new bio metric passport for Ukraine

[LAman]

I have been hearing more people speak of new passport. It is needed if Ukrainians want to visit Schengen areas visa free.

Just wondered how this will shift FSU ladies thinking in regard to western men( or any). Seems to me there will be a lot more meetings in 'third' countries!!

I know of one Ukrainian lady staying in Canada (with visa), that flew specifically to Ukraine to get her new bio metric passport so at end of visa she will travel some in Europe before coming home to Ukraine.

[ML]

My spouse is in Ukraine right now and got her biometric passport last week.

On Skype talk, I asked her if she had then purchased a ticket to Europe.
She said, where in Europe?
I said, anywhere.

She just laughed.

She said the new passport looks pretty much like the old one, except does have the biometric symbol on the front.

[Boethius]

Eight thousand Ukrainians crossed the Polish border this week.  Poland will allow many, if young and educated, to stay, in fact, they want them to, in order to boost their demographics.  They will allow free university educations to Ukrainians, if they stay and work in Poland for five years after graduation.

[LAman]

On Skype talk, I asked her if she had then purchased a ticket to Europe.
She said, where in Europe?
I said, anywhere.

 .

Anywhere but UK and Ireland!!!

[drsecu]

Pretty much already covered by others, but has of June 12 Ukrainians do not need a Visa for europe but they are required to update their passports to the biometric ones to take advantage of this.

[Trenchcoat]

Pretty much already covered by others, but has of June 12 Ukrainians do not need a Visa for europe but they are required to update their passports to the biometric ones to take advantage of this.

They might however still be asked for supporting documentation, proof of where they are staying, how long for, how they will support themselves - money they have, etc. This may be dependent on the country they visit or even the immigration official at the point of crossing. Poland for example may be more lax on this and further helps to legitimize those already there.

Many Ukrainian girls can probably just get the money together for bus fare down the road. The cost of going abroad even across a land border unless living right next to it is likely to be prohibitive. That and the follow on costs of accommodation, etc while over there not least to mention the language barrier which even with language translation apps can still be an issue. So again this will depend on their social-economic status on whether they can take advantage I believe. In other words it will be the guy that ends up paying, lol.

[msmob]

This is REALLY early days

When new legislation comes in - I remember when a new EU Directive  'must comply' - even if it conflicts with your national immigration law  came in force in 2006 - that many EU nations chose to flout the law and I ended up reporting the Rep of Ireland and Cyprus to an EU regulatory body over problems they created for my wife and  was regularly correcting'so called' legal experts'  and asking Border guards NOT to stamp her passport - as she had to be treated as if she was an EU citizen.

Why is this relevant , now ? EU nations that are part of Shengen and some that aren't will respect this ruling  - but some will - as Trench said - be more rigorous in checking if they is an intent to work - which is NOT legal under the new policy.

Some non Schengen Visa nations  - such as Cyprus - will implement the rule at airports and seaports- but not their 'land border' with the Turkish sponsored 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' 

[Trenchcoat]

I have been hearing more people speak of new passport. It is needed if Ukrainians want to visit Schengen areas visa free.

Just wondered how this will shift FSU ladies thinking in regard to western men( or any). Seems to me there will be a lot more meetings in 'third' countries!!

I know of one Ukrainian lady staying in Canada (with visa), that flew specifically to Ukraine to get her new bio metric passport so at end of visa she will travel some in Europe before coming home to Ukraine.

Not just Schengen either as Moby allures too but also other not strictly speaking Schengen EU member states, except of course UK and Ireland. So in all 30 EU countries, this source on it is quite good at explaining it I think:

http://www.unian.info/politics/1969116-eu-visa-free-travel-for-ukraine-comes-into-force-jun-11.html

and also this on Schengen countries:

http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/


So all this difference between Schengen, EU, etc makes it a bit more fussy and depending on how the country/immigration official implements it it could vary on who they let in, i.e whether they just check bio passport, or ask for additional supporting documentation. So perhaps no guarantees that they will be let in but my guess is most will just be waved on through with the bio passport though the uncertainty over supporting documentation really means they need to get this sorted too as you never know.

Perhaps we can post up here of our experiences of this new regime so we can get a better understanding of how it works in practice.

[msmob]

no guarantees that they will be let in but my guess is most will just be waved on through with the bio passport though the uncertainty over supporting documentation really means they need to get this sorted too as you never know.

Perhaps we can post up here of our experiences of this new regime so we can get a better understanding of how it works in practice.

Most of us with FSU partners aren't prepared to take such risks ..I have personal experience of certain recalcitrant EU / EEA nations - relating to loved ones being refused entry.

This is NOT a thing to guess / take risks with - get a definitive  answer from the relevant nations one might be travelling to - in writing - indicating from where you'll be arriving  - BEFORE travelling 

[ML]

Thanks to the introduction of a visa-free regime, Ukrainians are allowed to travel without visas to 30 countries in Europe. In particular, these are 22 countries of the European Union that are members of the Schengen zone: Austria, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, the Czech Republic and Sweden. In addition, these are four EU member states that are members of the Schengen area but have not yet withdrawn control on their internal borders: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Croatia. Also, these are four other states that are not included in the EU but are parties to the Schengen agreement – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

- - - - - -

What sense does the above in red make?
The 4 are members of both EU and Schengen.  Does it mean they are contemplating leaving Schengen?

[Nightwish]

Thanks to the introduction of a visa-free regime, Ukrainians are allowed to travel without visas to 30 countries in Europe. In particular, these are 22 countries of the European Union that are members of the Schengen zone: Austria, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, the Czech Republic and Sweden. In addition, these are four EU member states that are members of the Schengen area but have not yet withdrawn control on their internal borders: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Croatia. Also, these are four other states that are not included in the EU but are parties to the Schengen agreement – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

- - - - - -

What sense does the above in red make?
The 4 are members of both EU and Schengen.  Does it mean they are contemplating leaving Schengen?

No it means they are not yet allowed in the Schengen agreement fully, still need to fulfill some criteria that isn't met for lifting the inner border-control (corruption and such)

[msmob]

In the case of Cyprus, it is particularly the wish of the govt. to control who arrives from the part of Cyprus over which they have no overall control... the so called 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'  - only recognised by Turkey

They would almost certainly refuse a UA biometric passport holder entry - if arriving from the 'north' - as they would be deemed as 'entering illegally'

[AkMike]

As of a few weeks ago visa's aren't required for Ukrainians to visit Turkey.

[calmissile]

According to my wife visiting Kiev, the current passport renewal process in Kiev is a disaster.  About 20 passports a day are supposed to be completed. She said that they are only able to process about 3 a day.  The remaining 17 that did not get done are moved to the next day and those move to the following day, etc.

According to her, the government 'program' is broken.  I think she must be referring to a government software program.  She said the offices are packed and lines very long even though nothing can be done.  I asked her about paying the fee for expedited service and she advised me that she had already done that in the beginning but was told it makes no difference....nothing can be done.

She also said that the lines are mostly filled with old people getting the new passports.  Not sure what the rush is for old people unless it is for summer vacations. 

Looks like it will take her weeks to get her new passport.  Hope she can get it before she returns to the USA.  Hers expired before she left and had to go to San Francisco to get a temporary just to get into Ukraine.

[ML]

Doug, sorry about this.  My Ochka must have gotten in just before the troubles, as she got her new biometric passport in 7 days.

[jone]

Look at it this way, CalMissile: 

You can go over and visit her!  It'll be a vacation.

[calmissile]

I am enjoying the peace and quiet at home, thanks.
Also, I do not have the patience for standing in lines.   

[jone]

Yeah, I'll bet you don't even clean off the workbench.

[ML]

Yeah, I'll bet you don't even clean off the workbench.

Question to Engineer:  Would you rather have a wife or a mistress.

Engineer:  Both.  That way each will think I am with the other and I can be in the shop getting some work done.

- - - - -

Not related to Engineer, but:

As man leaving his girlfriend's house, he scuffs up his shoes in some dirt.

At home, wife says . . . WhereTF have you been?
Man:  At my girlfriend's.
Wife:  You lying dickhead . . . you have been golfing.

- - - - - -

Also: 

Sorry to inform you, but your husband in serious auto wreck and may not live.  He is in ambulance on way to hospital and Jane is with him.

Wife:  Who is Jane?

[LAman]

According to my wife visiting Kiev, the current passport renewal process in Kiev is a disaster.  About 20 passports a day are supposed to be completed. She said that they are only able to process about 3 a day.  The remaining 17 that did not get done are moved to the next day and those move to the following day, etc.

According to her, the government 'program' is broken.  I think she must be referring to a government software program.  She said the offices are packed and lines very long even though nothing can be done.  I asked her about paying the fee for expedited service and she advised me that she had already done that in the beginning but was told it makes no difference....nothing can be done.

She also said that the lines are mostly filled with old people getting the new passports.  Not sure what the rush is for old people unless it is for summer vacations. 

Looks like it will take her weeks to get her new passport.  Hope she can get it before she returns to the USA.  Hers expired before she left and had to go to San Francisco to get a temporary just to get into Ukraine.

Cal, I think you wife is not informed very well. She is probably in line with all the other people cheaply trying to get new passport. There are special centers with much shorter lines to process quickly, I guy told me he was in and out in 30 min). There is also expedited service to cut service time( after turning in docs) from 20-30 days to around 10 days. These are the costs:

Passport-                                  577uah

Service centers(govt owned)-     400uah

Expedited service(10 day)-         213uah

Total-                                      1190uah(~45usd)

Now maybe someone 'just' needs time away, maybe you don't want wifey back so quick, I don't know but just don't say the new passport process is a disaster!!!

[Boethius]

The better half was speaking to his sister, and she told him the elderly are lining up for passports to sell their place in line.  The going rate is 2000 hyrvnia. 

[calmissile]

I called my wife today to determine if the derogatory comments made by LAman were accurate.  As usual, they are not.  I witnessed Larissa's menuevering through the labyrinth of government offices and the court system to resolve complex issues during our courtship and subsequent marriage.  It was hard to fathom that a former successful businesswoman with double masters degrees could  be so uninformed and incompetent as LAman suggested.  My faith remains in my wife.

I called her today to ask her about the passport issue and try to understand what is going on concerning the current passport processing issues.

She stated that prior to leaving the US, she had scheduled her passport appointment along with the expedited processing  option.  When she arrived in Kiev, she went to the government office and was told that the processing has ground to nearly a halt and that her appointment will slip in the schedule until the other expedited requests have been completed and the government has caught up.  That's about all I can say about the topic.

The post by Boe suggests that clearly something is going on that supports Larissa's comments about the delays.

I did not make the initial post expecting a member to make derogatory comments about the competence of my wife.  The reason I posted it was to warn anyone that might have planned a short trip to Kiev to renew their passports, expecting the normal turnaround time of a couple weeks.  With the current problems, it could end up in a wasted trip and expense for someone with limited time such as a vacation.

Larissa told me several times that 3 weeks earlier, there was no problem and the processing times were normal.  This all happened shortly before she arrived.

Anyone planning a trip to Kiev to renew a passport can either listen to LAman or research for themselves what their likely to expect when they arrive.  It really does not matter to me.  It was simply a warning that may be valuable to those affected.

[LAman]

I called my wife today to determine if the derogatory comments made by LAman were accurate.  As usual, they are not.  I witnessed Larissa's menuevering through the labyrinth of government offices and the court system to resolve complex issues during our courtship and subsequent marriage.  It was hard to fathom that a former successful businesswoman with double masters degrees could  be so uninformed and incompetent as LAman suggested.  My faith remains in my wife.

I called her today to ask her about the passport issue and try to understand what is going on concerning the current passport processing issues.

She stated that prior to leaving the US, she had scheduled her passport appointment along with the expedited processing  option.  When she arrived in Kiev, she went to the government office and was told that the processing has ground to nearly a halt and that her appointment will slip in the schedule until the other expedited requests have been completed and the government has caught up.  That's about all I can say about the topic.

The post by Boe suggests that clearly something is going on that supports Larissa's comments about the delays.

I did not make the initial post expecting a member to make derogatory comments about the competence of my wife.  The reason I posted it was to warn anyone that might have planned a short trip to Kiev to renew their passports, expecting the normal turnaround time of a couple weeks.  With the current problems, it could end up in a wasted trip and expense for someone with limited time such as a vacation.

Larissa told me several times that 3 weeks earlier, there was no problem and the processing times were normal.  This all happened shortly before she arrived.

Anyone planning a trip to Kiev to renew a passport can either listen to LAman or research for themselves what their likely to expect when they arrive.  It really does not matter to me.  It was simply a warning that may be valuable to those affected.

Calmissle, my friends in Ukraine have told me what they witnessed, even in Kiev. I am not sure why your wife is going through these problems. The service centers I spoke of are not the normal ones most Ukrainians go through.
Your wife is the FIRST person I have heard had such problems/delays when going through the 'faster'process. I will ask my friends again if this has changed.
Nothing wrong with a warning, yours was the first I have heard. I know a gal coming soon from Canada back to Ukraine for the new passport, she was hoping to get it less than 7 days. I will report her progress.

ML wrote that last week his wife just got her new passport, did things change in 1 week?

[AkMike]

My step-son and wife are also in line using the regular route and it's been just over 3 weeks so far. Luckily no one's in a hurry.

[ML]

My step-son and wife are also in line using the regular route and it's been just over 3 weeks so far. Luckily no one's in a hurry.

What happens when the have to leave the line for toilet, etc.?

[AkMike]

Have someone hold your place in line of course!   


 Just like waiting for a new Iphone release! 

[BillyB]

Have someone hold your place in line of course!   

For 2000 hryvnia? For that money, just pay one of those professional elderly line standers near the front. They've waited six hours so you don't have to. Of course there's a horde of those professionals there adding 8 hours to the wait time.

[calmissile]

Update on the waiting lines for the new UA passports.

As I understand it (from my wife currently in Kiev), there is a two step process.  First you have to get into the office and submit your documents and then wait for the passport to get processed later.

She paid someone $100 for herself and $100 for our daughter to get in front of the line.  They walked right in and submitted their documents and provided the biometric data for the passports.

She tells me that people are showing up at 3 A.M. to stand in line.  They are only able to handle about 200 people per day.  So, I guess you could be standing in line all day and still not reach the head of the line.    She was a successful businesswoman in Kiev for many years so knows how to grease palms and get things done.

She is now waiting for the expedited processing to get completed and receive their passports.  It can still take weeks for the processing even after paying the expedite fee and she is beginning to sweat a little.  She purchased non-refundable airline tickets for both of them to visit Israel and is worried about getting the new passports in time for her trip.

Fingers Crossed....   

[southernX]

Cal

my wife has just recieved her new passport here in australia

total time from application here in canberra to arrival was 5 weeks , standard application with no expedition of process

hang tight 

SX

[BdHvA]

Does anyone have any information on how long non bio-metric Ukraine passports will be valid?

I understand Ukraine if requested will still issue a non bio-meteric passport

[BdHvA]

Close to the intersection of Ivano Frankivsk and Moskowskaya is a new passport/visa center. They can generate (for a fee) a new passport and SOME visas in less than 5 working days.

Oddly enough both there and at the regular (in Perchesk) civil office there are no long lines.

I should point out that my flight returning from KBP to America via CDG (Paris) was about 80% full with the majority of passengers being business types, the second largest group seemed to be students. No one clapped when we landed.

[LAman]

Does anyone have any information on how long non bio-metric Ukraine passports will be valid?

I understand Ukraine if requested will still issue a non bio-meteric passport

I would think validity of both types of passports to be same.

Yes, you can still request non bio metric passport, it is ~150uah cheaper than new type

[LAman]

Close to the intersection of Ivano Frankivsk and Moskowskaya is a new passport/visa center. They can generate (for a fee) a new passport and SOME visas in less than 5 working days.

Oddly enough both there and at the regular (in Perchesk) civil office there are no long lines.

I should point out that my flight returning from KBP to America via CDG (Paris) was about 80% full with the majority of passengers being business types, the second largest group seemed to be students. No one clapped when we landed.

I am not sure if you are talking about a new govt service centers for passport, Gotovo, where lines are shorter and longer working hours. This is where you pay the extra 400uah.

The regular immigration offices, OVIR, are where most Ukrainians apply, the queues have been long. This is where you (unofficially)have to apply for passport based on your nominal residence. I am surprised you said no long lines.

[BdHvA]

My wife got a new non bio-meteric passport for her son at the office, when we went to collect it the lines were almost non existent.

My main concern is the visa in the new non bio metric passport. I suspect though the issue will arise on the border.

[LAman]

My wife got a new non bio-meteric passport for her son at the office, when we went to collect it the lines were almost non existent.

My main concern is the visa in the new non bio metric passport. I suspect though the issue will arise on the border.

I don't understand why your wife got her son a regular passport knowing he will be leaving Ukraine.

When you picked up passport, was it the same place you submitted paperwork for passport? Not sure why you went to both special service centre and regular immigration centre.

[BdHvA]

My wife is Ukrainian - frugal andI determined I went to the new center because I am curious by nature.  Her objection to the bio metric passport is moral. And in my opinion you do not want to argue this point with a woman of Slavic background.

[ML]

  Her objection to the bio metric passport is moral.

Maybe the bio part includes info about sexual preferences, drinking habits, whether you missed Sunday church services, your real hair color, etc.