Kyiv

[Uke Boy]

One of the real problems in Ukraine is that the laws and rules can be and are often applied arbitrarily. This leads to the confusion that is so prevalent with such an issue as the visa. The rules can change so quickly that your only safe course of action is to get your visa from the nearest Ukrainian consulate before you leave.

Nemez has stated that you can get a visa at the airport in Odessa or Simferopol if you have a tourist voucher. However, this is only a single entry visa good for the length of stay in your voucher with a possible maximum of 14 days. I just checked a few web sites and even with this "rule," the amount of confusing and contradictory information is amazing.

The real problem is that you are now face to face with the Border official, you have paid for the flight and maybe even the hotels, and you are told "denied." Could happen, as Vegamars has mentioned.

The chances are it won't but if you have the time, get the visa BEFORE you leave and try and stay as far far away from or spend as little time with any official, be they border guards, customs, police or bureaucrats. That is only asking for trouble.

Snowy is very correct. Trying to bribe any official in Ukraine (as anywhere) could be hazardous to your personal situation. Jails are very ugly places here. Having any bureaucrat in Ukraine do you favors in return for cash is an art, something locals know how to do in the proper manner but not foreigners, especially if they are experiencing this for the first time. Don't even think of trying it. The only exception is such as being stopped by the police, is to pay if asked for a specific amount.

[Ham Bloke]

"Whatever you end up doing though, you will have to talk to these girls, they defintely won't approach you, pro or otherwise. It is against their mentality... a cultural mindset in which real men go and get what they want and shy men that don't are just weak."

Yes, you have to talk to the girl. She is not going to come to you
and say "Hey you, my knight in the shining armor, traveler of seven seas, here in my country halfway across the world desperate since you can't get any tail in your own, thinking since the average official wage here is $300 throwing some $50 Euro bills around will impress me out of my panties, come hither and we'll go back to my parent's two bedroom apartment where I live with my five brothers and sisters and hump like bunnies till your dick falls off."

So, to make a long story short, yes, you have to talk to the girl and tell her all that yourself .

And learn Russian. It will help.

[Opus Dog]

Yo Vegamars,

Thanks for the info - can you elaborate on what you mean by "to know how to act in emergencies"?

[Ham Bloke]

Listen to Uke Boy, he knows what he's talking about. US and EU citizens aren't not allowed to board the plane going to Kiev if they don't have a visa. International airlines' know which passport holders need/don't need visas to whichever country the airline is flying to. And it's not just for Ukraine, it's for international flights in general. An American without a visa for Brazil won't be allowed to board the plane to Rio De Janeiro in Miami.

And please don't try bribing the passport control or customs officials at Borispol. It'll get you into trouble faster than you can say aha. Rule of thumb - never pull out or talk about money unless the other party brings it up. This goes for customs officials who are giving you hard time, militia finding your documents "out of order" etc.

[Member #2001]

I have NEVER heard of anybody getting turned away from entrance to ukraine if you have a visa. They want your MONEY!

Yea I guess anything is possible if you know the president of the country, otherwise I would not but to much into that other post.

About getting into the coutry you have to contact the consulate closest to where you are at.

http://www.ukrchicago.com/consular/english/index.html
This is the closest one near to my location and it lists the prices clearly for visas along with other usefull information.

I would never enter into a country without a visa. Im my opion it could end in a catastrophy.

[Vegamars]

I'm pretty good with my memory of dates.

It was actually snowing everyday when I was trying to travel by train from Minsk to Kiev 2 years ago in November.

Last November it was quite hot, though this is the other Kiev I'm talking about.

I'm not asserting that you can get a last-minute visa for 100% at the airport, but I'm just trying to point out especially in Ukraine anything is surprisingly possible if you have the right connections and know exactly what to follow up.

Don't forget that even if you've got a visa beforehand, it doesn't guarantee your entry into the country and you've still got to know how to act in emergencies.

[Bez Bezarra]

Quack-O !

Download the visa application from the ukraine consualte website, fill it out and include the name of a travel agent from Kiev. Then just fed ex priority overnight it with your passport and your plane ticket, and the fees ($300) to them in washington, with a pre-paid return fed ex envelope inside. You'll have your visa in your hand in 3 or 4 days. Couldn't be any easier.

Shit, if only the pussy was that simple!


Have a nice time, do not forget your camera. You're now due to post some gushy stuff.

[Nemez]

It is possible to get a visa at the airport. But only in Odessa and Simferopol. This kind of visas are turistvisas, so you need also a voucher of an travel agency. Visa will cost about 30 $.

[Snowy]

I just wanted to add my support to the visa discussion and agree it is impossible to enter Kiev without having a visa in advance. I know its been said a few times, but this strikes me as a fairly critical point to reiterate to anyone planning a trip from EU or USA.

It is possible and quiet easy, at least in London, to obtain a visa to either Russia or Ukraine through any of the visa services in 72 hours (costs around £140 all in - search online). My record for obtaining a visa to EE was just under 48 hours through one of these places, although this included using a borderline fake address as my contact place.

A few months ago, a colleague of mine was denied a visa to Russia as some of their paperwork was allegedly out of order. They had applied around 5 weeks prior and after chasing the embassy they finally turned them down the day before travel. Long story made short, they called me at 7pm, I phoned a Russian friend of mine, the Russian London network flew into action and by 11.30pm that night we had the visa in return for around £350 for a variety of "special fees". Moral is that very last minute visas for EE can be obtained in the country of origin in return for cash and if you know the right people. Even then you are taking a leap of faith its legitimate.

Maybe it's possible to bribe a customs officer at the airport too - do you really want to take the risk? Put it this way - would you ever try and bribe a customs officer in EU or USA? Now do you really want to try this for the first time at Ukraine or Russian customs?

Use any of the online services and you'll be fine, but unless you are really confident in this area I would highly reccomend not trying your luck for a visa at a Russian or Ukrainian airport, especially not Kiev, SPB or Moscow.

[Armorer]

I have to agree with Uke Boy, Every time I get to the airprt before I leave they are cheking for the Visa. I have not seen anywhere about getting a Visa at entry.
I have however used a visa service but it still took about a week and a half to get it done useing the service and 3 day processing.
Well thats my 2c worth.
I really miss Ukraine and wish I could go back alot sooner and stay. Its nice to dream big.
later guys and have fun.

[Ludovico]

Is it possible to enter the Ukraine using a Russian Federation visa?

and

From which of the two countries is it easier to get a visa?

[Uke Boy]

Vegamars

I guess your Kiev is located somewhere near the equator.

Quickly checking back, it was not +5 but +1 and it had been overcast and occasionally foggy for a couple weeks, not sunny. November can be brutal as well. Two years ago, there was snow almost every day.

I will defer to your knowledge of Kishinev and Minsk. It has been too long since I have been there.

But as for Moscow, Odessa and Kiev, if you are from the EU or the USA and any other nation without a reciprocal visa-free travel agreement, if you come in without a visa the only lady you will be chatting with will be wearing a Border Guards uniform. Some of them are lookers but that is not the time you want to be meeting with them.

[Vegamars]

You know that it's a different Kiev I'm talking about, the special city of my dreams.

I think a temperature of +5-6 C and sunshine throughout the day for a couple of consecutive days at the end of November can be considered as hot for Kiev.

If you're careful enough, you can see the visa desks in airports of Kishinev, Moscow, Minsk, Odessa and Kiev with some Westerners waiting for fun and some mongering action.

[Uke Boy]

Vegamars

You might recall the first time we differed. Your eyes said the weather in Kiev was very nice and I was looking out the window in Kiev that very moment and seeing something altogether different. Same with the visa issue, I guess.

Since you have stated before in this forum that you personally do not need a visa for Ukraine, your expertise in this area is lacking. I suspect that if you have seen anyone trying to get a visa at the airport these days (and I have not) these would more than likely be citizens of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and other former Soviet bloc nations whose visa requirements are not or were not the same as those for most forum readers who are from the USA and the EU.

EU and USA citizens are checked for visas before they leave for Ukraine. Being denied boarding and losing your money not just on the ticket but also the entire trip is a very expensive lesson. A bigger loss than money is losing the opportunity to meet the ladies here.

How many want to risk that for a document relatively easy to get?

[Vegamars]

I have seen with my own eyes a lot of people getting visas at the airports of Kiev, Odessa, Kishinev, Minsk, Dniepropetrovsk, Moscow, etc. though it's commonly known as impossible to receive last-minute touristic visas.

Of course, the officials wouldn't want all people queing and fighting for visas at the airport.

It's quite difficult and more costly to get such visas, but not impossible if the regulations have not changed during the last couple of months.