Division 2.2.1 Documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the journey

For all the categories of persons listed in Article 4(1) of the Agreement including drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services, only the indicated documentary evidence will be required regarding the purpose of the journey. For those categories of applicants no other documents regarding the purpose of stay must be asked for. As stated in Article 4(3) of the Agreement, no other justification, invitation or validation regarding the purpose of the journey will be required.

If in individual cases doubts remain regarding the real purpose of the journey, the visa applicant will be called for an (additional) in depth interview to the embassy/consulate where (s)he can be questioned regarding the actual purpose of the visit or the applicant's intention to return- cfr. Article 21(8) of the Visa Code. In such individual cases, additional documents can be provided by the visa applicant or exceptionally requested by the consular officer. The Joint Committee will closely monitor the issue.

For the categories of persons not mentioned in Article 4(1) of the Agreement, the current rules continue to apply regarding documentation proving the purpose of the journey. The same applies to documents regarding parents' consent for travel of children under 18 years old.

Schengen rules or national law apply to issues not covered by the provisions of the Agreement, such as recognition of travel documents, travel medical insurance and guarantees regarding return and sufficient means of subsistence (cfr. I.1.2).

In line with the European Union Declaration on documents to be submitted when applying for short-stay visas, attached to the amending Agreement, ‘the European Union will establish a harmonised list of supporting documents, in accordance with Article 48(1)(a) of the Visa Code, in order to ensure that applicants from Ukraine are required to submit, in principle, the same supporting documents’. Member States' consulates, acting in Local Schengen Cooperation, are asked to ensure that Ukrainian visa applicants are given coherent and uniform basic information and are required to submit, in principle, the same supporting documents irrespectively of the consulate of the Member State where they apply.

In principle, the original request or certificate of the document required by Article 4(1) of the Agreement will be submitted with the visa application. However, the consulate can start processing the visa application with facsimile or copies of the request or certificate of the document. Nevertheless, the consulate may ask for the original document in case of the first application and will ask for it in individual cases where there are doubts.

As the below lists of authorities sometimes also contain the name of the person who can sign the relevant requests/certificates, the Ukrainian authorities should inform the Local Schengen Cooperation when those persons are replaced.

Article 4 of the Agreement stipulates that:

‘1.

For the following categories of citizens of Ukraine, the following documents are sufficient for justifying the purpose of the journey to the other Party:

(a)

for members of official delegations who, following an official invitation addressed to Ukraine, shall participate in meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations:

• a letter issued by an Ukrainian authority confirming that the applicant is a member of its delegation travelling to the other Party to participate at the aforementioned events, accompanied by a copy of the official invitation;’

The applicant's name must be indicated in the letter issued by the competent authority confirming that the person is part of the delegation travelling to the territory of the other Party to participate in the official meeting. The name of the applicant must not necessarily also be indicated in the official invitation to participate in the meeting, although this might be the case when the official invitation is addressed to a specific person.

That provision applies to members of official delegations whatever the passport (non-biometric service or ordinary passport) they hold.

1. (b)

   ‘for business people and representatives of business organisations:

   • a written request from a host legal person or company, or an office or a branch of such legal person or company, State and local authorities of the Member States or organising committees of trade and industrial exhibitions, conferences and symposia held in the territories of the Member States;

2. (c)

   for drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services to the territories of the Member States in vehicles registered in Ukraine:

   • a written request from the national association of carriers of Ukraine providing for international road transportation, stating the purpose, duration, destination(s), and frequency of the trips;’

The competent authorities that provide for the international road transportation and are responsible for stating the purpose, duration, destination(s) and frequency of the trips of the drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services to the territories of the Member States in vehicles registered in Ukraine, are:

1. 1..

   Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine (AsMAP/‘АсМАП’)

   The mailing address of the AsMAP is:

   11, Shorsa str.

   Kyiv, 03150, Ukraine

   Officials entitled to sign the requests are:

   • Kostiuchenko Leonid — President of the AsMAP of Ukraine;

   • Dokil' Leonid — Vice-President of the AsMAP of Ukraine;

   • Kuchynskiy Yurii — Vice-President of the AsMAP of Ukraine.

2. 2..

   State Enterprise ‘Service on International Road Carriages’ (SE ‘SIRC’)

   The mailing address of the SE ‘SIRC’ is:

   57, av. Nauka

   Kyiv, 03083, Ukraine

   Tel. +38 044 524 21 01

   Fax +38 044 524 00 70

   Officials entitled to sign the requests are:

   • Tkachenko Anatolij — Director of the SE ‘SIRC’;

   • Neronov Oleksandr — First Deputy Director of the SE ‘SIRC’.

3. 3..

   Ukrainian Road Transport and Logistics Union

   The mailing address of the Ukrainian Road Transport and Logistics Union is:

   28, Predslavinska str.

   Kyiv, 03150, Ukraine

   Tel./fax +38 044 528 71 30/+38 044 528 71 46/+38 044 529 44 40

   Official entitled to sign the requests is:

   Lypovskiy Vitalij — President of the Union

4. 4..

   All-Ukrainian Association of Automobile Carriers (AAAC) (Всеукраїнська асоціація автомобільних перевізників)

   The mailing address of the AAAC is:

   139, Velyka Vasylkivska str.

   Kyiv, 03150, Ukraine

   Tel./fax +38044-538-75-05, +38044-529-25-21

   Officials entitled to sign the requests are:

   • Reva Vitalii (Віталій Рева) — President of the AAAC

   • Glavatskyi Petro (Петро Главатський) — Vice President of the AAAC

     e-mail: [email protected]

5. 5..

   All-Ukrainian Association of Automobile Carriers (AAAC) (Всеукраїнська асоціація автомобільних перевізників)

   The mailing address of the AAAC is:

   3, Rayisy Okipnoyi str.

   Kyiv, 02002, Ukraine

   Tel./fax +38044-517-44-31, +38044-516-47-26

   Officials entitled to sign the requests are:

   Vakulenko Volodymyr (Вакуленко Володимир Михайлович) — Vice President of the AAAC

6. 6..

   Ukrainian State Enterprise ‘Ukrinteravtoservice’ (Українське державне підприємство по обслуговуванню іноземних та вітчизняних автотранспортних засобів ‘Укрінтеравтосервіс’)

   The mailing address of the Ukrainian State Enterprise ‘Ukrinteravtoservice’ is:

   57, av. Nauky

   Kyiv, 03083, Ukraine

   Officials entitled to sign the requests are:

   • Dobrohod Serhii (Доброход Сергій Олександрович) — Director-General of the Ukrainian State Enterprise ‘Ukrinteravtservice’ (phone: +38 044 524-09-99; cell. +38 050 463-89-32);

   • Kubalska Svitlana (Кубальська Світлана Сергіївна) — Deputy Director-General of the Ukrainian State Enterprise ‘Ukrinteravtoservice’ (phone: +38 044 524-09-99; cell. +38 050 550-82-62);

Taking into account the current problems with that category of visa applicants the Joint Committee will closely monitor the implementation of that provision.

‘(d)

for members of train, refrigerator and locomotive crews in international trains, travelling to the territories of the Member States:

• a written request from the competent railway company of Ukraine stating the purpose, duration and frequency of the trips;’

The competent authority in the field of the rail transportation of Ukraine is the State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine (‘Ukrzaliznytsia’/‘Укрзалізниця’).

The mailing address of ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’ is:

According to the responsibility allocation in the leadership of ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’, the officials in charge responsible for providing the information concerning the purpose, duration and frequency of the trips of the members of train, refrigerator and locomotive crews in international trains traveling to the territories of the Member States are:

• Bolobolin Serhii (Болоболін Сергій Петрович) — First Director-General of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 00 10);

• Serhiyenko Mykola (Сергієнко Микола Іванович) — First Deputy Director-General of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 00 01);

• Zhurakivskyy Vitaliy (Жураківський Віталій Олександрович) — First Deputy Director-General of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 00 41);

• Slipchenko Oleksiy (Сліпченко Олексій Леонтійович) — Deputy Director-General of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 00 14);

• Naumenko Petro (Науменко Петро Петрович) –Deputy Director-General of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 00 12);

• Chekalov Pavlo (Чекалов Павло Леонтійович) — Deputy Director-General of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 00 13);

• Matviiv Igor — Head of the Department of International Relations of Ukrzaliznytsia (phone: +38 044 465 04 25).

‘(e)

for journalists and the technical crew accompanying them in a professional capacity:

• a certificate or other document issued by a professional organisation or the applicant's employer proving that the person concerned is a qualified journalist and stating that the purpose of the journey is to carry out journalistic work or proving that the person is a member of the technical crew accompanying the journalist in a professional capacity;’

This category does not cover free-lance journalists.

The certificate or document proving that the applicant is a professional journalist and the original document issued by his/her employer stating that the purpose of the journey is to carry out a journalistic work or proving that the person is a member of the technical crew accompanying the journalist in a professional capacity must be presented.

The competent Ukrainian professional organisation proving that the person concerned is a qualified journalist is:

1. 1..

   National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) (‘Національна спілка журналістів України’, НСЖУ).

   NUJU issues to the qualified mass-media employees the national professional journalist's cards and international press-cards of the standard pattern set by the International Federation of Journalists.

   The mailing address of the NUJU is:

   27-a Khreschatyk str.

   Kyiv, 01001, Ukraine

   The authorized person of the NUJU is:

   Nalyvaiko Oleg Igorovych (Наливайко Олег Ігорович) — Head of the NUJU

   Phone/Fax +38044-234-20-96; +38044-234-49-60; +38044-234-52-09

   e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected].

2. 2..

   Independent Media Union of Ukraine (IMUU) (‘Незалежна медіа-профспілка України’).

   The mailing address of the IMUU is:

   Office 25,

   27 — A, Khreshchatyk Str.,

   Kyiv, 01001, Ukraine

   The authorized persons are:

   • Lukanov Yurii (Луканов Юрій Вадимович)– Head of the IMUU

   • Vynnychuk Oksana (Оксана Винничук) — Executive Secretary of the IMUU

     Phone + 38 050 356 57 58

     e-mail: [email protected]

1. (f)

   ‘for persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities, including university and other exchange programmes:

   • a written request from the host organisation to participate in those activities;

2. (g)

   for pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purposes of study or educational training, including in the framework of exchange programmes as well as other school related activities:

   • a written request or a certificate of enrolment from the host university, college or school or student cards or certificates of the courses to be attended;’

A student card can only be accepted as justification of the purpose of the journey when it is issued by the host university, college or school where the studies or educational training is going to take place.

‘(h)

for participants in international sports events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity:

• a written request from the host organisation: competent authorities, national sport Federations and National Olympic Committees of the Member States;’

The list of accompanying persons in case of international sports events will be limited to those accompanying the sportsman/woman in a professional capacity: coaches, masseurs, manager, medical staff and head of the sports club. Supporters will not be considered as accompanying persons.

‘(i)

for participants in official exchange programmes organised by twin cities and other municipal entities:

• a written request of the Head of Administration/Mayor of those cities or other municipal entities;’

The Head of Administration/Mayor of the city or other municipal entity competent to issue the written request is the Head of Administration/Mayor of the host city or the municipality where the twinning activity is going to take place. This category only covers official twinnings.

‘(j)

for close relatives — spouse, children (including adopted), parents (including custodians), grandparents and grandchildren — visiting citizens of Ukraine legally residing in the territory of the Member States or citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State of which they are nationals:

• a written request from the host person;’

That point regulates the situation of Ukrainian close relatives travelling to the Member States to visit Ukrainian citizens legally residing in the Member States or citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State of which they are nationals.

The authenticity of the signature of the inviting person must be proved by the competent authority according to the national legislation of the country of residence.

It is also necessary to prove the legal residence of the inviting person and the family tie; for example providing together with the written request from the host person, copies of documents explaining his/her status, such as a photocopy of the residence permit and confirming the family ties.

That provision also applies to relatives of staff working in diplomatic missions and consulates travelling for a family visit of up to 90 days to the territory of the Member States except for the need to proof legal residence and family ties.

In line with the European Union Declaration on facilitations for family members, attached to the amending Agreement, ‘In order to ease the mobility of an extended number of persons which have family links (in particular sisters and brothers and their children) with citizens of Ukraine legally residing in the territories of Member States or with citizens of the European Union residing in the territory of the Member State of which they are nationals, the European Union invites the Member States' consular offices to make full use of the existing possibilities in the Visa Code for facilitating the issuance of visas to this category of persons, including in particular, the simplification of documentary evidence requested for the applicants, exemptions from handling fees and, where appropriate, the issuing of multiple-entry visas.’.

‘(k)

relatives visiting for burial ceremonies:

• an official document confirming the fact of death as well as confirmation of the family or other relationship between the applicant and the buried;’

The Agreement does not specify which country's authorities should issue the above mentioned official document: the country where the burial ceremony will take place or the country where resides the person who wants to visit the burial ceremony. It should be accepted that the competent authorities of both countries could issue such official document.

The above mentioned official document confirming the fact of death as well as the family or other relationship between the applicant and the deceased must be presented; e.g. birth and/or marriage certificates.

‘(l)

for visiting military and civil burial grounds:

• an official document confirming the existence and preservation of the grave as well as family or other relationship between the applicant and the buried;’

The Agreement does not specify whether the abovementioned official document should be issued by the authorities of the country where the burial ground is located or those of the country in which the person who wants to visit the burial ground resides. It should be accepted that the competent authorities of both countries could issue such official document.

The abovementioned official document confirming the existence and preservation of the grave as well as of the family or other relationship between the applicant and the buried must be presented.

In accordance with the European Community Declaration on issuance of short-stay visas for visits of military and civil burial grounds, attached to the Agreement, as a general rule, short-stay visas for persons visiting military and civil burial grounds will be issued for a period of up to 14 days.

‘(m)

for visiting for medical reasons and necessary accompanying persons:

• an official document of the medical institution confirming the necessity of medical care in that institution, the necessity of being accompanied and proof of sufficient financial means to pay the medical treatment;’

The document of the medical institution confirming the necessity of medical care in this institution and the proof of sufficient financial means to pay for the medical treatment, will be submitted; it should also confirm that it is necessary to be accompanied.

‘(n)

for representatives of civil society organisations when undertaking trips for the purposes of educational training, seminars, conferences, including in the framework of exchange programmes:

• a written request issued by the host organisation, a confirmation that the person is representing the civil society organisation and the certificate on establishment of such organisation from the relevant Register issued by a state authority in accordance with the national legislation;’

The document proving registration in Ukraine of a civil society organisation is a letter issued by the State Registration Service of Ukraine with information from the Register of Public Associations.

1. (o)

   ‘for members of the professions participating in international exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars or other similar events held in the territory of the Member States:

   • a written request from the host organisation confirming that the person concerned is participating in the event;

2. (p)

   for representatives of religious communities:

   • a written request from a religious community registered in Ukraine, stating the purpose, duration and frequency of the trips;’

The document proving registration in Ukraine of a religious community is an extract from the Unified State Register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs with information that organisational and legal form of a legal entity is religious community.

‘(q)

for participants in official European Union cross-border cooperation programmes, such as under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI):

• a written request by the host organisation.’.

Important: The Agreement does not create any new liability rules for the physical or legal persons issuing the written requests. The respective EU/national law applies in case of false issuance of such requests.