Ukrainian Foreign Ministry: What you need to know during quarantine

Editor’s Note: This is a Q&A on coronavirus-related travel restrictions, posted by Ukraine’s foreign ministry and translated by the Kyiv Post.

1) When did Ukraine close its borders for entry?

From midnight March 16, 2020, to midnight April 3 (the night of April 2 to 3) entry into the territory of Ukraine for foreigners and stateless persons is terminated.

The entry ban can be lifted or continued depending on the situation with the global spread of the coronavirus.

2) Are Ukrainian citizens be able to enter the country during the period of the entry ban?

Yes, all citizens of Ukraine have the right to cross the state border to return to the territory of Ukraine.

3) Does the ban only apply to entry or to exit from Ukraine as well?

As for now, Ukraine has not limited exit from the country. But the entry ban may be valid in the country of their destination.

Please note, that as of March 17, Ukraine will suspend regular passenger service, so you will not be able to leave the country by plane, train or bus.

Recent updates on measures taken by foreign countries to counteract the spread of COVID-19 can be found on the Foreign Ministry’s website.

4) Who will not be able to get to Ukraine?

Foreign citizens or stateless persons who are not entitled to permanent or temporary residence in Ukraine.

5) Will foreigners who have the right to permanent or temporary stay in Ukraine be able to enter Ukraine?

Foreigners who are entitled to permanent or temporary residence in Ukraine may enter the territory of Ukraine as well as citizens of Ukraine.

6) Who else can enter Ukraine?

Entrance is also allowed for people who are spouses or children of Ukrainian citizens, employees of foreign diplomatic missions and consular posts accredited in Ukraine, representations of official international missions, organizations accredited in Ukraine, and members of their families, drivers and service personnel of trucks, crew members.

Apart from that, there are exceptions for certain groups of foreigners. The decision on their admission will take the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. For example, if doctors or other specialists are required to arrive in Ukraine.

7) What to do to Ukrainians who are abroad on vacation, on short-term business trips or for other purposes, which requires them to return home in the next 2 weeks?

1. Try to find a way to get back to Ukraine by midnight on the night of March 16-17.
2. If you are unable to do so, register on the FRIEND-system. It is a special system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in which you enter your data and inform the Foreign Ministry and all foreign diplomatic institutions about your stay in a certain country. Lists of Ukrainian citizens who urgently need to return to Ukraine during the restriction period will be formed, in particular, using the data of this system.
3. Contact the embassy or consulate hotline in your country of residence use the official e-mail, or social media pages.
4. Sometimes, because of too many users, the system can work improperly and hotlines turn out to be too “hot”. We apologize and ask for your understanding.

8) How much does it cost to call the MFA of Ukraine from abroad?

By agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ukrainian mobile operators, calls from mobile phones in roaming to the MFA hotline are free of charge.

9) How Ukrainian citizens who are currently abroad can return to Ukraine?

Ukraine temporarily closes the international passenger conveyance starting from March 17 till April 3. In addition, Ukrainian border crossing points for railway and buses will be closed at this time.

All citizens of Ukraine and foreigners who are entitled to permanent or temporary residence in Ukraine and are currently abroad on short-term business trips or vacations are encouraged to return to Ukraine by March 17.

For those who do not have time to do this for objective reasons (no available tickets for flights, substantial personal circumstances, etc.), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine recommends contacting the Ukrainian Consulates.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make every effort to help those who need to return to Ukraine urgently before the end of the restriction period to return home. Current information will be provided regularly via all official channels of communication as well as via foreign diplomatic institutions.

10) How will checkpoints work?

According to the Government’s decision, 123 checkpoints continue to operate. 107 checkpoints are closed before April 3.

The full list of closed checkpoints, as well as checkpoints where pedestrian traffic is suspended, can be found on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

11) Should people who enter Ukraine pass additional medical examinations or follow other safety rules?

At the border checkpoints, there are specially established sanitary departments.

Upon returning from countries with the adverse epidemic situation due to the coronavirus, all citizens will undergo temperature screening at the checkpoints and all appropriate measures will be taken – a person will be sent for self-isolation at home for 14 days, if necessary.

12) Will foreigners who operate trucks, transit vehicles, and crew members be able to enter Ukraine?

Crews of ships, cars, planes will be able to enter the territory of Ukraine, but must undergo additional examinations.

13) What if you don’t have time to return to Ukraine by March 17 (no tickets, no money)?

For all those who for objective reasons (inability to purchase plane tickets, personal circumstances, etc.) will not have time to return to Ukraine by midnight on March 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends to contact the Ukrainian Consulates and to register in the system “FRIEND” https://friend.mfa.gov.ua/#/

It is a special system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, where you enter your data and inform the Ministry and all foreign diplomatic institutions about your whereabouts in a certain country. The Ministry will form lists of citizens of Ukraine who need to return home in case of urgent need using data from this system.

Sometimes, because of too many users, the system may “hang up” and hotlines appear to be busy. We apologize for this and ask you to take these situations with understanding. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make every effort to help those who urgently need to return to Ukraine before the end of the restriction period. Current information will be provided on a regular basis through all official channels of communication as well as through foreign diplomatic institutions.

14) Is it possible to return to Ukraine after March 17 if the airline didn’t  cancel the flight?

Ukraine closes its regular international passenger service at midnight from March 16 to March 17. This also applies to air travel. By this time you can return home. Those who for objective reasons do not have time to do so should contact the Ukrainian consulates, which will form lists of persons for return to Ukraine. In the future, for those who most urgently need to return to Ukraine during the period of restrictions, special non-scheduled flights will be organized.

15) What if you are in a country where you have already canceled your flight?

Write an email or call the diplomatic office of Ukraine in this country and ask about possible alternative ways of returning home. The experience of previous days of emergency work demonstrates that e-mail communication proves to be more efficient because hotlines can be overloaded with calls.

16) How to evacuate a child from a quarantined country?

The laws on this issue vary from country to country. In addition, various safeguards are now being dynamically introduced by countries. To clarify the current regulations in a country you visited, we recommend contacting the nearest Consulate of Ukraine for practical advice and consular assistance.

17) What should you do if your work permit expires during the quarantine?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expected that during the period of quarantine in different countries abroad, Ukrainian citizens might have problems with expired documents. Therefore, Ukraine is already working with the governments of the countries concerned to avoid any penalties or other consequences for such citizens, given the circumstances. The Foreign Ministry will provide additional information when the relevant arrangements are made.

18) What if the FRIEND system does not work?

For obvious reasons, the load on the FRIEND system has increased more than 25 times lately. As of now, the system is stable. We are working to resolve technical issues as soon as they occur. If you continue to have problems logging in, such as receiving an email to activate your account, please email support at [email protected].

19) Due to the COVID-19 outbreak I cannot leave the country and my visa expires. What should I do?

In your situation, you should provide the Embassy of Ukraine with copies of your documents and information about your whereabouts. Based on the information received, the Embassy will contact the authorities at your place of (temporary) residence to assist you with administrative matters. In particular, to extend the period of stay without sanctions.

20) Consulates don’t answer calls and emails?

Today, our 24-hour hotlines are receiving thousands of calls. Therefore, the waiting time may be longer than we would like. But all calls will be answered.

21) What if you are abroad and unable to contact the consulate when the hotlines are busy?

Visit the Embassy or Consulate of Ukraine in your country of residence https://mfa.gov.ua/diplomatichni-ustanovi/inozemni-diplomatichni-ustanovi-v-ukrayini. It will provide you with an email address and links to social media pages. You can contact this address or message these pages: even on weekends, in the evening or at night. A special order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was issued for round-the-clock response in the conditions of special mode of operation. The hotline also continues to work: +38 (044) 238-16-57, however, be mindful of the queue.

We apologize if we cannot respond to you immediately or if our capabilities do not meet your expectations. But we assure you that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is doing everything in our power to provide you with the assistance you need.

22) Does the schedule of foreign diplomatic institutions change?

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that foreign diplomatic establishments switch to a special regime temporarily (for one week) amid COVID-19 outbreak around the world. It means remote form of work

when it comes to citizens’ appeals and processing of citizens’ requests.

A special form of work implies that diplomatic institutions abroad will continue to carry out their functions remotely, except in cases of force majeure, where immediate consular actions and functions, especially related to a pandemic, are required.

Foreign diplomatic institutions will process applications for following services during this period:

—  ID card for return to Ukraine in case a person needs to return to the country next week;

— the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship for children born to Ukrainian citizens outside Ukraine; issuing their identity card in case they need to return to Ukraine immediately;

— visas to enter Ukraine to secure Ukraine’s interests in foreign and domestic policy, as well as in cases of a humanitarian nature at the discretion of the head of foreign diplomatic institutions.

The special regime which calls for a remote form of dealing with citizens’ requests will continue from Sunday, March 15, until Friday, March 20, 2020.

23) What kind of appeals will not be processed temporarily due to an emergency?

Appeals from citizens to consular institutions that will not be temporarily processed due to an emergency:

— issuing passports of the citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad;

— issuing identity cards for return to Ukraine, with the exception of loss / absence of passport documents, real need for a citizen to return to Ukraine; in other critical cases for citizens of Ukraine by decision of the head of foreign diplomatic institution;

— consular registration;

— notarization issues except for cases of force majeure, such as attestation of death documents required for transporting the deceased, statements on children’s travel etc., legalization of documents;

— issues of citizenship (except for the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship for children born to Ukrainian citizens outside Ukraine; issuing their identity card in case they need to return to Ukraine immediately);

— issuing visas for entry to Ukraine or transit through its territory, except in cases where it is necessary to ensure the interests of Ukraine in the field of foreign and domestic policy, as well as in cases of a humanitarian nature;

— validation of official documents by the apostille and in the order of consular legalization (for representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the territory of Ukraine);

— visiting detainees;

— field consular services.

After returning to normal schedule all requests will be processed.

24) What if you could not find the answer to your question in the list that concerns you?

Contact the diplomatic office in your country, the MFA of Ukraine hotline at +38 (044) 238-16-57 or write an e-mail to: [email protected].

Information of the Operational Staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the coronavirus and the situation with Ukrainian citizens abroad:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UA_MFA_Info  

Facebook:  https://bit.ly/2v9WUDb

Telegram: https://t.me/s/Coronavirus_Info_MFA

25) How to protect yourself and your relatives?

— Avoid contact with people with cold symptoms. The minimum distance is 1.5 meters;

— Strengthen your immunity and monitor your well-being. Maintain good nutrition, healthy sleep, exercise and water balance of the body;

— Wash your hands frequently with soap for at least 20 seconds or use an antiseptic with an alcohol content of at least 60-80 percent;

— Avoid touching your face. Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with dirty hands;

— Properly cook all the products. Do not eat raw meat, meat by-products and eggs;

— Disinfect surfaces and packaging;

— Cancel events that involve large crowds;

— Work from home whenever possible;

— Contact your doctor if the first flu-like symptoms appear.

Translated by Daryna Antonyuk and Olena Goncharova.