– In 1997, Ukraine was the first among CIS countries to put into effect an international guarantee document that provides a new form of visa support. We are talking about the so-called tourist carnet of the International Touring Alliance (AIT), a worldwide non-governmental organization uniting 140 tourist and automobile clubs from all continents. This became possible thanks to the admission of the Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU) into this authoritative public organization.
– For many of our compatriots, the concept of a tourist carnet is a little-known phenomenon. What is it and what is it for?
– To begin with, I would like to note that Carnet de touriste, or tourist carnet, is a well-known phenomenon: for four years now this guarantee document has been highly popular. Judge for yourself: with its help, almost 90,000 Ukrainian citizens were able to obtain entry visas and visit the countries of the Schengen Agreement.
The tourist carnet was developed and introduced by AIT, a consultative body of the UN, with the aim of promoting tourism. It is common knowledge that the main obstacle to travel is the presence of visa barriers. That is why the main task of the tourist carnet was to simplify visa procedures and introduce more democratic forms of obtaining visas.
The key document when considering the issue of granting an entry visa is the so-called visa support. Before the introduction of the tourist carnet, visa support was required either in the form of an arranged tourist voucher (which, of course, is not cheap and therefore not available to everyone), or a business invitation (which implies the existence of confirmed business ties), or a private invitation (in this case we may be talking about relatives or close acquaintances). All these types of visa support, firstly, do not take into account the possibilities of individual tourism, and secondly, impose a number of obligations and guarantees on the inviting party, including financial ones. This circumstance placed our citizens in the position of a petitioner, and sometimes forced them to deal with unscrupulous foreign legal entities and individuals. The introduction of the tourist carnet significantly simplified this procedure.
The uniqueness of the tourist carnet is that it is the only guarantee document that almost anyone can obtain. Moreover, the tourist carnet serves as visa support regardless of the purpose of the trip (business, tourist, or private) and the chosen mode of transport (train, bus, car, or airplane). It contains a complete set of all necessary guarantees to the governments of the Schengen Agreement countries. The guarantors here are the All-German Automobile Club (ADAC) and the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club (ÖAMTC). Therefore, the embassies of these two countries in Ukraine recognize the tourist carnet as a sufficient basis for granting an entry visa.
– Can we confidently say that this document guarantees obtaining a visa?
– Naturally, no. No document guarantees obtaining a visa. As already mentioned, visa support is a key but not the only basis for granting a visa. When considering an application for a visa, the embassy takes into account many circumstances, including the presence of facts of violation of the visa regime, possible offenses on the territory of the Schengen Agreement countries (even if it is a fine for violating traffic rules). In these cases, one cannot count on obtaining a visa. But if there are no such grounds for refusal, you will definitely receive an entry visa on the basis of the tourist carnet.
An important circumstance is that any type of visa support, except the tourist carnet, is valid only for the period of time specified in it. And what if unforeseen circumstances arise and the planned trip needs to be made earlier or later? In that case, any visa support is lost for you. However, if you have a tourist carnet, this is not a problem: we will do everything necessary to make the validity period of this document convenient for you. Four validity periods of the tourist carnet are provided: 15, 30, 60, and 90 days, and in the vast majority of cases, a visa based on the tourist carnet provides the possibility of multiple entry (the so-called “multivisa”).
The carnet has not forgotten family tourism either. If you are planning a trip with children under 15 years of age, the tourist carnet will not only help you obtain a visa, but will also be noticeably cheaper.
– Speaking of prices. How much does a tourist carnet cost?
– The minimum cost of a tourist carnet with a validity period of 15 days is approximately 220 hryvnias, and a three-month one is about 410 hryvnias. You have the right to choose the most convenient validity period of the tourist carnet based on your personal plans and capabilities.
– And what is needed to get a tourist carnet?
– You need to come to the issuance points in Kyiv or Lviv on any convenient day and get a tourist carnet on a first-come, first-served basis. For members of the Automobile Federation of Ukraine, there is a system of preliminary appointment at a convenient time by phone.
To obtain a tourist carnet, you must have with you your internal passport and foreign passport, as well as a certificate from your place of work indicating your salary. In addition, depending on the purpose of the trip, you need to provide additional documents. If the purpose of the trip is to purchase a car, you must have a driver's license with you, as well as provide two addresses where you intend to stay and purchase the vehicle. If the purpose of the trip is private, an invitation letter is sufficient (without a mandatory declaration of financial responsibility). And finally, if you are traveling as a tourist, you need to provide confirmation of a hotel reservation.
As you can see, the requirements are quite democratic and fairly easy to fulfill. If you have any of the above sets of documents, the interview and processing of a tourist carnet will take no more than half an hour. If you have a payment plastic card, including a FAU member payment card, the procedure will take even less time.
– But getting a tourist carnet is not the same as getting a visa. After that, you have to go to the embassy, and that is always a rather lengthy procedure that gives little pleasure...
– As already mentioned, a tourist carnet is indeed a unique document that will save you from the tedious walking and waiting in front of embassy gates. The procedure for obtaining a visa using a tourist carnet, of course, includes an interview at the embassy, but you do not need to worry about its date and time – that is our concern. You only need to come to the embassy at the appointed time, submit the necessary documents, and pay the consular fee. Moreover, if necessary, you can receive your passport at the place where the tourist carnet was issued at a time convenient for you.
Thus, if you get a tourist carnet today, you will be able to make your foreign trip in just two weeks.
– Are there any benefits when purchasing a tourist carnet?
– In our opinion, the tourist carnet itself provides significant benefits, and its price is indeed acceptable. The tourist carnet solves the tasks set before it – this is evident from the experience of twelve countries where this document is distributed. A tourist trip to almost any European country has become accessible even to a person with a low income level.
This is most clearly seen in the example of automobile tourism. After all, having obtained a visa through a tourist carnet, you can travel along your chosen route through any countries. In addition, you have the right to use camping services, and in the event of any malfunction in your car – professional technical assistance provided by automobile clubs throughout Europe. Along with the tourist carnet, you will be given all the necessary documents for a foreign trip.
For those who wish to visit Europe in their own car, FAU, together with partner organizations, has developed a special program called “Pidkova”, which takes into account all the specific problems of the automobile tourist.