Ukrainian visas come glued into your passport.
Click here for a close-up and explanation of the visa from the Kyiv U.S. Embassy.
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Obtaining a Visa to Ukraine
***NEWS: Citizens of the following countries can now visit Ukraine without a visa for periods of up to 90 days over a 180 day period with a valid passport:
USA, Canada, Japan, EU nations, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Vatican, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Mongolia, Lithuania and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (except Turkmenistan).
Citizens of these countries can stay in Ukraine for up to 90 days within any 180 day period without a visa. For longer stays a visa will be required. Until recently there was no 180 day stipulation, which meant that foreigners could simply cross the Ukrainian border every 3 months and avoid getting a visa. Now, as of July 11, 2007 this is no longer possible (link to decree in Ukrainian). If you intend to stay in Ukraine for more than 3 months, you will have to get a visa. Entry Requirements to Ukraine for U.S. Citizens
(from the site of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv — also applicable to all countries listed above)
A passport valid for six months beyond the planned date of travel is required. According to Ukrainian Presidential Decree #1008 dated June 30, 2005 (with amendment dated August 18, 2005), U.S. citizens traveling to Ukraine on short-term tourist, business or private travel do not need a visa to enter Ukraine. Visas are still required of other categories of travelers including those who intend to study, reside, or work in Ukraine. Short-term travelers entering Ukraine under the auspices of this decree can stay in Ukraine up to 90 days... >>
However, you still must have a passport with you to enter Ukraine!
If You Still Must Get a Visa to Ukraine
You will still need to get a Ukrainian visa in the following cases:
- You are not from one of the countries listed at the top of the page
- You are from one of those countries, but plan to be in Ukraine longer than 3 months, regardless of the purpose of your journey
- You plan on working in Ukraine (i.e. get a work visa, register a business, or register as a private entrepreneur), regardless of the length of your visit
Getting a Ukrainian visa was never too difficult to begin with, and the past five years have seen new developments that have made it easier for foreigners to arrive in Ukraine:
- Foreigners are no longer required to go through the hassle of registering at the local OVIR (Department of Visas and Registration, also called VVIR in Ukrainian) within three days after arriving in Ukraine (More on this >>). Instead, they only need to register their passports if they are in the country for more than three months (six months for U.S. citizens).
- Invitation letters or any other supporting documents are no longer required for citizens of the United States, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Turkey, or citizens of the countries of the European Union (but an invitation letter never hurts).
- Now, citizens of many countries do not require a visa at all for visits to Ukraine of up to three months.
Where to get a Ukrainian visa
Visa descriptions and requirements can be found at the websites of Ukrainian consulates and embassies abroad. Plan to send in your visa application no less than three weeks before you plan to visit Ukraine, though you can pay more to get it done in three or four days' time. For U.S. citizens, which of the consulates (New York, Chicago, or San Francisco) or Embassy (D.C.) you send your passport and application to supposedly depends on which state you live in, but they will process applications from any state. If you do not reside in the United States, find a listing of Ukrainian embassies and consulates around the world here, or, if you speak Ukrainian or Russian, call the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs information bureau at (38-044) 238-17-37.
If you do not yet have a passport, getting one is your first step. Read all about U.S. passports at this U.S. Government page.
Note that you cannot get a Ukrainian visa in Ukraine, even if you have come to Ukraine without a visa as a citizen of one of the visa-free countries in the list at the top of this page. You must leave Ukraine and apply for a visa at any Ukrainian consulate abroad.  Ukraine visa application forms can be downloaded in PDF format at http://www.ukrconsul.org/visa/VISA.pdf or requested by mail.
Here is what you will need to mail to the embassy or consulate:
- your passport (original, not a copy)
- one completed application form printed or written in block letters in black ink
- a self-addressed prepaid express envelope. They accept only mail delivered by FedEx and Express Mail couriers, so don't send your application by regular mail. You'll need to enclose a self-addressed express envelope "prepaid by the account number" — whatever that means — for them to send your documents back to you.
- one recent passport-size color photograph
- a money order made out to the embassy or consulate for the sum shown on the websites (for example, $100 for 9-business day processing). This is called their "application fee."
- unless you are requesting a single-entry visa (which requires no additional payment), a second money order for the sum shown on the websites. This is called the "visa fee."
- if you are not a U.S., E.U., Canadian, or Japanese citizen, you will probably need a letter of invitation. Check with the Ukrainian consulate in your country or contact the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For a tourist visa you will need a letter of invitation from a travel agency that is registered in Ukraine. If you need one, you can contact my partners at a travel agency in Kyiv.
I personally do not know of U.S. citizens or Europeans being refused a visa. Read this interview on the subject with Ukraine's consul general in Washington, D.C. Citizens of these countries are offered visas for up to five years. Visa application pitfalls
As you can see the visa application procedure is really quite simple. Don't worry if you write "Kiev" instead of "Kyiv" or wrote your inviting party's address in cyrillic. Those things don't matter. However, it does matter that you have filled in the full name and address of your inviting party and that you have a temporary address in Ukraine. Failing to fill in these boxes can cause your application and passport to be returned to you. I've heard of this happening.
Extending Ukrainian visas
Visas can be extended in Ukraine within 4-5 business days at the city OVIR (office of visas and registrations) — not the neighborhood OVIR. Apply for an extension no sooner than 4-5 days before your visa expires. You cannot change the category of visa and are not allowed multiple entries back into the country during the period your visa has been extended for. In other words, if you have a multi-entry visa and extend it in Ukraine, you will only be allowed one more exit from Ukraine. As soon as you leave the country, the visa becomes void.
Remember, you cannot get a new visa while in Ukraine — you can only extend your existing visa. You must leave Ukraine to get a new visa — at any Ukrainian consulate in any foreign country.
Hence, if you plan to make multiple trips out of the country during the period you want to extend your visa for, it would make more sense to receive a new visa during your next trip abroad or even make a special trip to get the visa (to Krakow or Budapest, for example) rather than extend your current visa.
I know firsthand that the workers at the Krakow, Poland consulate are cooperative and will have the visa done within a few hours if you visit them in person. There are almost never lines, but be the first to be waiting at the door in the morning!
- Read about passport registration requirements |
