 Winning the Paper Chase An Expat's Guide to Staying Legal By Scott LEWIS and Nazar KUDREVSKYY |
"May I see your documents, please?"
In any language and in any country, hearing those words from an official can cause the pulse to quicken. Even if everything is in order, a bureaucrat in search of a problem can usually find one, and offering a monetary solution to the "problem" has inherent risks. Though common, attempting to bribe a public official can make a situation considerably worse.
Foreign observers have been critical of Ukraine's notoriously vague laws, which appear to have been written to allow broad latitude in their interpretation. In such an ambiguous environment, expats who plan to stay in the country for more than a few weeks can find that getting legal and staying that way can be both frustrating and expensive.
The good old days
Believe it or not, the system may have been easier to understand just a few years ago. An invitation letter was necessary to obtain a visa. Upon arrival at Kyiv's Boryspil airport, most visitors were required to buy health insurance valid for the length of their planned stay in the arrivals hall before they were permitted to pass through immigration.
After leaving the airport, visitors had 72 hours to register their place of residence with OVIR, the Interior Ministry's visa and registration office. Hotels performed this task for guests, but those staying with friends or who rented apartments had to make the trip to OVIR themselves to register. Failing to meet the 72-hour registration deadline resulted in an Hr 85 fine, and failing to register at all could mean a delayed - and expensive - exit from the country.
Things began to change in May 2000, when Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko signed a cabinet resolution that eliminated the need for most visa applicants to acquire an invitation letter before being issued a visa. A government spokesman said at the time that, "the resolution demonstrates [Ukraine's] desire to adapt to Western procedures."
Months later, on July 1, 2001, in what was heralded as a major move toward the de-Sovietization of the nation's treatment of tourists and most other foreign travelers, President Leonid Kuchma decreed that registration with OVIR was no longer necessary. Lifting the 72-hour registration deadline allowed visitors to travel within the country freely without relinquishing passports to hotel desk clerks or standing in lines at bleak government offices instead of attending to more fruitful tourist or business duties.
In 2001, local media jumped the gun by reporting that the government had abandoned its requirement that foreigners carry medical insurance. The expected government resolution dropping the requirement never materialized, though. While the insurance counter at the airport has been closed for some time, most Westerners are still required to buy coverage while they are in Ukraine. Citizens of countries that have reciprocal insurance agreements with Ukraine are exempted from buying the insurance. That includes citizens of most Eastern European and former CIS countries and Great Britain.
Visitors that own the insurance get only the promise of basic protection. The policy covers the same ambulance and emergency medical attention that is provided to Ukrainian citizens for free. Not only does the insurance not include frills like medical evacuation flights, it doesn't include many of the basic services common to Western hospitals that are expensive extras here. Friends and colleagues are expected to buy and bring whatever medical supplies may be needed, and medical staff may not be especially interested in providing care unless gratuities are paid.
The new OVIR
Although visitors no longer are required to register with OVIR within 72 hours, they may still need to register. On arrival in Ukraine, border officials require that a paper immigration form be completed. The form shows the residence address in Ukraine, and is stamped, along with the traveler's passport, with the date and place of entry. The card must be surrendered to border officials when leaving the country.
For most short-stay tourists and business travelers, this system is much more convenient and feels much less intrusive than the old registration system. But visitors who travel from city to city within the country, or business travelers who stay more than six months may have to take additional action to remain within the letter of the law.
It's unlikely that a tourist who makes Kyiv the first stop on a Ukrainian itinerary and then goes to L'viv and Odessa before leaving the country would be hassled by a policeman in Odessa for not having registered there - but the possibility exists. Having registered an address in Kyiv on the immigration form and then left that address for another, the traveler is technically required to re-register in each city within ten days of arrival, according to the Interior Ministry.
Visitors here for six months or more are required to register with OVIR's successor agency, the VPRFO (an acronym for the Interior Ministry's Service for Citizenship, Immigration and Registration of Physical Persons). Leaving the country and re-entering triggers another six-month period, though, so expats living in Ukraine long-term can avoid registration by exiting the country for business or pleasure trips at least once every six months.
Registration
If a trip outside the country isn't feasible, expats must register at the VPRFO office in the district where they reside. The registration will be valid for six months, so long as the residence remains unchanged. An expat who registers at an address in Kyiv and subsequently moves to Yalta must re-register at the new address within ten days of arrival.
Although Westerners may find the idea of registering their whereabouts with the government somewhat offensive to their concept of liberty, Ukrainians generally consider registration a normal part of life. It's an outgrowth of the propiska system that was used during the Soviet era to restrict citizens' movement within the country. After independence, though the propiska system was officially abandoned, a new registration system was put in place that governed everything from where a citizen voted to where they could obtain health care. Though many Ukrainians have moved to the country's larger cities to find work, they continued to be registered in their hometowns unless they could afford to buy an apartment in the new city. Numerous obstacles, including taxation issues, made it difficult for people to register in a different city.
That began to change last January, when Kuchma signed a law guaranteeing Ukrainians and foreign residents the freedom to move freely within the country and to choose their place of residence. While the law brought the propiska era one step closer to a close, it did not abolish registration altogether. Under the law, all residents (citizens and foreigners alike) must register their residences with the Interior Ministry. (Ukrainian's do this through their local passport desk, foreigners through the VPRFO.) When changing residences within the country, the current registration must be cancelled and a new registration (along with documentation of the cancellation) must be initiated within ten days after arriving at the new residence address.
Expats who will be in the country longer than six months and who are unable to leave the country are required to register with VPRFO. Registration requires a copy of the passport's data and visa pages, a good-conduct certificate from the local police, passport-style photographs, a completed application and a letter from your landlord consenting to your residence at the address and payment of a small fee.
An Interior Ministry spokesman suggested that expats begin the registration process three days before the six-month period expires, but an American who recently registered found that several trips to VPRFO over slightly more than two weeks was required. He also warned that expats with poor Ukrainian language skills would be well advised to have a translator in tow.
Worth the hassle
Ukrainians and foreigners alike have a deservedly jaded outlook when it comes to Ukraine as a nation of laws, but all countries tend to take their immigration laws seriously and expect them to be respected. Jaywalking and speeding may be viewed as easy offenses to solve with a small gift, but overstaying a visa or neglecting to meet a registration requirement can be viewed as more serious infractions. They can lead, in extreme cases, to deportation, which can be hard on a career. Expats who expect an extended stay in the country may be well-advised to ensure that they scrupulously follow the law.
|
More in the section:
Maria Zankovetska. Two Roads of Overcoming
Sevastopol: A Port Apart
Read also previous issue' articles:
A heat wave in Ukraine
"The Spirit of Hollybush" Comes to Donetsk
The new wave of Labor Migration
Home Discoveries
Asserting dignity
New Public Health for the New Ukraine
|
| |
CONTACT US |
|
|
|
