However, as noted by Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the new rule will not affect developed European countries and the 'Group of Eight,' which includes Russia. This is explained by the fact that this measure is preventive – the Ukrainian authorities want to protect the country from the flow of illegal migrants.
This issue became particularly relevant after the signing of a readmission agreement between Ukraine and the European Union member states. If during the first two years Europe partially covers the costs of deporting illegal immigrants detained at the border of Ukraine with EU member states, then later Ukraine will have to pay for their maintenance and travel to their place of residence on its own.
The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine explained that there is no list yet of countries whose residents must enter with the stated amount. Migration service specialists are working on it. But, based on the list of states that supply the most migrants to Ukraine, it is likely that they will be included in the 'black money list.' According to the State Border Guard Service, the largest number of illegal immigrants arrive in Ukraine from Uzbekistan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Moreover, Russia is typically used as a transit country, and through it come illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Asian countries.
At the travel agency 'Travel-Tour,' they believe that this innovation will not affect their business at all. 'Firstly, we work more on "outbound" than "inbound,"' explained Strana.Ru agency manager Artyom Prisyazhnyuk. 'That is, we mainly send Ukrainians abroad for rest and travel, rather than receiving foreign tourists here. Secondly, if these restrictions do not affect citizens of European countries, then there is nothing to worry about at all, since the main flow of foreign tourists to us comes from Europe.'
However, his colleague Nikolai Sviridenko, who organizes private tours specifically 'on inbound,' believes that this could to some extent affect the tourism business. 'Depending on which countries are included in the list, this norm could affect traveling students,' he said. 'For them, this would be a large amount of money. However, considering that the system of hostels (inexpensive student hotels) in Ukraine is still poorly developed, there is nothing to worry about for now.'
However, representatives of both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs reassure that for tourists who have vouchers, these norms will not be mandatory. At the same time, the amount of $1,700 is clearly not calculated for a tourist. Experts calculated that when the Eurovision song contest was held in Kyiv in 2005, each foreigner spent on average about €500 per week. Specialists have already calculated that during Euro-2012, these expenses could grow to €800-1,000 per person.