The European parliament approved visa waiver for Ukrainian citizens during its 6 April session. This means Ukrainian women will be able to visit Europe without visas.
The visa-free travel is expected to be accessible for Ukrainians from 11 June 2017.
Visa free entry to European Union for Ukrainians
The European parliament supported the decision to offer visa-free entry to citizens of Ukraine.
521 parliamentarians voted for the decision with 75 against it (36 abstained), Unian.net reported.
It means that citizens of Ukraine will be able to enter countries of the European Union without obtaining a visitor visa (except UK, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein). Tourists will be able to stay in Europe for up to 90 days within 180-day period.
However, on crossing of the border tourists will be required to present a return ticket back home, explain the goal of the visit, and have about 100 Euro per day to support themselves during the stay. They also need a travel insurance certificate.
In addition, visa-free entry is only available to holders of biometric passports, issued from 2015. Such passports include a security chip with data of an eye scan or fingerprints. Thus, they cannot be forged.
There are several more steps to go in the visa-free process for the country, but overall, this is the decision that was long awaited. Earlier this year Georgia, another country of the former USSR, has achieved the same status. Citizens of Georgia can already travel to EU without a visa.
Reaction by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Image: Facebook
What is required to enter EU on visa waiver?
- Biometric passport
- Money: 50-100 Euro per day, depending on the country
- Documents confirming the purpose of the visit and accommodation during the trip (hotel bookings, letter of confirmation from the host if staying with the family)
- Travel insurance
- Return ticket
- In case of traveling by car, compulsory insurance for the vehicle
How to get a biometric passport?
Passports are issued by local OVIR departments.
- A citizen only needs a local passport and ID code.
- If the person holds a valid non-biometric passport for overseas travel, she needs to present it when ordering the new document.
Details: https://ovir.org.ua/biometricheskiy-pasport
Commercial services offer faster processing of documentation to get the new biometric passport than the official OVIR departments. However, commercial companies charge substantially higher fees.
Citizens aged 16+ get passports valid for 10 years. Passports for kids under 16 are valid for 4 years.
Currently, 10,000 biometric passports are issued daily. Over 3 million of people already received them.
How much does it cost to get a new biometric passport in Ukraine?
The official OVIR charge is around 557 hryvnia (about USD $21) for standard processing time (20 business days).
Below are the prices charged by commercial services:
- 21 working days (about 1 calendar month): 1350 hryvnia (USD $50)
- 10 working days: 1690 hrn ($63)
- 5 business days (about 1 week): 1990 hrn ($74)
- 4 business days: 2190 hrn ($81)
- 3 business days: 2390 hrn ($88)
- 1 day: 3999 hrn ($148)
If the person wants to keep the old passport (to confirm the previous history of travel), it costs extra 150 hryvnia ($6).
How long citizens can spend in EU?
- 90 days in half a year (180 days)
- Trips can be made for purposes of visiting a family, participation in conferences, business, or as a tourist.
What steps are outstanding for the process to be completed?
- On 26 April the Committee of representatives of EU countries will vote to confirm the decision of the European parliament and include it on the agenda for the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
- On 11 May the Council of EU Ministers should approve it.
- 15 May: The President of the European Union (currently the representative of Malta) should sign it.
- 22 May: The decision is published in the EU bulletin.
- In 20 days from that date, the decision comes into power (11 June), KP.ua calculated.
The expected procedure should be completed, if everything goes as planned, by 11 June 2017. From that date onwards, if your Ukrainian girlfriend has a biometric passport, she can jump on the plane and fly to meet you in any European destination for a weekend.
With cheap flights from 5 Euro (it’s not a misprint), there is no more excuse not to jump on board and meet your beautiful future girlfriend from Ukraine today!
Check this week’s new ladies on Elenasmodels.com and you never know, in just a few weeks you could be having a coffee with a gorgeous woman in your favourite café around the corner.
Read also:
- Ukraine’s one step closer to visa-free entry to European Union
- Countries where women from Russia and Ukraine don’t need a visa
- 4 types of men who are successful in meeting Ukrainian women
- 58 questions to ask Russian and Ukrainian women when dating
Question: Let’s suppose I am bringing my Ukrainian girlfriend to US or Latin American country….which we will most likely not be able to find a direct flight…so she will need to change flights in a EU airport. ON some EU airports, it is necessary to pass through passport control in order to get to the gate for the next flight.
So in this case….Will she be required to present a return ticket back home, explain the goal of the visit, have about 100 Euro per day to support themselves during the stay and will she need travel insurance?
Edward,
Good question! Now you need to find someone who can answer it for you 😉
I do not think that will be the case as she will be in transit.
Robert is correct. Transit passengers will not be subjected to these qualifications, as they will never be leaving the transit area of the airport. The new rules are for individuals who will actually be staying in the given EU country.
So if my Ukrainian girlfriend wants to stay for three months I will have to give her 9000 euros? :p
Henk,
You can count. Did you use a calculator? 🙂
Some clever people could think of options like purchasing a ticket to stay a weekend for $100 as a cheaper option but lets do what’s right.
9,000 Euros is an incredible bargain when one is talking about their potential life partner. Besides, there is no requirement that the lady would have to SPEND 9,000 Euros, she just has to have it to show to the immigration officer. Set a mutually agreed upon budget with her in advance, and have her refund the difference to you upon her departure. Is this very small amount of money really such a concern when one is talking about their potential life mate? I really hope not…
David,
We are simply joking around here 🙂
But I would not recommend giving 9,000 Euro to a woman. It’s against our Terms of Use, please read them here.
It may be simpler to drive to her city and bring her back with you.