Ukraine Government scam?

[Anotherkiwi]

I spent some time today with a Ukrainian woman who has a problem that I haven't seen discussed before.  She left Ukraine quite some time ago, and has been a citizen of her new country (not NZ) for several years.  I think that she has retained her Ukraine citizenship, although her English isn't the best and I may have misinterpreted this part of the conversation.  Are Ukrainians allowed to hold dual citizenship?

Back to the main point...she wants to go back to Ukraine in about three months to help her big brother celebrate his 50th birthday, and to generally catch up with relatives and friends, but she was told that there would be a US $2,000 "penalty" to pay because she no longer lived in the country.  From what I can tell she has the money to pay, but resents being charged extra to visit the country of her birth (I would too!).

Can anyone shed some light on this?  I don't see this as being anything like the usual "let's scam the man" act - it's so totally off the wall that no sane person would fall for it.

[Sailor291]

I have never heard of such a thing.  My wife has been a citizen of U.S. for many years and never any question when she enters Ukraine.  When she just had a green card for U.S. she traveled there on her Ukrainian passport (which has since expired) and nobody batted an eye at her.  Without you saying what country your friend is a citizen of now, does that country have visa free travel to Ukraine?  If it does, she should be able to go with no problems.  Sounds like a scam, just not sure from whom.

[acctBill]

Anotherkiwi you didn't understand her correctly is the most likely explanation.  Otherwise she is very naive and being scammed by some Ukrainian government official. Like a number of countries in the world Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship (see special circumstances in link) in practice it really has no choice but to recognize dual citizenship because so many Ukrainians have moved abroad since the breakup of the USSR.  A large number of these Ukrainians still use a Ukrainian passport to enter Ukraine when visiting family and friends or on business. 

Also if she is a citizen of her new country she can simply travel to Ukraine on her new passport, three months is usually time to get a passport if she doesn't have one.  Most citizens of western countries such as NZ, Australia, USA, Canada, the EU don't need a visa to visit Ukraine.   


http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1053.html#special_circumstance 

[Anotherkiwi]

I have never heard of such a thing.  My wife has been a citizen of U.S. for many years and never any question when she enters Ukraine...Without you saying what country your friend is a citizen of now, does that country have visa free travel to Ukraine?  If it does, she should be able to go with no problems.  Sounds like a scam, just not sure from whom.

Thanks Sailor.  No, her country does not have visa-free travel to Ukraine.  Without going into details, because I only met her for the first time today, I'm guessing that maybe her Ukrainian passport has now expired and that Ukraine won't issue a new one because it doesn't recognise dual citizenship.

[Anotherkiwi]

...Also if she is a citizen of her new country she can simply travel to Ukraine on her new passport, three months is usually time to get a passport if she doesn't have one.  Most citizens of western countries such as NZ, Australia, USA, Canada, the EU don't need a visa to visit Ukraine...

Bill, New Zealanders and Australians DO need a visa for Ukraine.  Yes, the lady is a citizen of her new country, whose citizens also need a visa for Ukraine.

I agree that some corrupt official seems by far the likeliest suspect.

[Kuna]

AK,

She could be referring to a bribe within Ukraine to get a new UA Passport issued... which,  theoretically speaking, is possible... but...  theoretically speaking,  it wasn't quite $2,000.

If this is the case she should just travel on her new countries passport as the visa is MUCH cheaper!

[Faux Pas]

That is a new one for me. The most logical solution would seem to be to travel there on her new country's passport and renew her Ukrainian passport once she is there. Granted it is an extended trip to accomplish but probably necessary if she wishes to retain dual citizenship. Some countries prohibit dual citizenship but in reality, there is little they can do to prevent it

[JR]

Sounds like someone in Ukraine wants to line his pockets with her money....never heard of that before!!!

I'd say she should travel on her new countries passport and just get a visa if she needs one.

[GoodOlBoy]

Are Ukrainians allowed to hold dual citizenship?

NO!

A close friend of my wife's got into trouble in the Ukraine years ago, when she went there flashing around her brand new USA passport.

GOB

[Anotherkiwi]

Thanks for all the replies - I'll try to find out more.

[Muzh]

AnotherK,

First, Ukraine does NOT recognize dual citizenship. It gets tricky when you become a citizen from another country. For example, my wife became a US citizen, however, the US authorities did not ask for documentation of her renouncing her Ukrainian citizenship. From what I understand she can go to the UA Embassy and renounce her UA citizenship. She hasn't done it. If she ever decides to move back to Ukraine, she will be a Ukrainian citizen as Ukraine will recognize her as so. It is a legal loophole that both countries are well aware but don't do anything to close it.

Now to the second question. What this lady is refering to is that ALL UA citizens that move away from their country HAVE to declare themselves off the tax logs. Theey can do that at the Embassy. Some paperwork, passport  and fees, and she'll get back her passport with an apostile stating so. What she may be claiming that Ukraine will charge her for backtaxes. That's total BS. My wife tried to get her name off the books and the government gave her such a hard time that she dropped the whole thing. Still, she travels to Ukraine with her US passport and never been harassed about back taxes.

IOW, scam and not by the UA government.

[dbneeley]

Now to the second question. What this lady is refering to is that ALL UA citizens that move away from their country HAVE to declare themselves off the tax logs. Theey can do that at the Embassy. Some paperwork, passport  and fees, and she'll get back her passport with an apostile stating so.

Muzh,

FYI, it's not an apostille. The stamp you referred to is still on the books as a technical requirement, but I haven't heard of anyone getting one for some years now. It used to be that these were most often requested prior to moving from Ukraine.

Taxes are deducted from income; if your wife is not employed in Ukraine, she can have no taxes due there.

However, the ingenuity of those corrupt officials seeking to augment their income by shaking down folks who don't know better is often rather remarkable.

David