Tuesday, 19 September 2017

100 days of visa-free travel from Ukraine to Europe

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Flags of the European Union countries. Flags of the European Union countries. Photo: Olena Yanykh.

Results of the first 100 days of visa-free travel to Europe showed, at in the EU 10 % more Ukrainian citizens began to travel.

The first three months of visa-free travel produced impressive results. According to the State Border Service of Ukraine, 5,799,360 citizens of Ukraine (as of September 11, 2017) entered the EU during three months after the entry into force of the visa-free regime. According to EU CO-OPERATION NEWS.

Out of these, 1,413,178 persons travelled with biometric passports, including 235,795 persons without visas (i.e. 87 % of people with biometric passports travelled with visas, and 17 % fully benefited from all the opportunities of visa-free travel).

According to the same statistics, the number of trips made by Ukrainians to the EU countries during the three summer months of 2017 increased by 10 % compared to the same three months of 2016.

Only 61 Ukrainian nationals have been refused entry to the EU during the visa-free travel period. The main reasons for entry denial included exceeding the duration of stay in the EU during previous trips and lack of documents confirming the purpose and conditions of stay in the EU.

During the first 100 days of visa-free travel between Ukraine and the EU, the EU-funded «Open Europe» campaign website www.openeurope.in.ua was visited by 410,000 people. The website provides detailed explanations of the rules and possibilities of visa-free travel – the role of the biometric passport, rules for crossing the border, the duration of stay in the EU, opportunities for tourism, short-term training, and business development.

The launch of the visa-free regime is the one of the steps that are bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together. In July, the ratification of the Association Agreement was completed; on September 1, it entered into force; and lately procedures were completed for granting Ukraine new trade opportunities. 

Information: Visa-free travel for citizens of Ukraine with biometric passports came into force on June 11, 2017 to all EU countries (except for the UK and Ireland), as well as to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

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