Temporary residence permit in Ukraine

1. Why get a temporary residence permit?

2. Who can get a temporary residence permit?

4. Term of issuance and validity

Why get a temporary residence permit?

Foreigners, who have legally entered the territory of Ukraine, have the right to stay in Ukraine for the period specified in the visa. If a foreigner does not need a visa to enter Ukraine, he/she is allowed to stay in Ukraine for 90 days within 180 days, unless an international agreement provides for any other period. Citizens of a number of countries, including the EU counties, the USA, Canada, Australia, Qatar, Kuwait, and South Korea do not need a visa to enter Ukraine (if the period of stay in Ukraine does not exceed 90 days).

Foreigners, who are going to stay in Ukraine for more than 90 days within a 180-day period, must obtain a residence permit. A temporary residence permit gives a foreigner the right of temporary residence in the territory of Ukraine.

Note! A residence permit, both permanent and temporary, also enables foreigners to enter Ukraine despite the COVID-19-related travel restrictions, which is currently a significant advantage.

Who can get a temporary residence permit?

The right to get a temporary residence permit is granted to foreign citizens who arrive in Ukraine:

with the purpose of employment;
to work in representative offices of foreign companies;
to work in branches or representative offices of foreign banks;
or foreign citizens who are founders and/or members and/or beneficial owners of a legal entity registered in Ukraine. In this case, the size of a share in the authorized capital of the Ukrainian legal entity must be at least EUR 100,000.00 at the official exchange rate established by the National Bank as of the date of the foreign investment;
to implement projects within the framework of international technical assistance;
with the purpose of studying;
to disseminate doctrines, to perform official duties or to perform other canonical activities at the invitation of religious organizations;
to participate in the activities of branches, offices and other structural units of public (non-governmental) organizations of other states;
to carry out cultural, scientific or educational activities under international agreements or under special programs;
as a journalist or a representative of foreign media;
with the purpose of family reunification with a Ukrainian citizen or marriage to a Ukrainian citizen.

Necessary documents

When applying for a temporary residence permit, a foreign citizen must personally submit the following documents to the authorized Migration Service:

a foreign passport or an identity card of a foreigner with a D type visa (a long-term visa, which is issued at the consulates of Ukraine), a copy of the passport with a visa stamp;
a copy of the foreign passport of a foreigner with a translation into Ukrainian certified by a notary;
a sickness insurance policy;
a tax number of the foreigner (if any) – one copy certified by the signature of the foreigner;
receipts to confirm the payment of state duty and document processing fee.

The necessity to submit other documents depends on the reasons for applying for a temporary residence permit. When applying for a temporary residence permit as a result of marriage to a Ukrainian citizen, it is necessary to additionally present the following documents:

a marriage certificate;
a passport of the citizen of Ukraine, with whom a foreigner is married, to be submitted personally by the citizen of Ukraine.

When applying for a temporary residence permit for employment, you must submit a copy of a work permit in Ukraine issued by the Employment Service. Since the issuance of such temporary residence permit, foreigners have the same legal status for the purposes of employment as Ukrainian citizens. Foreigners employed by an investor under a production sharing agreement must provide a copy of the production sharing agreement, as well as a copy of the employment agreement indicating the position held by the foreigner.

Term of issuance and validity

A temporary residence permit is issued within 15 working days after the submission of documents. A foreigner receives his/her temporary residence permit personally. Once the temporary residence permit in Ukraine is issued, the Migration Service makes a mark in the foreigner’s passport.

Reasons for refusing to issue a temporary residence permit include, but are not limited to, creating a threat to the public order and national security, as well as protecting the health, rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens, establishing the fact that a foreign citizen provided false information or forged documents.

As a general rule, a temporary residence permit is issued for a period of 1 year with the right to renew it.

However, in some cases a permanent residence permit can be issued for another term:

to foreigners who arrived in Ukraine with the purpose of employment, a permanent residence permit is issued for the period of work in Ukraine, which is specified in the work permit (up to 3 years);
to foreigners who arrived in Ukraine to participate in the implementation of international technical assistance projects, registered in the prescribed manner, a temporary residence permit is issued for the implementation period of the international technical assistance project, which is specified in the project registration card;
to foreigners who are founders and/or members and/or beneficial owners (controllers) of a Ukrainian legal entity, a permanent residence permit is issued for 2 years;
to foreigners who came to Ukraine with the purpose of studying, a temporary residence permit is issued for the period of studies, which is determined by an order of the educational institution establishing the periods of studies for foreign students.

Other information

After issuing a temporary residence permit, a foreigner must register at an address in Ukraine, which was specified earlier in the documents. The registration can be carried out by the foreigner personally or by his/her authorized representative.

The registration of a foreigner at the specified address must be carried out within 30 days from the date of issuance of a temporary residence permit. A failure to register at an address within this period may result in a fine.

When renewing a valid temporary residence permit in Ukraine, the same documents are submitted as in the process of its registration. The documents required for a temporary residence permit renewal shall be submitted not later than 15 working days before expiration of a temporary residence permit. If a foreigner fails to observe this term, he/she is obliged to deregister from his/her place of residence and leave the territory of Ukraine.

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