Registering your Passport in Ukraine
Ukrainian law requires foreigners to register their passports in Ukraine within 3 months of arrival (in the past 6 months for citizens of the United States and, possibly, a few other countries). Registration is valid for up to 6 months and can be extended. The purpose of registration is for the state to know your whereabouts, and to make sure there is a sponsor or inviting party who they can fine if you break immigration laws. In addition, you will need register your passport in order to register as a private entrepreneur or create any legal entities.
If you are not conducting business in Ukraine and leave the country every three months or less (six months for U.S. citizens), you do not need to register. Your most recent stamp of entry substitutes for registration and shows that you have been in the country less than the time period required for registration.
Crossing the Ukrainian border to avoid registration
To avoid having to register their passports, many foreigners in Ukraine simply make sure they leave Ukraine every three months (or six, if they are from the U.S.). Upon entering Ukraine you automatically receive a stamp in your passport that is a substitute for registration for a three or six month period. So, all you need to do to avoid registration is cross the border and get a new stamp in your passport. OVIR officers have said — and I personally have done this — that it is perfectly fine to go to an international border crossing (for example, between Lviv and Krakow, Uzhhorod and Kosice, or Chernivtsi and Suceava), cross by bus, car, bicycle, or by foot, and promptly re-enter the country a few minutes later from the other side (make sure you don't need a visa for the other country, though!). Your new entrance stamp allows you to be in the country another three months (or six months) without registering. Ask OVIR officers which registration period applies to citizens of your country. The registration period used to be three days (it still is in Russia)!
Where to begin registration
To begin the registration process, you will need to go to the local city office of the Department of Citizenship, Immigration and Registration (commonly called the OVIR, or "VVIR" if transcribed from Ukrainian) and pick up the necessary forms and review any additional registration requirements for your type of visa with OVIR officers. Always bring your passport with you when visiting the OVIR, as officers will always want to look at it, check your identity, and look at your visa type and border crossing dates.
I recommend starting the registration process no later than one week before the three month (or six month) period ends. Registration may require multiple visits to the OVIR, which may have visiting hours scattered throughout the week. Find out the address of your district or city OVIR office by calling the 09 information service (Ukrainian speaking).
If you are late registering, you will highly regret it! You will have to pay a fine and go through additional lengthy bureaucratic procedures, and then go through the registration process again from the start. Read more about this below.
Your passport registration will take up a whole page of your passport. It will show the registration period, the name of the inviting party, and your place of residence in Ukraine.
Registration requirements
The actual registration process can be time-consuming itself. The forms you will need depend on the type of your visa. If you have a private visa, you will only need forms for you and the person who invited you, or whose home you are living at. If you have a business or service visa, you will need a form for you, for the person whose home you are living at, and for the organization that invited you.
Employers who hire foreigners and obtain work permits for them usually take care of passport registration as well. In addition, there are services that will take care of all the formalities for you, saving you several visits to the OVIR and local utilities offices (the "ZHEK"). To register your passport with a private visa, you will need:
- 2 photos
- a copy of your passport (including the page with visa and the most recent entry stamp)
- the inviting person's passport
- your form and the inviting party's form
- a receipt of payment of the registration fee (probably 33 UAH, or $6.50 USD), which you can usually pay at a bank next to or inside the OVIR building
You will need to ask the officers at the OVIR the exact amount of the payment and where to make it. There will also be a minor bank processing fee of 5 UAH or less.
Confirm the above requirements with OVIR officers before bringing in your documents for registration. It is possible they may require additional documents, for example, a rental agreement or a stamp from the ZHEK (local residential utilities office) on the inviting party's application.
Stamp from the ZHEK
The purpose of this stamp is to confirm that the ZHEK is aware that someone else will be residing at that address. The ZHEK is responsible for utilities services and building maintenance, and also issuing passports for Ukrainian citizens and everything related to establishing residence in a certain location.
Trying to get through to the ZHEK may take several attempts and needs to be done by the owner of the apartment you are living at. The ZHEK may request to see "the foreigner" with his passport as well, and may or may not require the homeowner to fill out another form stating that you will be staying at their apartment through a certain date. The ZHEK needs to know the number of people living at the apartment in order to calculate the cost of utilities for the apartment. As a result, many homeowners aren't excited about having to register a foreigner (or any rentors) at the ZHEK office.
If you are in Ukraine on a business, service, or other kind of visas, in addition to the requirements listed above you will also need:
- a completed form from your inviting organization
- a copy (non-notarized is fine) of the organization or firm's government registration certificate (showing when and where the organization was registered and its legal address and official name)
- a copy (non-notarized is fine) of the organization or firm's Bureau of Statistics certificate (showing the organization's fields of activity)
IMPORTANT: The purpose of registration forms for the inviting parties is to make sure someone will pay for any infringements of immigration law and for your deportation, if the case may be. These parties do not necessarily have to be the same parties who invited you for your visa. They can technically be any organization or private person who is willing to take administrative responsibility for you while you are in Ukraine. You do not have to be working for the organization (which would require a work permit) or have business relations with them.
***ANNOUNCEMENT 10/24/2007***
A couple of different sources have said that have been told at the OVIR that they can get their passport registered in Ukraine without having a visa. This procedure essentially makes a visa completely superfluous. Check with your local city OVIR for details and whether or not this applies to your country of origin. Extending your registration
To extend your registration, you will need to repeat the whole process described above. There is no difference between getting your first registration and extending your registration. Start this process at least one week before your registration period runs out.
What happens if you fail to register on time in Ukraine
If you miss your mandatory registration date (3 or 6 months from your last entry into Ukraine, as stated above), you and your inviting party will have to pay a fine (currently 340-680 UAH for the foreigner and 0-840 UAH for the inviting party), even if you are just one day overdue. Technically you may be deported if you are way overdue or have been late to register more than once; however, in practice deportation is extremely rare.
If you are late for registration, you will need to go to the city OVIR along with your inviting party (private citizen whose home you are living at or inviting organization, as the case may be) and write a statement (by hand is fine) from each of you explaining the reason for your tardiness. The OVIR officers will take these statements and appoint a date for you and your inviting party to appear in "court" together. Most likely, the OVIR officer submits his own comments along with the statements, based on his conversations with you.
Your "trial" will likely consist of a few questions from the judge in his or her office. The judge will decide the size of the fine you are to pay. You will need to go to the nearest Sberkassa (state bank) and pay the fine, come back with the receipt, give it to the judge's secretary, and come back to pick up a copy of the court decision several days later. Then, with this document, you will need to go back to the OVIR and complete the regular passport registration procedure, with the court decision attached.
As you can see, resolving registration problems can take several weeks, so make sure you keep track of your registration period and either register or re-enter Ukraine within the time limit. Note as well that you will need the signature of the owner of the apartment you are staying at, so if the owner is abroad you may have problems! So, plan in advance. |
