Today there are five Polish consular offices in Ukraine - in Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv, and Lutsk. In the morning, an absolutely incredible crowd of people wishing to obtain visas to the neighboring country gathers near each of them. The initiator of introducing the visa regime with Ukraine was Poland, which, due to its upcoming accession to the European Union in May 2004, must also join the Schengen agreements. Let us recall that earlier other EU candidate countries had already taken such a step - in particular, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Hungary introduced a visa regime on November 1.
The documentary change in visa contacts between Poland and Ukraine actually occurred in early July of this year, when the countries signed a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on the regime of mutual travel for citizens. And already from September 1, Polish consular departments in Ukraine began issuing new visas. For our compatriots they are still free, but those who travel without an invitation must have appropriate financial security - at least 300 zlotys (about $80) for three days or a credit card. A Polish visa grants the right to enter only the territory of Poland; it does not extend to Schengen area countries.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry hopes that the introduction of a visa regime with Poland will not create obstacles in relations between the countries. According to the head of the Foreign Ministry's press service, Markiyan Lubkivskyi, Ukraine and Poland are already experiencing the effects of a kind of experiment, and he hopes it will be successful. During a conversation with journalists, Mr. Lubkivskyi also noted that the Ukrainian and Polish sides made every effort to ensure that the visa regime was liberal, did not affect the interests of the two countries in the economic sphere, and did not hinder human relations.
However, due to the introduction of the visa regime on the Ukrainian-Polish section of the state border, the flow of vehicles decreased fivefold, and passenger traffic threefold. After a trip to the Shehyni international road border crossing, the deputy head of the Mostyska border detachment, Major Viktor Melnychenko, said that today there are almost only trucks at the border. In addition, the number of citizens who crossed the border daily has decreased (usually from the Polish consulate in Ukraine. They say that there is plenty of information about the possibilities of obtaining a visa at consular points (the presence of numerous informational leaflets is confirmed by those seeking a visa who have been to the aforementioned point at least once), but not everyone wants to figure it out - they save time. And those who decided to seek advice, according to the consulate, can be counted on one's fingers, which indicates a superficial attitude of Ukrainians to the innovation.
It is Ukrainians, believes the Consul General of Poland in Ukraine, Sylwester Szostak, who are to blame for the queues at consular points and the consulate. He has every reason to assume that since visas began to be issued, our compatriots have been artificially creating a stir and making money by reselling places in queues. Sylwester Szostak noted that such violations are most often observed at the Consulate General of Poland in Lviv. “A businessman comes to the consulate, and he is warned that he is 321st on the list. Then he is kindly offered, in a whisper, for a modest price, a spot in the first or second hundred,” the consul said.
Trading places in line for visas is as common a phenomenon as customs 'authoritative support.' Moreover, anyone wishing to take part in such acts automatically loses their right to legally obtain a free visa.
“If there is no way to solve the problem of entering Poland,” shares advice an experienced 'transit traveler,' “try to buy a visa through a travel agency. Cooperation with regional companies in this case will be cheaper.” And even simpler - carefully familiarize yourself with the rules for obtaining a visa, follow them unquestioningly, and everything will work out for you and us.