One can enter the territory of our country on various grounds, but it is necessary to have a visa for citizens of most countries.
Visa types
There are three types of Ukrainian visa:
- Transit visa (marked by letter B);
- Short-term visa (marked by letter C);
- Long-term visa (marked by letter D).
Transit visa is issued to foreigners who stay in Ukraine only on their way to another country. This type of visa can be a single-entry, two-entry or multi-entry, but a person can stay in Ukraine for up to 5 days.
Short-term visa is issued to foreigners for entering Ukraine if their stay in Ukraine does not exceed 90 days within a 180-days period. This visa type can be issued as single-entry, two-entry and multi-entry for a period of 6 months or a period indicated in documents necessary for obtaining a visa, but no longer than 5 years.
Long-term visa is issued to foreigners entering Ukraine in order to obtain a document allowing residency in Ukraine (over 90 days). For example, when you conclude a long-term employment contract and plan to work in our country, therefore a short-term three-month visa is definitely not enough for you.
Each Ukrainian visa type requires a different set of documents which a foreigner must submit with a visa application to the authorized bodies.
Refusals of entering the territory of Ukraine have become more frequent. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine often does not allow foreign citizens to enter Ukraine for tourist purposes. The State Border Guard Service explains its actions as the following:
- The type of the Ukrainian visa does not match the real purpose of stay in Ukraine;
- Foreign citizens cannot clearly explain the purpose of their stay in Ukraine;
- A foreigner does not know the tourist routes in Ukraine;
- The so-called ‘tourist’ does not know where and how to find the travel agency that has to meet them;
- A foreigner does not know the number and address of the travel agency.
There is a dozen of other questions that remain unanswered. This can easily become a trap for foreigners or may cause a refusal to enter the territory of Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the citizens who come from ‘countries with high migration risk’.
Invitations for foreigners to enter Ukraine
Let us discuss a short-term visa in detail, mainly, how to make the invitation to obtain it. This procedure seems to be simple but requires great scrutiny in preparing the documents.
The new visa rules for entering Ukraine have greatly simplified the process of preparing the invitation. Now there is no need in applying to Migration Service to get an invitation. The host party does not have so much paperwork as before.
Most often, foreigners use invitations to confirm the purpose of entering Ukraine while applying for a short-term visa. The foreigner has to choose an appropriate visa invitation depending on purpose of the trip. In practice, private invitations and business invitations are the most common. So, let us consider these types of invitations.
Both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners who have a residence permit in Ukraine can invite foreigners to Ukraine.
The private invitation shall contain personal data of hosting party, foreigner`s passport information, details of the planned stay in Ukraine. Such invitation shall be notarized and appended by copies of the hosting person’s passport or residence permit in Ukraine.
The business invitation shall be on an official letterhead containing the indication of the registration number of a legal person registered in Ukraine. Such invitation type shall contain company data, foreigner`s personal data as well as details of the planned stay in Ukraine.
Regardless of the invitation type, there shall be a confirmation that the hosting party obliges to cover all possible cost related to stay and departure from Ukraine of the invited person.
However, you should realize that applying all the necessary documents does not guarantee a successful obtaining of Ukrainian visa. As under the law, the authorized person of Ukrainian diplomatic mission abroad or visa centre has the right to request other documents confirming the purpose of the trip. Also, such a person may hold a personal interview. The official makes the decision on issuing a visa or refusal only after a comprehensive check of the foreigner’s identity.
We would like to emphasize that citizens of some countries do not require a visa.
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