Foreigners still face hassles in getting permits for residency.
New rules regarding foreigner residency could bring an end to the uncertain status of expatriates living in Ukraine. While experts agree this is a clear step in the right direction, the process of getting proper documentation remains as grueling as ever.
For years a lax application of the rules made life easy for foreigners residing in Ukraine. Many expats simply made border runs every three months or so, benefiting from the so-called 90-day rule. Technically, the rule only allows expats to stay for 90 days in any 180-day period, calculated from the date of first entry. But it was rarely enforced.
Then, in 2010, everything changed. Previous strategies to confuse border authorities stopped working. Foreigners found themselves facing fines or having to stay out of the country until a new period began.
Recently passed legislation, which came into force in the first half of 2012, provides a long-awaited framework for legalizing one’s stay in Ukraine. At present, the main options are a one-year residency permit or permanent residency. The permanent option requires establishment of a lasting tie to Ukraine, such as marriage with a local, ethnic roots or ownership of domestic property or a business.
The main option most foreigners are expected to pursue is temporary, one-year residency.
The main arguments for obtaining temporary residency in Ukraine include work and education. Here the innovation is that both ordinary workers and foreign employees of representative offices are seen as having the legal grounds to reside in Ukraine.
To become a resident, a person must first obtain a work permit, go abroad and obtain a type D visa.
Then they have 45 days (which can be extended by one month if the person has a valid reason) to obtain a temporary residency permit. If foreigners fail to do so, they fall under the 90-day rule as if the visa never happened, according to the Border Guard Service.
Meanwhile, new family reunification rules mean that the immediate family of an expat who needs to reside in Ukraine will no longer have to travel back and forth. The resident in Ukraine now has to provide proof that they can support their spouse and children. However, the law only requires a “document in due form” with no official amount specified, said Dina Bokatova from Kyiv office of international auditing, accounting and consulting giant Ernst & Young.
Not all the changes are positive, though.
For instance, foreigners trying to prolong their residency have to submit documents 15 days before expiration, rather than the three days previously required. They cannot travel abroad during this period, warned Scott Brown from the Frishberg & Partners law firm.
Overall, however, the new rules are a step in the right direction, Brown concluded.
“It makes the whole situation a little more structured,” he said.
Authorities seem to have good intentions, confirmed Anna Derevyanko, head of the European Business Association, which has many foreign members. But it is hard to say if any real progress has been made. “Between their desire and their actions, there is a big gap,” Derevyanko said. “Businesses don’t really see much improvement yet.”
In practice, getting one’s papers in order remains a challenge. Located in one of Kyiv’s shoddiest neighborhoods (Berezniakivska 4a), the residency office is confusing, crammed and hard to find.
Foreigners are sent from room to room, or told to come back another day under any pretext.
Adding injury to insult, obtaining a residency permit is conditional upon proof that the individual has insurance coverage that covers potential medical expenses for the period they are to reside in Ukraine. If upon arrival at the office the individual does not have such documentation, they are offered the option of purchasing a medical insurance package on the spot from a little-known insurance firm. It costs $100 or more for a year’s coverage. Foreigners are also forced to pay several small service fees and a duty totalling $10.
Complications arise from the fact that the new rules are not always known, particularly at offices located in the regions, warned Oksana Orlova, associate at the Kyiv office of international law group Salans.
Expats have told the Kyiv Post that they have been misinformed by Ukrainian officials about the procedures.
Overlap and unclear separation of responsibility between the various agencies involved is another source of confusion.
When asked by Kyiv Post to explain how the system works, a Border Guard Service spokesperson, speaking in surprisingly good English, repeatedly underscored that “all issues connected with residence are in the jurisdiction of the migration services.” However, it is the local registration office commonly referred to as OVIR in Russian that issues residency permits. It is a subdivision of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.
Those unwilling to jump through all the bureaucratic hoops can always try their luck at the borders. Guards usually pick out foreigners who overstay in Ukraine. But fines reaching up to Hr 850 (about $100) are both quicker and cheaper than the arduous visa and residency procedures. Violators risk being banned from re-entering the country, though such cases are rare in practice.
Moreover, there is no difference in penalties for foreigners overstaying a day or three years.
“Let’s agree that this is extremely unlikely, in practice,” the border service spokesperson said when asked what would happen to a foreigner who overstayed the limit by a year.
“But, hypothetically, the fine is the same,” she admitted.
Kyiv Post staff writer Jakub Parusinski can be reached at [email protected].
