22/05/2009 by admin.

On 6 May 2009, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine amended the “Rules for Entry of Foreigners and Apatrides into Ukraine, Their Transit Through and Exit From Ukraine”, which were approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 1074, dated 29 December 1995 (the “Rules”).  Those amendments (the “Amendments”) became effective as of 15 May 2009.   

1.                 Not More than 90 Days Stay within 180 DaysAccording to the new wording of Article 19 of the Rules, except for holders of certain limited types of visas (e.g., student visas, work visas), foreigners may stay in Ukraine only as follows: (1) a foreigner from a country, the citizens of which need a visa, may stay for the term of the validity of his/her visa, but for not more than for 90 days within 180 days counting from the date of the first entry; and (2) a foreigner from a country, the citizens of which do not need a visa, may stay for up to 90 days within 180 days counting from the date of his/her first entry, unless otherwise stipulated by a bilateral agreement to which Ukraine is a party.  This limitation applies even if the visa (i.e., a business visa, a private visa, etc.), which has been issued to the foreigner, is valid for 6-months, 1-year, or longer. This limit also applies to citizens, i.e., both tourists, private and business visitors, etc., of the EU, Japan, the USA, and all other countries, for which the requirement for a visa has been waived (since 2005)  for visits  of less than 90 days.  Therefore, it will not be possible any longer to enter Ukraine for 89 days, to exit for a brief period, and, in a couple of days, to re-enter for the next 89 days. If a foreigner needs to spend more than 90 days within the above-mentioned 180 days period, then an application for an extension must be filed within the appropriate division of the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior at least 3 business days before the expiration of the 90 days.  If such extension is granted, it will be valid only for a continuous stay in the country (i.e., until the expiration of the term of the individual’s visa or of another allowed period, as the case may be), but not for re-entry into Ukraine.  If the extension is not granted, then the foreigner must leave the country before the 90-days period comes to an end. 

2.                 Alert to Citizens of WTO Member CountriesThe Amendments have abolished the third item in Article 19 of the Rules, which previously allowed citizens of WTO member countries to spend up to 180 days within a year in Ukraine.  According to oral information from a responsible officer of the State Borderguards Service, those foreigners from WTO member countries, who have already spent more than 90 days in Ukraine starting from 1 January 2009 (in reliance on the now-abolished third item of Article 19 of the Rules), will not be exempted from the abovementioned limitations, and the records indicating the duration of their stays in Ukraine will not be reset.

3.                 Alert to Foreign Employees of Representative OfficesForeigners, who are employees of Ukrainian legal entities, are eligible to obtain Ukrainian work permits, work visas, and temporary residence permits.  The combination of these three documents will allow them to enter/exit Ukraine as many times and at such times as may be necessary within the term of validity of their work permits.  In contrast, foreigners, who are employed by Ukrainian representative offices of foreign companies, are not eligible for a Ukrainian work permit, in the oral opinion expressed by a responsible officer of the Kyiv City Employment Center (which opinion is not necessarily grounded on any specific Ukrainian legislation and, as such, is subject to challenge before the Ukrainian courts). As a result, a foreigner employed by a representative office will not be able to obtain a work visa and a temporary residency permit, for which a work permit is a prerequisite, at least not unless and until a Ukrainian court will rule that such foreigner  is eligible for a Ukrainian work permit.  As a result, such foreign employees of representative offices will not be exempted from the abovementioned restriction on the number of days that they can spend in Ukraine, but rather will be allowed only to stay 90 days within 180 days. 

4.                 Consequences of Spending More Than 90 Days in UkraineAs we have noted in our earlier Legal Alerts, the State Borderguard Service has launched a computerized system for recording each foreigner’s entries into and exits from Ukraine.  This system automatically marks the commencement of the 180 day period upon a foreigner’s entry into Ukraine and calculates the number of days spent by the foreigner in Ukraine.  Both the date of entry and the date of exit count towards the number of days spent in Ukraine.  If a foreigner  spends more than 90 days  within 180 days (without obtaining an extension of stay mentioned above), then such foreigner may  be subject to a fine of between UAH340 and UAH680 and, in addition, may be banned from entering Ukraine for a period of between 6 months and 5 years.   If a foreigner exhausts the 90 days within a 180 day limit of stay, such foreigner will not be permitted to re-enter the country until the 180 day limit expires. Thus, all foreigners, who do not have temporary residence permits (or permanent residence permits), should very carefully calculate the number of days which they spend in Ukraine and plan their visit(s) and the duration of their stay(s) in the country accordingly.

Many thanks to http://odessablog.wordpress.com/ from whence I lifted the above

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19/05/2009 by admin.

Although the government rushed through a bill to close all gambling last week - and effectively all casinos were shut down overnight …. the act still requires the President of Ukraine to sign the act to bring it into force.

On Sunday most radio stations here had a minutes silence for the death of the Entertainment Industry in Kiev… but there may still be some life.

Yesterday over 30,000 demonstrators - casino workers - were on the streets to try and make the President see sense and the latest news is… he may have done.

He has already voiced concern over the fact that the act was voted through too quickly  and “on emotions” - within the next few days it is understood that he may refuse to sign and suggest that more work is done on the bill to make it effective - together with suggestions.

This would lift the ban and hopefully allow the industry to get together and propose a package of self-regulatory measures.

This is an ideal situation - in the interim Tymoshenko has issued a statement that the act is necessary to prevent the little money left in peoples purses post-crisis, being sucked up by the casinos. No emotion there then.

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16/05/2009 by admin.

The Ukrainian Government has effectively closed down all casinos and slot parlours with immediate effect. Prompted by the emotions of the recent fire in a slot hall in Dnipropetrovsk where 9 people died the Government ministers have seized their opportunity to take draconian action. Originally it was just the casinos in that area that were shut but now with the new Act – they are all now shut throughout Ukraine.

Cynically the move mirrors that of Russia – Big Brother – which shuts all of its gambling activities next month<p But whereas the Russian operators had time to prepare for the worst – the Ukrainian Government has just effectively knifed a whole industry without considering the implications on the tax income and ordinary peoples livelihoods. They have just made a blind stupid ill-informed decision instead of taking their time and taking measured steps to regulate – control – improve.
It is not just casino staff that will be affected – think of the cloakroom staff, the cleaners, the waitresses, the couriers, entertainers, suppliers…

When Julia Timoshenko made her impassioned speech following the fire that the casinos would all have to shut whilst safety checks were carried out she forgot one simple thing… they were already supposed to be checked!!! Her Government was supposed to be making sure that they were safe. It’s called responsibility. Accountability.  Professionalism. But – what a surprise – the whole system is rotten as a pear.

Instead of actually trying to regulate properly – it was easier to just shut the lot. A cop out. Brainless.
Where to go now to gamble in Ukraine?

…Underground of course.

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