The provisions of the agreement expand the categories of Ukrainian citizens who are eligible for simplified processing of free and multiple visas; improve the procedure for issuing visas for media representatives; determine clear validity periods for multiple visas; establish the possibility of urgent visa processing (within 3 days) for persons living at a considerable distance from the place of filing a visa application (subject to payment of an urgent consular fee); introduce visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens who use biometric service passports.
The simplified visa regime will apply to: journalists and technical staff accompanying them for professional duties; participants of official exchange programs organized by twin cities and other municipal units; representatives of religious communities; representatives of professions participating in international exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars or other similar events held on the territory of member states; persons aged 25 years or younger who are participants in seminars, conferences, sports, cultural or educational events organized by non-profit organizations.
Also, the simplified visa regime applies to close relatives: a spouse, children (including adopted), parents (including guardians), grandparents and grandchildren who visit Ukrainian citizens with a valid residence permit in the territory of member states, or EU citizens residing in the territory of a member state of which they are citizens; representatives of public organizations traveling for educational training, participation in seminars, conferences, including exchange programs; participants of official EU cross-border cooperation programs, such as the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI).
The implementation of the agreement will contribute to further liberalization of the visa regime with the European Union, development of contacts between citizens of Ukraine and EU member states, and creation of a basis for the future introduction by the EU side of a full visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens.
It states that the adoption of the law will make it possible to carry out the domestic procedures necessary for the entry into force of the Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union amending the Agreement between Ukraine and the European Community on the simplification of visa issuance.
It is noted that the entry into force of the agreement will ensure the simplification of travel for Ukrainian citizens to EU member states, will contribute to the further development of relations between Ukraine and the European Union and the intensification of contacts in the socio-economic, cultural, humanitarian and other spheres.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Agreement amending the Agreement on the simplification of visa issuance with the EU on March 22, 2013.
Meanwhile, the issue of abolishing visas to the European Union countries is still far from a solution. The Action Plan for granting a visa-free regime to Ukraine consists of several stages. The first is the adoption of legislation that the EU requires from us; the second is control by Europe over how this legislation is implemented. For now, Ukraine is only completing the first stage.
The main requirement of the EU is that after the introduction of the visa-free regime, only real Ukrainian citizens travel on Ukrainian passports. That is, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of someone else traveling on a forged or illegally obtained passport. For this, biometric passports must be introduced, with chips containing information about their owners, and the procedure for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship by migrants from third countries must be complicated (and corruption in issuing passports must be stopped). It is also necessary to tighten control over border crossing procedures.
Also, the EU demands to correct a number of shortcomings, the list of which is quite arbitrary and practically does not concern the visa-free regime itself. Here, more depends on what the political relations between Kyiv and Brussels will be in general. Thus, during the discussion in the European Parliament, topics of democracy and civil liberties, independence of courts and improving conditions for business were raised. Separately and very loudly, the problem of the rights of sexual minorities, which are violated in Ukraine, was voiced.
According to some data, Ukraine's transition to the second stage of the action plan is realistic within 2013. However, the second stage itself is unlikely to last less than two years, therefore, the real date for the introduction of a visa-free regime is mid-2015.
Let us recall that the ultimate goal of the action plan for granting a visa-free regime is the abolition of short-term visas, which are obtained for tourist trips or business trips. Long-term visas obtained for study or work will remain.
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