Visa experience

Even though this question is addressed specifically to other expats I cannot keep myself away from commenting on this... Tha provides an option of E-visa that you can get via the Internet only for citizens from shortlisted countries:
Australia, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Kingdom of Bahrain, Belize, Multinational state of Bolivia, Kingdom of Bhutan, Republic of Vanuatu, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Guatemala, Republic of Honduras, Grenada, Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominican Republic, Republic of Ecuador, Republic of Indonesia, Kingdom of Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Colombia, Republic of Costa Rica, State of Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Republic of Mauritius, Malaysia, Maldives, Republic Marshall Islands, Mexican United States, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Republic of Nauru, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Republic of Nicaragua, New Zealand, Sultanate of Oman, Republic of Palau, Republic of Peru, Republic of El Salvador, Independent State of Samoa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Seychelles, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Republic of Singapore, Solomon Islands, Republic of Suriname, The Kingdom of Thailand, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Republic Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Republic of Fiji, Jamaica.
This is the official information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on this: https://mfa.gov.ua/en/consular-affairs/ … ine/e-visa

I welcome everything you have to say G.K.
I have had an email exchange with the Ukrainian embassy today and they merely confirmed what you have already told me.
I called as well, but the polite young man I was talking to didn't have the English proficiency required for me to draw him out.
They recommended that I get a D visa and apply for a residency/ work permit thingy when I arrive.
I just don't yet know how to qualify for one.

I don't see Canada on the list you provided.
I think Ukraine is mad that Canada didn't offer reciprocation of visa -free status to Ukrainian nationals.
I read on their Canadian website that over 5000 requests were denied - approximately 25% and yet only 15% of russian requests were denied. They say they just don't understand why. I can sympathize given the situation in Crimea.

Zelensky was just here.... missed him , damnit!
I could of told some jokes , made him laugh and flown back with him.

Northern cdn wrote:

Zelensky was just here.... missed him , damnit!
I could of told some jokes , made him laugh and flown back with him.

Nice joke:)

Re qualifying for a visa. You have now 90 days for free visa visits. So just come and recon how it is like living here. Maybe you will change your mind about moving to Ukraine.

When you 90 days expire you will have to get temporary residence anyway. There is an exhaustive list of cases when temporary residence is granted, all of them are inscribed in law, there is no hidden or secret one, everything is straightforward and there is nothing more you can do with this.

Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons (https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3773-17#n65) sets what categories of foreigners can obtain a temporary residence permit:

1) those who came to Ukraine with an employment purpose;
2) those who came to Ukraine for realization of international technical projects;
3) those who are invited to Ukraine by churches for preaching;
4) those who work in Ukrainian branches of foreign NGOs;
5) those who work in Ukrainian representation offices of foreign companies;
6) those who work in Ukrainian representation offices and branches of foreign banks;
7) those who came to do educational, cultural, scientific activities according to international treaties of programs;
8) those who work in Ukrainian NGOs;
9) journalists of foreign mass media;
10) founders, shareholder and beneficiaries of Ukrainian companies provided that the value of his/her share is not less than EUR 100 000;
11) students of Ukrainian educational facilities;
12) those who came to Ukraine for a family reunion.

Go through this list above and identify your case.

As of now you will need to depart from Ukraine to get a D visa first to be able to apply for temporary residence for as of now a D visa is issued only by Ukrainian overseas consulates. That is why do not bother with a visa issue right now as long as you have your 90 days in Ukraine.

By the time your 90 days expire I hope our state officials keep their word and implement the amendment to the visa rules that allows foreigners to get a D visa in Ukraine. But as of now this new rules are only on paper and do not work in practice.

I never meant to imply that I am looking for a loophole ; I just haven't figured out the best rationale to insure success by tailoring my application to the correct numerical subsection of the 'd'
I want to drive a station wagon full of film equipment, tools, portable generator etc. into the country. I need to legitimize this and don't think a tourist entry is the best solution.
So if I'm self-employed it's a complicated procedure.
If it's cultural / tech,  whatever, I may need an invitation.
No consulates in Canada deal with these concerns over the phone and I have already received their recommendation by email.
Presently I am 1000's of kms from an embassy and won't be passing their way for a couple of months.
They do invite visitors with visa concerns to meet and hash it out. I can only hope a personal meeting will resolve my problem. It certainly doesn't seem insurmountable , it's just that I thought I would get all the paperwork out of the way early - my plan was an Atlantic crossing late in the year.
Thanks, again.

Northern cdn wrote:

I want to drive a station wagon full of film equipment, tools, portable generator etc. into the country.

This is another important matter for you to clarify because this certainly looks like beyond personal usage and the Ukrainian customs services will want you to clear this stuff and pay customs duties and VAT.

Graham101 wrote:

I'm from the uk, and I did it myself. It's simple but time consuming, like everything in Ukraine the cogs turn slow. Basically they just wanted my money.  950 USD is a huge amount of money, unless that includes the price of the visa. Not sure about that as my visa ‘D', because I'm from the UK, was nearly 2000 USD. Hope this helps...

950 usd looks like a scam. Why does anyone need their help at all in getting an E-visa? And the E-visa fee is only 85 usd.

Re a D visa fee for UK citizens, it is so huge because of the reciprocity principle. Unfortunately the UK made it expensive to get a similar visa for UA citizens so Ukraine did the same for UK guys.

There (at the bottom of page) is a link to a table with all visa fees country specific: https://www.legal-ideas.com/post/gettin … -type-visa

Just for a balanced view.
I'm a Brit, and 5 years ago my D visa cost me 1,000 euro.
A quite substantial sum, but it was explained to me by a very competent embassy official in London.
reciprocation of visa He said if the UK want to charge this high fee for Ukrainian, then Ukraine will match the fees for UK residents wanting D visa.
I received my visa along with an official receipt for the money paid.
I went home and did a little internet research, and found this to be basically true .
That each country seems to be priced according to there reciprocation of visa.
Which seems to be why Moldova and Turkey are cheap to get a D visa.