Registration of foreigners is simplified; "propyska" system soon to be abolished (07/01/01)

Registration of foreigners is simplified; "propyska" system soon to be abolished

by Yarema A. Bachynsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - In a move that is sure to have many foreign visitors to Ukraine breathing a bit easier, a presidential decree published on June 20 has cancelled the practice of mandatory registration of foreign citizens who travel to Ukraine on business, tourist, private, service and other visas. All foreigners arriving in Ukraine from July 1, 2001, onward, are to be registered by the State Border Committee as they complete passport control formalities upon crossing the Ukrainian border at a port of entry (airport, railroad, motor vehicle border crossing, seaport and other points).

Before the decree was issued, foreign citizens traveling to Ukraine were required, in addition to passport control and customs formalities, to register within three days of their arrival in Ukraine at the Passport Registration and Migration Department of the county (raion) of their temporary residence (stay), commonly known as the OVIR. Hotel staff automatically registered foreigners staying at hotels, while all other visitors had to handle this matter on their own.

Police would often fine persons stopped for document checks, in particular at airport security zones, and the penalties would sometimes run into the hundreds of dollars, with people missing flights from Ukraine due to the absence of valid registration stamps. In many cases, a sum of money, preferably in hard currency, transferred directly to the accosting officers would resolve the problem on the spot.

The procedure of passport registration was time-consuming. It also contradicted Article 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which provides for freedom of movement and the free to choose one's place of residence within Ukraine. Parliament last year failed to adopt a bill offered by National Deputy Roman Zwarycz that would have abolished registration of foreigners.

Although the decree will save time for those foreigners traveling to Ukraine for brief periods of time, others - in particular those individuals who need to extend their visas while in Ukraine - will still need to visit their respective OVIR from time to time to complete applications for visa extensions. Furthermore, persons applying for permanent residence permits while in Ukraine will continue to apply through the OVIR.

Propyska on its way out as well

Apart from streamlining registration of foreigners, the presidential decree instructs the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to prepare, by October 1 of this year, proposals on abolishing the infamous "Propyska" system, a relic of Soviet law that requires all citizens of Ukraine to apply to the local communal services and housing authority (more commonly known as the "ZheK") when choosing or changing their legal place of residence within Ukraine.

Under this system, the ZheK places a stamp in the applicant's internal passport (the "Propyska"), which permits the individual in question to apply for the entire range of social and other services that were mainstays of the Soviet system and have survived into the present day. The crux of the matter is that the ZheK may grant a propyska only if the applicant can furnish evidence of a legal basis for him or her to reside in any given locality, such as being married to an individual with a propyska in a given locality.

"This requirement [the propyska] will now pass into history," said Viktor Kyryk, head of the Consular Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, at a briefing on June 20. "By the end of the year, the propyska will not be required, as it is against constitutionally guaranteed human rights," he added.

The range of state and private situations in which a propyska could legally be required (for example, by a potential employer of a job applicant) was narrowed following the adoption of the Constitution in June 1996. However, Ukrainian citizens continue to find it difficult if not impossible to open certain types of bank accounts, register with a local medical clinic (to receive constitutionally guaranteed free healthcare), or obtain other constitutionally mandated services without a current Propyska.

The decree's other provisions instructed the Cabinet to prepare a national migration policy program by August 1, to prepare the country for accession to the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol on the Status of Refugees, and to ensure, in conjunction with national and local authorities, that existing regulations are brought into line with the Constitution of Ukraine by December 1. Authorities have also been charged with conducting a public information campaign on citizens' rights and migration issues.

While the propyska may indeed be completely de-clawed over the coming months, it will be up to the Verkhovna Rada to formally abolish this Soviet relic by amending Ukrainian law. A number of bills to be reviewed by that body in the coming months would do just that.

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