Ukraine eases visas requirements for American and Canadian citizens (08/07/05)

Ukraine eases visas requirements for American and Canadian citizens

by Andrew Nynka

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The Ukrainian government has eased visa requirements for American and Canadian citizens traveling to Ukraine, while in a reciprocal move the United States announced it has eased visa fees for Ukrainian citizens traveling to the U.S.

Effective August 1, Canadian citizens traveling with a valid passport will not need a visa to enter or pass through Ukraine as long as their stay does not exceed 90 days, Ukraine announced in a statement posted on the website of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Toronto on July 29.

The statement said Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko made the announcement in a decree dated July 26. The move was meant to "develop and promote practical implementation of principles of partnership in the relations between Ukraine and Canada." It was also meant to simplify the process of traveling between both countries and "to foster bilateral contacts in all spheres of mutual relations."

However, Canadians who are traveling to Ukraine to study, work, immigrate or work with Canadian diplomatic or consular missions will still need a visa, the presidential decree said.

In a similar move, Ukraine also announced changes that would affect American citizens. Effective July 1, Americans can travel to or transit through Ukraine without a visa, but only if they are revisiting the country within six months of their initial trip, according to a statement dated June 30 and posted on the presidential website. In addition, in order to travel to Ukraine without a visa a U.S. citizen's trip cannot exceed 90 days.

However, U.S. citizens who enter Ukraine to work, live, study or work at U.S. diplomatic missions will be required to obtain visas.

Last year Ukraine issued 18,000 non-immigrant visas to Americans through the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York, according to Vice Consul Sergii Kulykov. Additionally, some 20,000 visas were issued to Americans at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, spokeswoman Iryna Bezverkha said. Visas to Americans can also be issued at Ukrainian consulates in San Francisco and Chicago as well as at all Ukrainian consulates throughout the world, though the exact number issued is not known.

Mr. Yushchenko's press office said the decision on easing visa requirements was aimed at "the development and practical realization of the principal of strategic partnership between Ukraine and the U.S."

The presidential decree also noted that the Cabinet of Ministers was instructed to ensure that the state budget would be compensated for the money lost as a result of the easements made to Ukraine's visa regime.

The decree noted that "the Cabinet of Ministers should set the compensation mechanism for the state budget of Ukraine and introduce other measures deriving from this decree."

In turn, the United States announced on July 8 that all non-immigrant visa issuance fees for Ukrainian citizens had been eliminated. However, Ukrainian applicants for non-immigrant visas will still be charged the Congressionally mandated $100 visa application fee, a statement posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said.

Ukrainian Deputy State Secretary Markian Lubkivskiy told a news conference in Kyiv on July 1 that the United States currently issues visas for five years, though he speculated that in the near future the U.S. could begin issuing visas for 10 years, the Ukrainian press service Ukrinform reported.

In 2003 the United States issued 21,932 non-immigrant visas to Ukrainians, according to the U.S. State Department.

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