Permanent and temporary residence in Ukraine

Depending on the specifics of a business and kind of activity, persons who plan to establish their own business in Ukraine, or already conduct it, may need ones’ employees, who are not the citizens of Ukraine, to permanently or temporarily reside in Ukraine. For such a stay they will need to obtain a permanent or temporary residence permit.

Foreign and stateless persons, who arrive to Ukraine in order to become employed, must obtain a temporary residence permit.

Moreover, such a permit must be obtained by a person who:

• arrived to Ukraine in order to become employed on the basis of a permit of employment of a foreign or stateless person, issued by the employment center, and a type D visa with a special note on the visa form ‘Job placement’;
• arrived to Ukraine with a purpose to obtain a job at the representative office of a foreign economic entity, registered according to the prescribed procedure, on the basis of an invitation, issued by such representative office and certified by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, and a type D visa with a special note on the visa form ‘Employment in the representative office of a foreign company’;
• arrived to Ukraine with a purpose to obtain a job at the branch or representative office of a foreign bank, registered according to the prescribed procedure, on the basis of an invitation, issued by such branch or representative office and certified by the National Bank of Ukraine, and a type D visa with a special note on the visa form ‘Employment in the representative office of a foreign bank’, unless otherwise provided by the legislation of Ukraine and international agreements of Ukraine.

In relation to foreign and stateless persons who intend to stay (reside) in Ukraine on a permanent basis, the legislation of Ukraine prescribes the necessary condition to obtain a permanent residence permit.

An advantage for foreign citizens to obtain a permanent residence permit lies in no need to obtain a visa for entrance to Ukraine, and that the terms for a stay in Ukraine are not limited to a short-term stay. Furthermore, there is no need to obtain a permit for employment of foreign citizens (a work permit) during official job placement in Ukraine, and, moreover, there are no limits to the number of positions held, stipulated by a work permit.

Regardless of certain advantages of a permanent stay, it is easier to arrange a temporary one; therefore, according to practical experience, foreign persons frequently need to arrange a temporary residence permit. For its obtainment, it is necessary to address the State Department for Natural Persons’ Citizenship, Immigration and Registration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (popularly known as ‘OVIR’ agencies).

In order to obtain a temporary residence permit for a foreign citizen, it is necessary to submit the following documents, namely: an application form, a work permit, tax payment certificate, a passport of a non-resident etc.

Issuance of a permit takes 15 working days from the day when all the aforementioned documents are submitted.

After obtaining a temporary residence permit in Ukraine, it is necessary within 10 days to address the housing service office for obtaining form No. 15, which, consequently, shall be grounds for registration of a non-resident’s place of habitation (registration), which shall be stamped on the form of a non-resident’s temporary residence permit.

Foreign persons as well as stateless persons shall be subject to a fine in amount from UAH 510,00 to 800,00 (from USD 65,00 to 100,00) for infringement of the rules of stay in Ukraine, namely habitation in Ukraine without residence permit documents or habitation according to invalid or expired documents; employment without the corresponding work permit (if requirement for such a permit is prescribed by the legislation of Ukraine); non-observance of established rules for movement and change of the place of residence; evasion of exit after termination of a term of stay.