Ukraine Exit Process

[LTB]

Hello All,

Can someone tell me if my UW fiancee must have Ukrainian approval to leave the country and return (to Ukraine) without problems? The US visa is already handled. If she must have approval, how does she get it, and what happens if she doesn't?

Second question; What must we do to bring her cat to the US?

Thanks for helping,

LTB

[LTB]

... in response to Ukraine Exit Process, posted by LTB on Jun 6, 2002

Thank you all for the info.

I will research both these things, and post back to the board.

LTB

[Richard]

... in response to Ukraine Exit Process, posted by LTB on Jun 6, 2002

I believe that you will need a certificate of good health from a veterinarian issued withing 30 days of the travel date.  I seen that somewhere when checking about traveling with my dog.  

You will also need to make arrangements with the airline to bring the cat along.  Make sure that you have an acceptable container for the cat so that the cat can fit in the main cabin, rather than have to travel as bagagge.

Good luck. Maybe you can post what you find for the rest of us.

[Charles]

... in response to Ukraine Exit Process, posted by LTB on Jun 6, 2002

Don't know about cats, but there is a special permission stamp that a permanent resident living abroad must have in order to exit Ukraine.  Without this stamp there have been some horror stories reported of people at the airport who were unable to leave until they got this stamp or bribed someone to get it.  Not always a problem, but certainly one to avoid by exiting Ukraine through a former Soviet bloc country such as Poland or Russia where they don't go poring through your passport.  On the other hand, if you get this stamp your wife may have to forfeit any property she owns in Ukraine.  You may wish to check the archives here as well as brama.com regarding this subject as it is quite confusing and there are many different views on how to handle this.  Dan is probably the expert, if there is one.  But please realize that the laws in Ukraine are confusing and in a state of flux.

[Charles]

... in response to Ukraine Exit Process, posted by LTB on Jun 6, 2002

Don't know about cats, but there is a special permission stamp that a permanent resident living abroad must have in order to exit Ukraine.  Without this stamp there have been some horror stories reported of people at the airport who were unable to leave until they got this stamp or bribed someone to get it.  Not always a problem, but certainly one to avoid by exiting Ukraine through a former Soviet bloc country such as Poland or Russia where they don't go poring through your passport.  On the other hand, if you get this stamp your wife may have to forfeit any property she owns in Ukraine.  You may wish to check the archives here as well as brama.com regarding this subject as it is quite confusing and there are many different views on how to handle this.  Dan is probably the expert, if there is one.  But please realize that the laws in Ukraine are confusing and in a state of flux.

[michaels]

... in response to Re: Ukraine Exit Process, posted by Charles on Jun 7, 2002

Charles, do you know in fact they need this stamp. Where do you get this stamp? In Ukraine, or here from their embassey?
My wife and daughter are in Odessa right now ( I will be joining soon). She was not advised by anyone out there to get this stamp. Please post any info you may have regarding this subject. I hate to see us having problem right before flight out of Odessa.
Thanks,

[Charles]

... in response to Re: Re: Ukraine Exit Process, posted by michaels on Jun 7, 2002

Most Ukrainian women enter the United States after their interview at the Warsaw Embassy and fly direct from Poland to the U.S.  The problem comes when they return to Ukraine as a permanent resident of the U.S.  While in most instances from what I can gather from various comments by board posters it is not a problem, there have been some reported incidences where someone is denied boarding because they do not have the "permission stamp" in their passport.  There is a substantial charge to get this stamp at this point, and you will probably miss your flight.  If you are in Ukraine, you can get the stamp at the OVIR or through the Ukrainian Embassy if you are in the U.S.  It takes some time to get, so if you're pressed for time you had better be prepared to ante up, or take your chances or make your connection back through Warsaw or Moscow where travel is freely permitted without visa to Ukrainian citizens.  The Embassy charges $150 for the stamp.  Your wife should e-mail them or write them and they will send you the forms.  It's pretty intensive - you have to get statements from relatives that there is no one in Ukraine who will depend on them financially.  There is apparently a risk of losing property in Ukraine once you get this stamp, so your wife should dispose or transfer any property she has particularly real estate, to avoid forfeiture, as we just did.  Dan has written extensively on this and you can probably get his comments from the archives.

[michaels]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Ukraine Exit Process, posted by Charles on Jun 7, 2002

Thanks Charles for the info. I heard that if she becomes a US citizen, another words give up her Ukrainian citizenship then she is subject to loss of her properties... etc. However my wife is only a US resident I wonder what you are saying would apply to her as well. Now, does it help if she is flying from Odessa to Warsaw first before flying to chicago( our itenary is Odessa, Warsaw, Chicago and SF)?
While back, I talked to Ukrainian embassey few times regarding entering my daughter in her passport. They asked me if she was a US resident or not as one of the first questions. But then they only asked us to send her passport and child's BC along with some other documents for her to be allowed to travel to Ukraine. They never mentioned anything about her having a permission to return to US stamp. Maybe I should call them again.

[Apk1]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Ukraine Exit Process, posted by michaels on Jun 7, 2002

Unlike some of the other FSU countries, Ukraine does not offer a dual citizenship...it is extremely nationalistic and when a Ukraine woman leaves to live in another country..she forfeits her Ukraine nationality, thus the reason for the exit stamp.

Yes, if she always enters and leaves through Moscow or Warsaw...maybe it will not be noticed. I have a friend with a Ukraine wife, for the past 2 years she has always returned through Moscow to minimize this question...she does not have an exit stamp either, and hopes someday they will change this citizenship requirement.

[Rags]

... in response to Ukraine Exit Process, posted by LTB on Jun 6, 2002

There should be no problem leaving or coming back into Ukraine (unless she tries to leave with a family heirloom spoon like my wife). Once your fiancee becomes your wife and obtains her "green card" she will need to get permission to live abroad from the Ukrainian Embassy.

You're on your own with the cat issue. I would guess that it is possible to do this but probably a BIG hassle (shots, quarantine, vet certs). I have seen small dogs coming in on Aeroflot flight through Customs. Whether they get stuck at the POE for days or not I can't say. Maybe she could find a loving home for her cat and you could buy her a kitten to keep her company while you are away at work when she gets here.

[DE]

... in response to Ukraine Exit Process, posted by LTB on Jun 6, 2002

Cats aren't allowed.  We have too many of them already!  Unless of course you can keep it chained up in your back yard so it doesn't leave foot prints on my car, crap in my flower pots, and just a general neighborhood nusiance.  Doesn't cat season open soon?

[LTB]

... in response to Re: Ukraine Exit Process, posted by DE on Jun 6, 2002

Unless cats rule in he*ll...

[BrianN]

... in response to Re: Ukraine Exit Process, posted by DE on Jun 6, 2002

Should put this on the asian board... rotfl!!!