Once again, the Ukrainian government has introduced amendments to the Ukrainian immigration rules. This time, the amendments are designed to decrease the volume of documents required for foreign work permits and temporary residency permits.

In relation to the foreign work permit rules, which are governed by Resolution No. 322 of the Cabinet of Ministers "On the Procedure of the Issuance, Prolongation of Validity Term and Annulment of Permits for the Use of the Labor of Foreigners and Stateless Persons", dated April 8, 2009, as of April 17, 2013 the Ukrainian government has removed the requirement to submit an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Natural Persons-Entrepreneurs along with a work permit application. Such extract was required to confirm the state registration of the work permit applicant and the authority of the applicant's representative/signatory.

On March 28, 2013, the Cabinet of Ministers' Resolution No. 185, dated March 13, 2013, came into force. Effectively, Resolution No. 185 simplified the document list required for applying for temporary residency in various cases. As of March 28, the following documents are required for applying for a temporary residency permit for foreigners who are legally employed in Ukraine:

  1. An application from the foreign citizen;
  2. The foreign citizen's passport with a visa type "D", unless otherwise provided by special legislation or an international agreement, and a copy of the passport pages with the foreign citizen's personal information and visa "D";
  3. A certified translation of the foreign citizen's passport pages into Ukrainian;
  4. A valid medical insurance policy;
  5. The foreign citizen's work permit (both original and a copy);
  6. A guarantee from the foreign citizen's employer to notify the State Immigration Service and the State Employment Center regarding the premature termination or termination of the labor agreement (contract) with the foreign citizen;
  7. The payment receipt of the state duty stamped by an authorized bank (or document which confirms exemption from payment of the state duty).

For those foreign citizens who are officially employed by a duly registered foreign representative office, the documents required for temporary residency are as follows:

  1. An application from the foreign citizen;
  2. The foreign citizen's passport with a visa type "D", unless otherwise provided by special legislation or an international agreement, and a copy of the passport pages with the foreign citizen's personal information and visa "D";
  3. A certified translation of the foreign citizen's passport pages into Ukrainian;
  4. A valid medical insurance policy;
  5. A written application from the representative office;
  6. A copy of the representative office's certificate of registration;
  7. The payment receipt of the state duty stamped by an authorized bank (or document which confirms exemption from payment of the state duty).

The list of documents required for submitting an application for the foreign citizen's dependents for purposes of reunification is as follows:

  1. An application from each dependent over 16 years of age;
  2. Each dependent's passport with a visa type "D", unless otherwise provided by special legislation or an international agreement, and a copy of the passport pages with the dependent's personal information and visa "D";
  3. A certified translation of each dependent's passport pages into Ukrainian;
  4. A valid medical insurance policy;
  5. The document which confirms family member status (e.g., marriage or birth certificate, etc.). This document must be duly legalized or certified by Apostille, depending on the country of issuance, unless otherwise provided by special legislation or an international agreement.
  6. The document confirming the foreign citizen's sufficient financial security to receive his or her family members to live in Ukraine;
  7. A copy of the foreign citizen's (principal's) temporary residency permit;
  8. The payment receipt of the state duty stamped by an authorized bank (or document which confirms exemption from payment of the state duty).

In conclusion, we continue to witness the trend of simplifying immigration law, which is indeed very welcome.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.