On 4 June 2015, the Government adopted Resolution No. 367 approving the Procedure for entering and exiting the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. According to this procedure, foreigners and stateless persons may enter and exit the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine through checkpoints by showing a passport and special permit issued by the territorial body of SMS.
Legal framework underlying the service
Paragraph 21 of the Procedure:
- a foreigner or stateless person or their spouse having close relatives or family members who reside on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, which should be attested by documents issued by the authorized bodies of Ukraine;
- a foreigner or stateless person or their spouse having the burial place of their close relatives or family members on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, which should be attested by relevant documents;
- death of close relatives or family members of a foreigner or stateless person or their spouse who lived on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, which should be attested by relevant documents;
- necessity to perform diplomatic or consular functions, e.g. as part of activity of international organizations Ukraine is member to, pursuit of activity by other international governmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations of foreign states. In these cases, a special permit is issued only upon request from or agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- making regular trips to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in relation to employment arrangements of railway staff;
- necessity to carry out journalist activity (only upon request of or agreement with the Ministry of Information Policy);
- necessity to preach and deliver religious instruction, carry out religious rituals or meet religious needs (only upon request of or agreement with the Ministry of Culture);
- a foreigner or stateless person residing on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine on the basis of the permanent residence permit issued according to the legally established procedure, whose place of residence is registered in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea of the city of Sevastopol;
- necessity to participate in the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tartar People;
- necessity to provide legal protection to people whose rights, freedoms and lawful interests are violated by illegal authorities and their officials (only upon request of or agreement with the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories that informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs);
- necessity to carry activity by independent human rights missions (only upon request of or agreement with the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories that informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
How to claim and receive the service
- Submit required documents to the territorial body of SMS or the territorial unit of SMS in Novotroitske District or Henichesk District in Kherson region, at the place of stay.
Service fees and benefits
No fee is charged
Application submission
Application is to be submitted in person.
Required documents
- application;
- passport (returned after verification);
- document confirming a person’s legal stay on the territory of Ukraine;
- copy of a page in passport or ID document of a stateless person containing personal data with translation into the Ukrainian language attested according to the established procedure;
- documents confirming the purpose of entry to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine:
copies of documents confirming kinship of foreigners or stateless persons and place of residence of their close relatives or family members on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
copies of documents confirming death of close relatives or family members who lived on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
documents confirming burial of close relatives or family members on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
documents confirming the rights of ownership with regard to property located on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
request from or agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as provided for in sub-para. 5 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure;
request from or agreement with the Ministry of Information Policy, as provided for in sub-para. 7 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure;
request from or agreement with the Ministry of Culture, as provided for in sub-para. 8 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure;
permanent residence permit (shall be returned after showing) issued by the territorial body or unit of SMS, and its copy with the registration of place of residence of a foreigner or stateless person in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the city of Sevastopol;
request from the Mejlis of the Crimean Tartar People, as provided for in sub-para. 10 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure;
request from or agreement with the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories, as provided for in sub-para. 11-12 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure;
other documents that may support the purpose of entry to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine;
- 3 photographs 35 mm x 45 mm.
Time limit for application review
A special permit shall be issued or such issuance shall be denied by the head or deputy head of the territorial body of SMS within up to 5 working days from receipt of the documents defined by this Procedure.
Availability of a special permit does not exclude checking of the documents confirming the purpose of entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine by the state border guard officers at checkpoints.
Result of the service
Issuance of special permit for entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
Validity period of a document resultant from the service
Special permit for entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine can be issued as single-entry or multiple-entry and shall be valid during the period indicated in the application and confirmed by relevant document; however, this period may not exceed the allowed duration of a foreigner’s or stateless person’s stay on the territory of Ukraine and should also take into account the period necessary to leave Ukraine (at least 3 working days).
Single-entry special permit for entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine can be issued on the basis of grounds defined in sub-para. 1-4, 7, 8, 10 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure.
Multiple-entry special permit for entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine can be issued for one year on the basis of grounds defined in sub-para. 5, 6, 9 of paragraph 21 of the Procedure, and also to foreigners or stateless persons with permit of permanent residence in Ukraine whose place of residence is registered in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the city of Sevastopol.
Grounds for denying the service
A decision to deny special permit issuance to a foreigner or stateless person shall be adopted in the following cases:
- 1) when they present a threat to national security of the State or public order, public health, protection of rights and lawful interests of Ukrainian citizens and other individuals residing on the territory of Ukraine;
- 2) when the passport of a foreigner or stateless person is forged, damaged, does not conform to the established template or belongs to another person;
- 3) when a foreigner or stateless person knowingly presents false information or forged documents;
- 4) when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a foreigner or stateless person have other reasons for entering the temporarily occupied territory, that differs from that stated in the application, or when they have not supplied confirmation for their grounds and purpose of entering the temporarily occupied territory;
The time limit within which a person has to apply to SMS and liability for breach of this time limit
Not established