Seldom have Post articles generated as much response as the pair of stories we ran on Kyiv's foreigner registration laws in our Feb. 3 issue ('Crackdown on registration angers foreigners,' page 1; and the editorial 'Registration laws must go,' page 8). Almost every letter supported the abolishment of Ukraine's registration laws and the easing of visa restrictions for Westerners.
So we have decided to publish those letters en masse in the hope that someone in the Ukrainian government will take note of the overwhelming resentment the foreign community feels for these laws, and do something about it.
Actually, the Post did get a call from Ukraine's Interior Ministry about our stories. An official asked if we would kindly fax him what we published. We obliged. Since then, we have heard nothing.
Maybe the following glaring display of resentment to the laws will draw more attention.
Registration laws for the birds
Your article 'Registration laws must go' was long overdue. The double-talking hypocrisy exercised by the Ukrainian government is a disgrace to the Ukrainian people. As Americans living and working in Ukraine, we do not expect 'preferential' treatment. But we do expect humane treatment, such as should be expected in any civilized country. Ukraine's new visa laws are a good example of their intolerant hypocrisy. Who wants to work in a country that makes you visit OVIR every 90 days?
John and Cathy O'Brien
Unaffiliated Baptist Missionaries
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Thank you for your editorial that calls on the government to abolish the visa registration law. I visit Ukraine regularly to provide humanitarian aid to poor people, hospitals and orphanages. Of all the countries I visit, Ukraine and Russia present the most inhospitable image, primarily through the various law enforcement agencies. I am almost always 'hassled' at borders by both customs and border guard personnel. I do not have any malicious intent toward the government or your people, yet it seems that I am usually suspected of some evil purpose. I agree with you that the time has come to change your image to attract rather than repel visitors.
William L. Wharton
United States
I have lived in Dnipropetrovsk for over two years and fly frequently from the local airport. The registration inspections in fact started here about a year ago. All are inspected for registration at a separate desk prior to customs, tickets, etc. This also includes passengers on domestic flights. Since I have been careful always to register anyway, I never had any problems, but I have noticed others having problems and paying fines. One problem is that if someone in front has difficulties, then the whole queue is held up. An additional problem at our plant is that OVIR has fined us for not performing separate registrations of each visa invitation letter (i.e. each invitation letter necessary for obtaining visas should be separately stamped by OVIR). This procedure takes about eight days. The registration business is obvious nonsense and – like the health insurance racket – an obvious chance for a scam, but we have to put up with it. I would like to see Ukrainians in England register as well on a tit-for-tat basis. R. Alan Sutton CFO Dnipropetrovsk Oil Extraction Plant, Dnipropetrovsk
I have been to Kyiv three times over the past few years. Being a person who never traveled overseas before, I was not aware of the need to register my visa. I may be traveling again to Kyiv later this year, and when I read your story I was really worried about whether I would have any trouble. I am amazed that Americans would have to go through this. I know the government is worried about people from Chechnya, but I feel we should not have to endure this. For myself, when I get to Kyiv, I will have the person I am visiting find where the OVIR is so I can get my visa registered. First it was health insurance and now this. I hope things will get better in Ukraine.
Robert Deroy
United States
The problems with travel in Ukraine are certainly not limited to the airport in Kyiv. My wife and I arrived in November at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border only to be harassed for bribes by OFFICIALS in leather jackets! We had none of these problems in Belarus (although plenty of language problems), and I insisted on meeting with the border patrol chief. This turned out to be a young, uninterested uniformed man who could not be bothered.
At that point, I decided to abort our trip; what might have gone wrong beyond the checkpoint in spite of the pricey visa is anyone's guess!
I am a German citizen and a firm believer that bribes are UNACCEPTABLE! There are too many places trying very hard to earn a tourist dollar in an honest fashion (such as Slovakia). It was quite a challenge to return with an expired visa through Belarus (And I think these crooks at the Ukrainian border knew this)! But we managed! Germany/USA (Wife) 1, Ukraine 0! NO VALIUTA!
Peter Rosner
United States
I have been going to Kyiv for the past several years. In fact I got married during one of such trips. I know about the requirement to register at OVIR, and – although there may have been a need for it – I feel that need no longer exists. The Ukrainian government can find better things to do by not harassing tourists at airports or train stations on their way out of Ukraine. The government can make more money by collecting a fee at the border. Like it is here in Las Vegas, where there is a tourist tax. It really is that simple.
William M. Clarke
United States
The point you made about registration is absolutely correct. I have traveled to more than 30 countries in four continents during my life, and I agree with you: Ukrainian registration rules are among the toughest in the world!
A business visa can be obtained as reasonably as in any other country. No complaints there. However, a private visa is a complete nightmare! I was informed that anyone willing to invite me privately would have to apply up to two months in advance!
A hotel advised me to 'get a business visa because our own invitation might not be sufficient to obtain an entry permit.' And what about developing tourism, a key industry in today's world and one that Ukraine could exploit (think of Crimea and your historical landmarks)?
This definitely discourages private travelers and effectively closes the door to anybody who is not a determined and well-connected businessman. Fortunately, my own company is present in Ukraine, and I go there for business. But visiting my friends privately is out of the question! How regrettable!
These severe registration restrictions are impossible to understand. North American and Western European countries are often tough on visas because they fear drug trafficking and illegal immigration. But foreign visitors are unlikely to go to Ukraine for those reasons. Your visitors are mainly businessmen, with a few tourists and people with personal connections in the country.
Enrique Rodriguez
Switzerland
I have been to Ukraine six times, always with my Ukrainian wife. We don't travel by air, but usually cross the border by bus from Warsaw to Lviv, and then further on to my wife's hometown of Drohobych, about 100 kilometers from Lviv.
I have never registered at OVIR; it's the first time I heard about these crazy rules. But I never had any problems leaving the country. And the Ukrainian embassy in Stockholm has never informed me about something like that.
I think Ukraine should stop this insanity. Not only the registration rules, but also visas for Westerners. I know many people here in Sweden who would like to travel to Ukraine. But when they hear about Ukraine's visa requirements, it's only real enthusiasts who proceed with their travel plans.
It's a pity, because Ukraine has much to offer tourists. Service is not up to Western standards, but it is improving.
'Special rates' for foreigners in hotels, etc. should also be taken away. Several years ago I paid $100 for a miserable room without hot water in Kyiv, while Ukrainians and Russians paid only $15 for exactly the same room. Last weekend, I paid $100 for a room at Grand Hotel, a deluxe hotel in Oslo. Just compare!
Ukraine has a lot to offer, but unfortunately it seems like the leaders of the country don't realize that!
Hans Gustavsson
Sweden
I visited a family in Simferopol last April for 10 days. When I arrived, they could not decide on how to handle the registration process (OVIR). With many calls back and forth to friends within the system, they decided that while I remained ignorant they would not register me at all and that I would take my chances.
Fortunately, I was not approached by any uniformed officers upon leaving the country by air from Simferopol for Istanbul, Turkey.
But when I had arrived in Simferopol, I filled out all of the forms that were required, including the mandatory health insurance form and paid the required fee. Wouldn't this be the appropriate time for visitors to Ukraine to register their presence? If the forms were given to passengers on the planes while in the air, the stewardess could even help fill them out. This is common practice for all other air carriers throughout the world.
But despite the red tape involved in receiving a visa at the Ukrainian Consulate in New York and the forms in the airports, I would return to your country in the future.
[The name of the reader, who is from the United States, was withheld upon request]I have been to Ukraine recently, visiting a family. I knew that I was required to register with the police. My wife and I went down to the station to get my passport stamped. The first item of note was that all the documentation was in Russian and Ukrainian. This is very striking, because these documents have to be filled out by foreigners. This requires any visitor to have someone very competent in Ukrainian or a native accompany him. All this is an impediment to accomplishing other goals. My passport was stamped, and I thought I was done. That was an error. The police chief also had to stamp my passport. The chief was nowhere to be found. So I was told to return the next day.
By this point I had passed my third day and still was not 'officially' registered. I had to return and wait in long lines to get the police chief's stamp. This is a serious inconvenience for anyone who wants to enter Ukraine.
This country has to drop the old Soviet-style regulations imposed on visitors: The Cold War is over. And I was stunned and impressed by many of the fine tourist attractions that can be found in Ukraine.
But unless you arrive in a group, half of your time will be spent trying to get your passport stamped.
Aristides Wade
United States
Everything you wrote in the article on registration for foreigners was true and quite obvious. These regulations are clumsy. Corruption in Ukrainian law enforcement has gained an appalling scale. Being a citizen of Ukraine, I am grateful to your newspaper for highlighting those issues. But I was really shocked by the tone of the article. The spirit of the article, as well as the spirit of quite a lot of other editorials in the Post, makes me feel that you hate the country you are living in from the bottom of your heart.
I think that such a manner of conveying your ideas does not help promote them in Ukraine. If you really intend to help this country and the foreigners who are working and living here, you could, probably, start with respecting the country that honors you by hosting you here (I could not help rephrasing the last sentence of your article).
Besides that, I would like to make a guess as to why the government keeps the regulations for foreigners the way they are. In a Feb. 5 article in Zerkalo Nedeli, Leonid Derkach, the head of the State Security Service (SBU), states that 41 foreigners were ousted from Ukraine for 'unlawful actions' (espionage is implied) last year. Please note that he does not mention any of them being arrested, brought to court or sentenced. For some reason I strongly believe that none of those 41 foreigners complained to the Post about being expelled from Ukraine. Lively espionage activity may be one of the reasons Ukraine watches foreigners so closely. I am not trying to justify the present regulations – the SBU should find a better way of catching spies than making foreigners register their passports. I am just trying to find an explanation for the reluctance of the government to change them.
Sergei Antonov
Kyiv
I refer to the Post's story on registration for foreigners and the earlier letter by Natalie Voronkova from England about a similar extortion problem she encountered dealing with a shuttle-bus company (Letters to the Editor, Feb. 3).
I understood and shared all the feelings of the authors, but then felt that the problems are a bit overplayed and tackled in a wrong way. What is Natalie going to say? That people in Ukraine are chronically worse than in the U.K.? And, therefore, the problems may be solved only by actions from top to bottom, through an 'unbiased' paper, not simply through a police office? The Post, in turn, withheld the name of the bus company, as if it acts under a presidential umbrella and its disclosure may hurt the political establishment of Ukraine. Don't you feel there is something wrong in this approach? It looks as if you find something in the closet pan and call for help, instead of just washing it down.
There should be no problem with practical steps to catch these guys red-handed. We write long letters and call for all unbiased forces and governments to join their efforts to do what? To catch a couple of underpaid police officers or bus drivers who engineered a few tricks to make hush money. It looks silly, men.
I do believe that in every country you can find more honest people than scum guys. Please do not hesitate to apply to them and correct the situation, not just cry and blame the whole country for the sins of odd people.
Sergei Ignatov
Kyiv
