Visa policy of Ukraine
Visitors to Ukraine must obtain a visa from one of the Ukrainian diplomatic missions or online unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.
Visa policy map
Visa exemption
Citizens of the following 5 countries can enter Ukraine without a visa for an indefinite stay.ID - May enter with a national ID card if arriving directly from Georgia
1 - must hold proof of sufficient funds on arrival.
Holders of passports of the following 74 jurisdictions can enter Ukraine without a visa for a stay up to 90 days within any 180 day period, except where otherwise noted.
1 - up to 30 days within any 60 day period.
2 - up to 14 days.
3 - until January 30, 2021.
4 - until January 31, 2021 and up to 30 days whithin any 180 day-period
ID - May enter with a national ID card in card format if arriving directly from Turkey
A - must hold proof of sufficient funds on arrival.
B - visa not required for service, tourist and private trips on conditions that documents certifying the purpose of the trip are provided.
Date of visa changes |
Visa free
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Ukraine signed visa waiver agreements with the Marshall Islands on 28 November 2019 and Grenada on 16 July 2020, but they are yet to be ratified.
Electronic visas
Ukraine introduced electronic visas on 4 April 2018. Visas are valid for tourism and business purposes for 30 days and cost USD 85. From 1 January 2019, electronic visas will also be available for the following purposes: treatment, activities in the field of culture, science, education, sports, in order to perform official duties of a foreign correspondent or representative of a foreign media.Nationalities eligible for e-Visas are as follows:
Visa on arrival
The visa-on-arrival facility was terminated on 1 January 2019. Previously, holders of passports of eligible countries could enter Ukraine by obtaining a visa on arrival at Kyiv Boryspil Airport, Kyiv International Airport and Odessa International Airport for a stay up to 15 days.Non-ordinary passports
Additionally, only holders of diplomatic or official/service passports of Cambodia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Laos, Morocco, Peru, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam and only diplomatic passports of India and Mexico do not require a visa for Ukraine.Ukraine signed a visa exemption agreement for diplomatic or official/service passports with Sri Lanka in September 2019, but it is yet to be ratified.
Crimea
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea was annexed by Russian Federation after its military intervention of 2014.On 4 June 2015, the Government of Ukraine has adopted the resolution No. 367 "About the statement of the Order of entrance on temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and departure from the territory". According to the document, entrance of foreigners and persons without citizenship on temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and departure from the territory is carried out through checkpoints according to passport documents and the special permission given by territorial authority, which, however, is not issued to regular visitors. Hence, most non-Ukrainians can only enter Crimea from Russia, whereby no border control is carried out and no trace of the entry left in the person's passport. Nevertheless, if somehow discovered doing this, such as by trying to enter "mainland" Ukraine from Crimea, Ukrainian law provides that tourists having entered Crimea from Russia can face an entry ban and/or imprisonment.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions are under de facto control of pro-Russian paramilitary forces, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. These parts of country are declared Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone. In November 2014, the Government of Ukraine imposed passport control on all persons entering or leaving this territory. Ukrainian citizens have to show their passports while foreigners also have to explain the purpose of their visit. Arrival through checkpoints on uncontrolled part of Russia–Ukraine border are against law, visitors will not be able to proceed further into Ukraine.Fingerprinting
Ukraine introduced biometric control at border crossings for nationals of the following 70 countries on 1 January 2018:Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Future plans
- Some Ukrainian government officials often express their confidence that introduction of visa regime with Russia is necessary.
- Ukrainian government considers the possibility of introducing visa regime with the United Kingdom. This was a reaction to the absurdly high level of denials of visas for Ukrainian citizens in 2017-2018. In 2005, Ukraine introduced visa-free regime for European Union as a whole, without specifying every country of the union, thereby British citizens will lose visa-free entry to Ukraine the moment when the United Kingdom leaves the EU. After Brexit, Ukrainian government is going to negotiate with British government the resumption of visa-free travels to Ukraine for British citizens in exchange for visa-free travels to UK for Ukrainian citizens, or at least an easier procedure of getting a visa.
- The MFA of Ukraine announced that it is possible that it will cancel visa-free regime for Israel as a reaction to frequent causeless denials of entry for Ukrainian citizens by Israeli border guards in Ben Gurion Airport, as well as systematic violations of rights of Ukrainian citizens in Israel.
Reciprocity
Visitor statistics
Most visitors arriving to Ukraine were from the following countries of nationality:Country | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
4,435,664 | 4,296,409 | 4,393,528 | 4,368,355 | 5,417,966 | |
2,727,645 | 1,822,261 | 1,891,518 | 1,592,935 | 3,353,652 | |
1,464,764 | 1,473,633 | 1,231,035 | 2,362,982 | 10,284,782 | |
1,144,249 | 1,195,163 | 1,156,011 | 1,123,945 | 1,259,209 | |
1,058,970 | 1,269,653 | 1,070,035 | 874,184 | 771,038 | |
791,116 | 774,585 | 763,228 | 584,774 | 877,234 | |
366,249 | 410,508 | 412,519 | 416,158 | 424,306 | |
270,695 | 199,618 | 140,691 | 116,302 | 151,706 | |
261,486 | 216,638 | 149,386 | 101,799 | 120,913 | |
209,447 | 171,118 | 154,498 | 131,244 | 253,318 | |
Total | 14,229,642 | 13,333,096 | 12,428,286 | 12,711,507 | 24,671,227 |