Ukraine

Ukraine is a country located in Eastern Europe bordering the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Neighbouring countries include Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia. Most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains and plateaus, the Carpathian Mountains in the west, and the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south. The government system is a republic; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Ukraine has a mixed economic system in which there is a limited private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation.

WORK PERMIT

We provide services of work permit obtaining for foreign citizens in Ukraine. Our lawyers have more than 10 years of experience in employment law and we offer only high-quality services. During this process, we provide consultations, needed documents, and full legal support.

Price – from $190 (state fee is not included)

Needed time – 5-7 business days

How to get work permission in Ukraine? Documents required to obtain.

Foreigners and stateless persons can be employed in Ukraine only after obtaining an appropriate permit that is issued by the State Employment Service of Ukraine. These requirements are established by article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Employment”. People that have a permanent residency in Ukraine do not need a work permit to be employed. Work permit in Ukraine can be issued for a period of up to 3 years. Permission may be renovated before it is expired. When making Ukraine company verification, we always check the work permit in case if the company has any foreign employees. That is because the penalty for using foreign labour without the work permit is around UAH 100 000,00. The company can be fined even in case if there is no employment contract but based on the fact that a foreign private is actually working in that company.

It is not a must for an employee to come to Ukraine with the aim of obtaining a work permit. It is a company to apply needed documents and to pay needed fees. Permission is issued to the employer (legal entity or sole proprietor), and not to the foreigner as an individual. So work permits can be used for employment in a particular company or organization. That means that if you will obtain an employment permit you will be allowed to work only in a certain company in a certain job position.

Making an investment, economic, and business activity by foreigners does not require obtaining a work permit. State registration of non-Ukrainian as sole proprietors also does not require a work permit obtaining. But this permission is required if the foreigner intends to be appointed to the position of the head (Director, Director General, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, President) of the legal entity of which he is a participant or owner. Permit to work does not entitle a foreigner to reside in Ukraine. But, obtaining of work permit is one of the basics to obtain a temporary residence permit in Ukraine. Many individuals are getting a work permit with the aim of obtaining a residence permit in Ukraine. Consider that there is no such type of visa for Ukraine as a work visa. If you want to establish a company in Ukraine and to be appointed as a director, an employment permit is a must. In such a way you will need a Ukrainian citizen to be a nominee director of the company up till the day when the work permit is obtained.

The following documents must be applied to the state authority by an employer:

• application;
• copy of passport (translated into Ukrainian and certified by the notary);
• one colour photo (the size of 3.5 x 4.5 centimetres);
• draft employment contract (certified by the director of Ukrainian company);

As of 2021, the state fees for the Ukrainian employment permits are:

Payment is made after the decision to issue a document was made but not later than 10 working days since that date. If the payment has not been made within 10 days, the work permit is cancelled. So, make sure that the payment for the Ukrainian work permit has been processed timely and properly.

The law of Ukraine defines so-called special categories of foreigners which are:

is a founder and/or a shareholder and/or an Ultimate Beneficial Owner of a company that will obtain a Ukrainian work permit;

applies to hold a position that provides for the creation of objects of copyright and (or) related rights as the main labour;

high qualified IT expert;

has a degree of higher education (according to the relevant category of the profession) of one of the educational institutions ranked in the first hundred in one of such world rankings:

Times Higher Education;

Academic Ranking of World Universities;

QS World University Rankings by Faculty;

Webometrics Ranking of World Universities;

Who can obtain a work permit in Ukraine?

Any citizen, regardless of nationality. According to the laws of Ukraine, employment is permitted beginning from the age of 16. Persons who have made a crime previously may be refused in working permit obtaining.

Permission is also granted for the employment of:

foreign citizens who are sent by a foreign employer to Ukraine to perform a certain amount of work (services) on the basis of contracts concluded between the domestic and foreign business entities; the percentage of qualified foreigners employed under the agreement does not exceed half of the total number of people working for Conditions of the contract;

foreigners who are classified as “intra-corporate transferees” according to the schedule of specific obligations in the service sector, the Protocol on Ukraine’s accession to the WTO (Article II of the General Agreement on Trade in Services);

The detailed procedure for the employment permit, state fees, terms, and requirements are regulated by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

It is not required to obtain a work permit for the following categories of citizens:

foreign citizens who have a permanent residence permit in Ukraine;

official refugees, under the legislation of Ukraine;

individuals that have obtained an immigration permit;

foreigners who are recognized as persons in need of additional protection, or who are granted temporary protection in Ukraine;

representatives of foreign maritime (river) fleet and airlines that serve such companies on the territory of Ukraine;

employees of foreign media who are accredited to work in Ukraine;

professional athletes, artists, and art workers to work in Ukraine;

workers of emergency services for urgent work;

employees of foreign representative offices (registered in the territory of Ukraine in accordance with the procedure established by the law);

ecclesiastics, clergymen who are to reside in Ukraine temporarily (on the ground of invitation of the religious organization) for canonical or religious activity only in such religious organization;

foreigners who arrived in Ukraine to participate in the implementation of international technical assistance projects;

foreigners who arrived to conduct teaching and/or scientific activity in higher education institutions, universities, etc;

other foreigners in cases provided by laws and international treaties of Ukraine;

The involvement of highly qualified foreign specialists and workers, the need for which is required for Ukraine’s economic progress, is carried out on the grounds defined by the Law of Ukraine “On Immigration”. Consider also, that the employment of foreigners does not require the substantiation of an employment agency if that individual relies on a special category of foreigners.

Legalization is needed for documents issued by the following countries: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, Afghanistan; most African countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya, Egypt, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan.

Apostille is needed for the documents issued by the State which is a party of Apostille convention like (but not exclusively): all European Countries, United States of America, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina.

STUDENT VISA

How to Apply? In order to receive international student's invitation letter to study in Ukraine, you will have to provide with the following information and the following personal documents or e-mail this information:

• Name, Surname,
• Citizenship,
• Date & place of birth,
• Sex,
• Passport number,
• Passport validity (date of issue & expiry),
• Permanent address,
• Phone number, e-mail address,
• A copy of the passport (pages with the photograph, date of birth and passport validity (date of issue & expiry), Certificate of Completed School Education.

Invitation applications are accepted around the year. It takes from 2 to 4 days to process the documents with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of Ukraine.

Upon receiving the invitation letter, the student must contact the Embassy of Ukraine in his / her country in order to apply for the student's visa. The following documents must be provided:

• Application form
• 3 photographs (3x4cm)
• Original invitation letter sent to you by express post
• Medical health certificate
• HIV/AIDS test
• Certificate of Completed Higher Secondary Education
• Official bank documents confirming full payment of tuition fees (for students coming to Ukraine for the first time).

• Complete Higher Secondary School Certificate (including mark sheet) or a notarized copy, a translated copy of the Complete Higher Secondary School Certificate in Russian/Ukrainian language, certified by a notary from the Ukrainian Embassy in your country
• Medical health certificate -original in English, translated copy of the Medical Health Certificate in Russian/Ukrainian language, certified by a notary or by the Ukrainian Embassy in your country
• HIV/AIDS free certificate -original in English, a translated copy of the HIV/AIDS free certificate in Russian/Ukrainian language, certified by a notary or by the Ukrainian Embassy or in your country
• 15 passport size (3x4 cm) photographs in matt finish.

In order to enter the territory of Ukraine and to be admitted into the University, a student should have the following documents:

• Passport (validity -not less than 2 years), entry visa
• Migration card (must be filled in by you in the airport upon arrival to Ukraine).

Additional documents for students obtaining admission to the Master's degree, Postgraduate course or Ph.D.:

• Diploma/Degree Certificate, 2 notarized copies of the Diploma/Degree Certificate, 2 translated copies of the Diploma/Degree Certificate in Russian/Ukrainian language and certified by a notary from the Ukrainian Embassy in your country to carry out the equivalence procedure
• Mark sheets of all academic years (including studied subjects, marks & hours for each subject), 2 notarized copies of the Mark sheets, 2 translated copies of the Mark sheets in Russian/Ukrainian language and certified by a notary from the Ukrainian in your country to carry out the equivalence procedure

RESIDENCY BY INVESTMENT

Ukraine has had a residence by investment program for a while now, enabling business investors to gain temporary residence in Ukraine. The country is still in conflict at its Russian border, but capital Kiev is safe and offers many of the advantages of a modern European city. Ukraine is not part of the EU. Talks were held in the past which divided the country politically. Naturalization into Ukrainian citizenship is possible after 5 years of residence. The Ukraine passport enables visa-free travel to the EU for 90 days in a 180-day period. In order to apply for the temporary residence permit, a foreigner or stateless person who is the founder and/or participant and/or beneficiary owner (controller) of a legal entity registered in Ukraine and whose share of ownership or a foreign legal entity, the beneficiary (controller) of which is such foreigner or stateless persons, in the authorized capital of a Ukrainian legal entity is not less than 100,000 EUR at the official exchange rate established by the National Bank on the date a foreign investment is made, shall submit the following documents:

1. copy of the constituent document of a legal entity, certified by an authorized official of a legal entity;
2. written commitment of the legal entity with an obligation to notify the SMS on the termination of the status of the foreigner or stateless person as a founder and/or participant and/or beneficiary owner (controller) of this legal entity.
3. other documents depending on the type of foreign investment:* information on the size of the share of a foreigner or stateless person – the founder (participant) of a legal entity in an amount not less than 100,000 EUR at the official exchange rate established by the National Bank on the date foreign investment is made as a contribution to the authorized capital, if a foreign investment is made in a monetary form, certified by an authorized official of a legal entity;* or a copy of the cargo customs declaration on movable property transferred as a contribution to the authorized capital of the legal entity, and a copy of the act of acceptance-transfer of such property, if the foreign investment is carried out in the property form, certified by an authorized official of the legal entity;
4. Or a copy of the act of acceptance-transfer of movable or immovable property transferred as a contribution to the authorized capital of a legal entity, if the foreign investment is made in the form of property, but such property was acquired in the territory of Ukraine, certified by an authorized official of the legal entity;
5. Or an extract from the securities account if the foreigner or stateless person is a shareholder of a joint-stock company registered in Ukraine, certified by an authorized official of the legal entity.

In order to apply for temporary residence permit, a foreigner or stateless person who arrived in Ukraine for the purpose of study shall submit the following documents:

1. document confirming the actual study in Ukraine (attested in accordance with established procedure orders of education establishment on establishment of the education period for foreigner students.
2. request (solicitation) of the education institution with the obligation to inform SMS in case of enrolment termination.