Crimea: Procedure of entry and exit for individuals
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by its Resolution No 367 of 4 June 2015 approved the Procedure for entry to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and exit from it (hereinafter – the "Procedure"). The Procedure came into force on 10 June 2015.
The Procedure is adopted pursuant to the Laws of Ukraine "On the Establishment of Free Economic Zone "Crimea", “On Securing the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime on the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine” regarding entry to and exit from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine (hereinafter – "Crimea") by citizens of Ukraine, foreign citizens and stateless persons.
The Procedure introduces changes regarding the entry to and exit from Crimea by foreign citizens and stateless persons. Such persons can entry and exit from Crimea:
Thus, now the foreign citizens must additionally obtain a special permission for entry to the territory of Crimea (hereinafter – the "Permission").
This Permission shall be issued by relevant State Migration Service of Ukraine (hereinafter – the "Migration Service") within 5 business days following submission of the required documents. The list of the documents is stipulated by the Procedure (among them are statement, passport, documents confirming the reason for entry to Crimea and the financial resources for the period of stay in Ukraine, etc.). Filing of the documents via diplomatic or consular offices outside Ukraine is not provided in the effective Procedure. The Permission shall be issued for a single entry or multiple entries to the Crimea.
The Procedure prescribes a limited number of cases upon which the Permission can be granted. For instance, these are the following cases: ownership to real estate in Crimea, immediate relatives or family members in Crimea, necessity to perform diplomatic and consular functions, etc. These facts shall be confirmed by the official documents.
The Migration Service is entitled to refuse from issuance the Permission. Procedure limits the number of grounds for the refusal. This could be the lack of substantiation for entry to Crimea.