The Ukrainian government has made changes to the list of exceptions for foreigners who are not denied entry in the country, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Facebook.
The new rules scrap the provision allowing foreigners who are in transit on the territory of Ukraine to enter the country.
Exceptions from the entry ban are made for people who are spouses, parents, children, or grandparents of a citizen of Ukraine.
Children are given legal status before they become full of age.
If people are sent to Ukraine to study, they only have to go to higher education establishments.
According to earlier reports, the Ukrainian government closed the borders to foreign citizens until September 28.
The restriction did not affect people who have residence permits, are members of international and humanitarian missions, who enter the country in transit, who drive cargo road vehicles, are instructors of NATO states, culture figures, people who have invitations from culture establishments, and also some other categories of people.
Changes to the registration of vehicles, initiated by the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, which, in particular, prohibit the registration of cars with salvage titles imported from abroad, will create problems for companies involved in this business, will make it impossible for Ukrainians to buy such cars with a clear history at reasonable prices and also entail losses of the national budget in the amount of at least $327 million, according to Columb Trade company.
“Now more than 90% of cars with salvage titles come to Ukraine with such documents (marked for recycling), but in fact they have minor damage (lighting, bumpers, wings) and after restoration pass certification in authorized bodies. The proposed changes may replace the functionality of certification bodies, while citizens are deprived of the opportunity to purchase a car with a clear history of origin,” Roman Voloshin, a lawyer of the company, said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
He emphasized that in general the draft resolution, posted on the website of the Interior Ministry for discussion, contains many positive norms that will simplify the process of registration (re-registration of a car), however, two provisions on the prohibition of registration of cars with salvage titles, as well as on the need for mandatory translation of accompanying documents to the official language with an apostille will create chaos in the market, will entail additional costs for buyers and budget losses.
“Only the requirement of compulsory apostille, according to our calculations, will lead to additional costs for buyers of $200-300,” Voloshin said.
According to the calculations cited by Columb Trade co-founder Volodymyr Kovel, about 36,800 people who want to buy a car from abroad can suffer from such innovations (registration ban).
“The transit of a car from the United States takes three months, and the average monthly supply is 10,000 cars. Now 30,000 cars are in transit. Even minor repairs, taking into account certification and registration, take about a month. Respectively, there will be 40,000 such cars, not yet registered, of which 92% with the status of to be recycled, that is, 36,800 cars,” Kovel said.
He considers it incorrect to take into account the status of recycling, which the United States accept for itself, since there it is done by the method of financial accounting of the residual value of a car, while the damage can be minor and in Ukraine they can be repaired for $2,500-3,000.
Kovel stressed that these restrictions will not force Ukrainians to refuse buying cars from abroad, and they will be forced to buy the same cars from the United States, for example, in Georgia or Latvia, where this business has long been established, but then they will serve the orders of Ukrainians and get receipts from customs clearance and other fees going to the budget of their countries. As a result, the car will cost a Ukrainian almost $3,000 more, taking into account the extension of the logistics chain, the need to bring cars from neighboring countries and other expenses.
The Ukrainian government has made several decisions changing the entry requirements for foreign citizens and stateless persons, the country’s State Border Guard Service said on Saturday. Under the government decree No. 477, approved on June 12, the temporary entry ban for foreigners is no longer effective.
Another decree, No. 480, of June 12, requires foreigners to have a relevant insurance policy and those arriving from countries with high number of coronavirus infections to undergo observation.
For the duration of the quarantine, foreigners and stateless persons (except permanent residents, refugees, or persons seeking additional protection) will be banned from entry if they do not have an insurance policy (certificate) to cover the costs relating to COVID-19 treatment and observation, the decree said.
Arriving from, or being a citizen of, a country with a high number of COVID-19 cases shall be ground for observation, the government said.
“To ensure the transportation of persons from state border checkpoints to observation facilities, the government has compelled regional and Kyiv city state administrations,” the agency said.
At the same time, a citizen (subject) of a country with a high number of COVID-19 infections, who has not been in that country in the previous 14 days, foreign diplomats and consular officials, representatives from accredited international missions and organizations and their family members, drivers and crew members of cargo transport vehicles, air, sea and river crews, members of train and locomotive brigades, participants in an external independent audit (with one accompanying person each), will not be required to undergo observation, unless there is a reason to believe that they have been in contact with a COVID-19 patient.
Also exempt from observation will be those who agree to self-isolate using an act-at-home electronic service.
A country is considered to have a high number of COVID-19 cases if it had at least 40 active cases per 100,000 population.
A list of such countries will be updated and submitted by the State Border Guard Service to the Foreign Ministry every three days.
Therefore, foreign citizens and stateless persons may cross the Ukrainian border from the effective date of the Decrees No. 477 and No. 480, providing they have legal grounds for entry, as stipulated in the Ukrainian border control law, and observe sanitary epidemiological rules.
The Cabinet of Ministers has extended until July 1 the ban on export of anti-epidemiological products. The government made the corresponding decision at a meeting on May 27.
“It is proposed to change the validity of the licensing regime for export of anti-epidemiological products until July 1, 2020. In fact, we extend the ban on export of such goods by one month,” Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Ihor Petrashko said.
The government also allowed export of waterproof laboratory suits and disposable isolation medical gowns of types 1-5 of protection.
Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry has decided not to ban flights of passenger planes with the age of over 20 years as it was announced in summer last year, but the ministry would toughen control over its technical conditions by the State Aviation Service of Ukraine.
“We expressed our understanding for the numerous appeals of airlines not to prohibit the use of aircraft with the age of over 20 years… The State Aviation Service will toughen control over the technical condition of aircraft used for transportation of passengers,” the Infrastructure Ministry said on Monday, citing Minister Volodymyr Omelyan, who spoke at a meeting for preparation of airlines servicing charter flights for the summer season.
The Infrastructure Ministry said that Director General of the Boryspil airport Pavlo Riabikin, Head of the State Aviation Service Oleksandr Bilchuk, the top managers of SkyUp, Azur Air, Ukraine International Airlines and others took part in the discussion.
Omelyan said that the situation that had developed last summer, when airlines were massively delaying charter flights and did not provide information and services to passengers in due time, should not be repeated this year.
He said that in March 2019, a new edition of the aviation regulations for the transportation of passengers and baggage entered into force. Separately, delays and transfers of flights will be strictly controlled, as this is the responsibility of the air carriers.
According to the minister, Ukraine will also introduce European directives relating to the environmental friendliness of aircraft.
The Infrastructure Ministry said that, according to aviation regulations, in the event of a flight delay, the carrier is obliged to provide passengers with the necessary services at the established standards, as well as meals and soft drinks, and the ability to make two free calls.
If the flight is delayed the next day, the carrier is obliged to provide passengers with hotel rooms, meals, and an airport-hotel-airport transfer.
The EU is aware of the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to ban Austrian journalist Christian Wehrschutz from entering Ukraine and expects that such decisions will be taken in accordance with fundamental rights and freedoms, including the European Convention on Human Rights. The EU press secretary said in his comments, handed over to Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels on Friday.
Having informed that this fact is known in Brussels, the agency’s source noted that the EU attaches great importance to freedom of expression and the media. We expect that any of such decisions will include careful consideration of the rights to freedom of expression. We also expect the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from imposing any unnecessary restrictions on the free flow of information and freedom of the media, the agency’s source said.
At the same time, the press secretary recalled that the EU fully supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Protection of national security and citizens should be carried out in full compliance with fundamental rights and freedoms, including the European Convention on Human Rights, he stressed.
Earlier, First Deputy Head of the Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Policy Olha Chervakova reported that the Security Service of Ukraine had prohibited head of the Ukrainian bureau of the Austrian ORF TV channel Christian Wehrschutz from entering the country because of the “threat he poses to national security.”
