How to get a temporary or permanent residence permit in Ukraine

Despite Ukraine’s deep economic crisis in 2014-2016 and its de-facto war with Russia, foreign nationals from all over the world, including US and EU countries, consider temporary or permanent residence in Ukraine with increasing interest.

Ukraine attracts foreigners with its huge economic potential, developed infrastructure, heartwarming people and, of course, the relatively low-cost living. Many foreigners see Ukraine as an attractive place for starting a business. Ukraine has relatively mild taxation for small and medium businesses and also lots of government programs for stimulating business activity in certain areas. Recently Ukraine has made great strides towards implementing e-government programs, and increasing the transparency of administrative services; however, many areas still need to be reformed.

Business opportunities in Ukraine exist in almost any sphere that you could think of: IT area, manufacturing, agriculture, marketing, advertising, and other services. As an employer you can benefit from Ukraine’s rich and underutilized labor pool, higher education is available to all citizens and education is compulsory here. At the same time, Ukraine is a desirable destination for global nomads who work remotely and can do their job wherever they choose, such as IT workers, designers, translators, consultants, copywriters, etc. Many of these foreigners can earn a good salary from serving Western clients and then take advantage of Ukraine’s low-cost living to enjoy comfortable lives here. Read about simplified procedure of TRP Issuance.

How Can Foreigners Stay in Ukraine Legally?

 

Citizens from a long list of countries can enter Ukraine without a visa: citizens of EU countries, the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Georgia, South Korea, Japan, and some other countries can stay in Ukraine for 90 days during six-month. In case of violation of this rule, a foreigner who overstays in Ukraine gets “illegal status” and thus can’t use government services, notaries and other official services. For example, foreigners who have overstayed their time in Ukraine cannot obtain a Ukrainian tax ID, get married, nor give a power of attorney to a lawyer. A foreigner who breaks the 90-day stay rule can also be fined (as per article 203 of the Code of Administrative Offences of Ukraine) or even be banned from entering Ukraine for 3 months to 3 years period. Of course, such inconveniences can considerably disrupt the business activity or the personal life of a foreigner who has been residing in Ukraine.

Official Employment in Ukraine

 

There are several ways for a foreigner to avoid such inconveniences and stay in Ukraine legally for a continuous period. The most common and transparent way is official employment in Ukraine. Any foreigner has a right to be employed in Ukraine if he or she obtains a work permit as per the legislation of Ukraine. After getting a work permit, a foreign citizen is eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit in Ukraine for 1 year (for the employed owners of a business in Ukraine the term may be up to 3 years) with the unlimited right to extend it (and the work permit also) each time.
Recently, the procedure of getting a work permit in Ukraine became easier to understand. The list of required documents no longer includes diplomas, criminal records clearance, and medical documents, making the permit easier to obtain. An employer now has the option to choose the term of a work permit’s validity (up to 1 year for “regular employees” and up to 3 years for owners of a business).

Being an Employee versus Registering One’s Own Business

 

Using employment at a company as a means of legalizing one’s stay in Ukraine does have certain risks. The foreigner is dependent on the employer and can lose the residency right in case of dismissal from the position. Conversely, using employment to legalize one’s stay in Ukraine is much easier and safer for foreigners who register their own business in Ukraine and become the director or a deputy director of their own company. Using this method, potential investors and foreigners who want to run a business in Ukraine (no matter how big or small) won’t have any problems maintaining a temporary residence in Ukraine for as long as they need. Moreover, such owners of the business can obtain temporary residence status for up to 3 years.

It’s worth noting that with the recent changes to work permit procedures, an employer in Ukraine now has relatively high expenses when employing foreign citizens as “regular employees”: the monthly salary of a foreign specialist has to be not less than 10 minimum salaries as per the legislation of Ukraine (currently it is 32,000 UAH or about $1,200) plus taxes calculated on this amount. At the same time, the owner of a business can have a minimum salary of 3,200 UAH (or about $120).

Family Reunification

 

Family reunification is also the reason for issuing a temporary residence permit. This can include reunification with one’s parents, a spouse who is Ukrainian and those who have already obtained permission to stay legally in Ukraine. For instance, if a foreigner has started a business in Ukraine, received a work permit and temporary residence permit, then all his family may join him and also acquire legal status in Ukraine without a need to obtain a work permit or some other legal basis for staying in Ukraine. For residence permits based on family reunification applicants need to apply for a D type visa and after that – for permanent residency in Ukraine. This is how family reunification works.
It is much easier to obtain residency if you have some family connection in Ukraine: for example, marriage to a Ukrainian, having a child who is a citizen of Ukraine or having relatives who are (were) Ukrainians or were born on the territory of Ukraine.
However, getting married to a Ukrainian citizen does not automatically grant you permanent residency: you need to prove that your marriage lasted for more than 2 years, otherwise you can only apply for a temporary residence permit.

Overseas or Foreign Ukrainian

 

Being an “Overseas(Foreign) Ukrainian” is another efficient mechanism that gives foreigners who identify themselves as Ukrainians, have a blood relationship with Ukrainians or someone who was born on the territory of modern Ukraine. This special status gives foreign citizens the right to get free of charge a long-term 5-year visa, an immigration permit and thus, apply for a permanent residence permit, work in Ukraine without obtaining a work permit and thus, apply for a temporary residence permit (Law of Ukraine No. 4381-VI On Foreign Ukrainians, Law of Ukraine No. 5067-VI On Employment of Population).

How to get residence permit in Ukraine?

 

Ukrainian legislation sets out the grounds for issuing a permanent (for life) residence permit. They include the following:
● Marriage with a citizen of Ukraine for more than 2 years
● Being a parent of a citizen of Ukraine
● Being a child of a citizen of Ukraine
● Being born on the territory of Ukraine

The aforementioned grounds are unconditional. But Ukrainian legislation also recognizes some grounds for issuing an immigration permit (and, therefore, a permanent residence permit) within the annual government-established quotas. These quotas are used in the following cases:

● Investors, who invest at least 100,000 USD in the Ukrainian economy are permitted to apply for an immigration permit and, thus, receive a permanent residence permit;
● Scientists and cultural activists, Ukraine is interested in;
● Brothers, sister, grandparents or grandchildren of Ukrainian citizens;
● Parents, spouses, and minors of immigrants to Ukraine;
● Highly-qualified specialists in high demand in Ukraine.

Additionally, Ukraine currently supports repatriation processes and provides possibilities for acquiring special status for those foreigners who used to be citizens of Ukraine in the past.

To acquire residency in Ukraine (temporary or permanent) foreign citizens need to obtain a D type visa at a Ukrainian consulate abroad. This is one of the steps for obtaining a residence permit. The cost of such a visa differs. It depends on your country and is based on the principle of reciprocity (i.e., the cost of visas in your country for Ukrainian citizens). Exceptions to this requirement include citizens of Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Russia, who do not need to obtain a D type visa for residency.

The good news is that obtaining a temporary or permanent residence permit provides you with almost the same scope of rights and duties that a Ukrainian citizen has. Those foreigners who obtain a permit may stay within the territory of Ukraine, leave and re-enter the country within the validity term of their permit, work, study, and obtain government services. But foreign citizens, willing to acquire legal status in Ukraine, need to remember that any violation of the laws of Ukraine related to the legal status of a foreigner (including overstaying in the country, providing of forged documents or false information) may result in forced expulsion from Ukraine and a ban on re-entering.