;
·         a statement, issued by a competent body of the state the applicant previously lived in or by its diplomatic office or consulate in Ukraine, certifying absence of conviction records (except for persons set forth in clauses 1 and 3 part 3 article 4 of the Law of Ukraine On Immigration). In exceptional cases such information may be obtained by the State Migration Service or its territorial bodies and units by officially requesting relevant bodies of the foreign state;
·         a receipt certifying the payment of the state duty or consular fee, if necessary, or a document that exempts from such payments.

If necessary, the relevant state bodies can ask for other documents that specify grounds for granting the immigration permit and they can also invite an applicant or other persons for an interview.

All documents issued by foreign countries have to be legalized, if otherwise is not determined by a relevant international treaty of Ukraine.

Copies of these documents, a written confirmation of immigration and guarantees made by the host persons, determined by clause 6 part 7 article 9 of the Law of Ukraine On Immigration, have to be notarized. The documents proving information that may be changed can be submitted within 6 months as of the date of their issuance.

Those who are granted with the immigration permit should, within its validity term, contact:
·         the foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine and apply for the immigration visa, if these persons reside outside of Ukraine, and within 5 working days submit the application to issue the permanent residency certificate to the regional department;
·         the regional department with the application to issue the permanent residency certificate, if these persons reside in Ukraine.

It is important that the applicant should personally contact the regional department at least once, i.e. applying for the immigration permit or for the permanent residency certificate.


The immigration permit is the ground for issuance of the immigration visa. The immigration visa is the ground for issuance of the permanent residency certificate.