Starting from June 13, 2020, the Ukrainian Government cancelled the temporary ban on foreign visitors in accordance with Resolution No. 477 dated June 12, 2020 subject to certain conditions as mentioned below.
Just to remind, such temporary ban was imposed since March 16, 2020 as one of the measures aimed to stop spread of COVID-19 and as a result, foreign nationals who do not have temporary or permanent residence permit in Ukraine were not able to enter Ukraine.
Starting from June 13, in order to enter Ukraine, foreign national have to comply with number of requirements, namely:
- foreigners who do not have a permanent residence permit in Ukraine may visit Ukraine only if they have valid medical insurance that covers any costs related to COVID-19 treatment and observation in Ukraine (note: this requirement applies also for temporary residence permit holders and other foreign travelers);
- additionally, anyone who enters Ukraine from OR is a citizen of a country with a significant spread of COVID-19 (red zone countries) is subject to a 14-day isolation in a specialized facility.
However, the requirement of 14 days isolation in a specialized facility shall not apply if:
- foreigners who have consented to self-isolate for 14 days using the government’s “Act at Home” app, which provides regular confirmation of their location and other services. Please note that in order to install the “Act at Home” app, you will need Ukrainian mobile number, which you are suppose to provide to Cross Border Service when passing passport control; or
- for the last 14 days the foreigner has not been on the territory of such a red-zone country; or
- persons who have simply passed through such red zone countries in transit.
According to Resolution No. 480, countries considered to have a significant spread of COVID-19 are those countries with more than 40 active cases per 100,000 population. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine publishes list with statistics of spread of COVID-19 by countries and marks in red those countries considered to have a significant spread of COVID-19.
According to the list, as of June 22, 2020 red zone countries include the USA, Belgium, France, Russia, Portugal, Canada, Singapore, UAE and others. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine is responsible for keeping a record of such countries and shall provide the State Border Service of Ukraine with updated lists every 3 days.
Thanks to the adoption of the new regulations, on June 15, 2020, regular international passenger flights were resumed after a break of several months. Boryspil International Airport is now open. However Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport and Danylo Halytskyi International Airport Lviv remain closed due to the high level of spread of COVID-19 in these regions.
Please note that all passengers must wear a medical mask or respirator and submit to a temperature screening at the entrance to the terminals. If your temperature exceeds 38ºC and/or you appear to be experiencing any flu-like symptoms you may be denied admission in the terminal.
In case you plan your trip to Ukraine, you should:
- make sure that you have Ukrainian mobile number (as in case you are from red red zone country, you will have to install and configure the “Act at Home” app on your mobile device at the airport before passing passport control); and
- check new rules which passengers will need to observe at the airport.
Additionally note that foreigners who are already in Ukraine and have missed their normal deadline to apply for an extended temporary residence permit may still apply at the State Immigration Offices until the end of the quarantine regime. It is also possible to apply within 30 days after the end of the quarantine regime.
As of June 22, 2020, Ukraine has recorded a total of confirmed 37,241 cases of COVID-19, with 1012 deaths and 16,642 persons who have recovered. Despite the fact that Ukraine still has a high incidence rate, which has begun to rise again since the government of Ukraine relieved some of the measures instituted to stop the spread of COVID-19 (681 newly confirmed cases over the past 24 hours), its rate of new infections continues to be one of the lowest in Europe.
The government, in an effort to restore regular economic and social activity in Ukraine under the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, has developed a step-by-step plan to mitigate the effects of the quarantine regime and introduced the concept of “adaptive quarantine.”
That means there are now specific indicators/criteria for the government and local authorities to decide when and which restrictions to ease or end. Each region will proceed with easing restrictions only if all the necessary epidemiological indicators have been achieved within the region.
Currently Ukraine is on the second stage of mitigation of the quarantine regime. There are defined criteria to satisfy the second stage of easing:
- The number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, for the past few weeks, has been less than 12;
- Occupancy of hospital beds designated for Covid-19 patients is less than 50%;
- The average number of PCR tests is more than 12 per 100,000 population for the past week.
Most regions of Ukraine satisfy these criteria and have already proceeded with easing restrictions. That has allowed public transport, subways and rail transportation to operate, and allowed some service-related businesses, such as barbershops, restaurants, etc. to conduct their activities, subject to the use of protective masks and social distancing.
Currently there are 9 regions (Vinitsa, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattya, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv) and the city of Kyiv which are not ready to implement further mitigation measures. Please note that the situation may change daily, and you should keep track of which region is eligible to ease quarantine restrictions and which is not.
On June 15, 2020, the Minister of Health of Ukraine announced that they plan to determine the circumstances under which the regions may again tighten certain restrictions if the epidemic situation deteriorates. On June 17, 2020, the government decided to prolong the official quarantine regime until July 31, 2020.
As a reminder, quarantine restrictions were originally imposed on March 11, 2020, when the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 211. The Resolution was soon amended to include limitations on visiting public places/premises and public transport without protective masks, on visiting public places without identity documents, on mass events, and on businesses, many of which were required to close. Ukraine also temporarily banned all regular passenger transportation, including international flights, and imposed travel limitations to and from Ukraine.
Please note that you can find more information about COVID-19 related restrictions adopted in Ukraine in our previous blog.
ContactUkraine team wishes you and your beloved ones strong health and patience at this difficult time.
Should you have any further questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.