Stay or go? Foreigners still in Ukraine face dilemma

Foreigners stranded in Ukraine are facing uncertainty as to whether they should leave the country or stay amid the coronavirus shutdown.

The last scheduled international flights will depart Ukraine on March 27 for New York, London, Bangkok, Paris, Frankfurt, and Brussels. However, some foreigners don’t want to leave, especially for densely populated cities like New York which, as of March 22, had 5% of all the coronavirus cases in the world.

While Ukraine’s major airlines, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and SkyUp, have announced that they will have last minute flights, foreigners face a real uphill battle over their stay in Ukraine. 

For German-born Marc Us, who doesn’t want to leave for Germany yet, it is unclear if the airlines will continue flying throughout April, May or even June. For him, the question is if regular flights will be offered later.

“Regular flights are like the lottery, and (they) are all canceled short term, so who will book this if it is almost sure flight gets canceled?” he asked.

Pricey last-minute flights

On March 23, U.S. citizen Zachary Nelson learned from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv that he could book a last-minute flight departing two days later on March 25 for $920.

The U.S. State Department and the embassy sent him emails, saying that, at this time, it was the only direct way to travel between Ukraine and the U.S. for the foreseeable future.

After living in Ukraine for four years, Nelson swiftly packed his bags. It was “like being ripped away,” he said.

Booking the flight with Ukrainian International Airlines was not an easy task. He had to purchase the ticket through a free virtual private network, or VPN, with a U.S. IP address, so that the airline’s website recognized him as an American and allowed him to book the flight. It’s unclear why U.S. citizens living in Ukraine needed to pretend they live in the U.S. to depart from Ukraine, but two other Americans who talked to the Kyiv Post reported the same issue.

And the ticket ultimately cost him $980, $380 more than the usual price. Although Nelson could afford to buy his ticket, not everyone can. In other cases, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine can give Americans a loan, but under very specific conditions. First, the embassy reaches out to three family members for money. If they don’t have it, the embassy approves the loan, but takes away the passenger’s passport and gives him or her an emergency travel document. The U.S. will only reissue the passport once the loan is paid back.

Still, for many, uncertainty prevails. Most foreigners willing to go home should keep monitoring the flights’ schedules on UIA and SkyUp websites, rather than counting on the embassies like in Nelson’s case.

For example, UIA scheduled a flight for March 27 which was not announced by the U.S. Embassy. When reached for a comment, the U.S. Embassy said it did not know about this flight and “could not advise you about it.”

Many, however, are keen on staying in Ukraine rather than risking the trip abroad. But they’re in the dark, too.

Uncertainty for those staying

British citizen Ben Cottle arrived in Ukraine on March 2, where he was supposed to do a three-month teaching program.

Cottle would stay if the airports were open, but since they are closed he’d rather go home and be near his family.

“If, for example, (the government) wasn’t going to close airports again, then I’d probably stay and try and finish off my three-month experience here, depending on if the school remains open,” Cottle said.

At the moment, he’s working online, has a free apartment and is still getting paid. Despite the seeming comfort, he called the situation “stressful.”

“It is stressful to feel like you’re stuck somewhere and cannot leave the country,” he said. “And you don’t know when you’ll be able to leave the country.”

Jason Jones, a former news anchor for UATV and an English teacher, agreed with Cottle. 

“If I was just somebody who just came here for a few months and was just adjusting and had not traveled or lived abroad before, I’d be freaking out,” he said. “I’d be one of those people rushing out to get a ticket home.”

Jones lives and works in Ukraine, and says he has no issue being stuck in the country. He used to live in Belarus and praised the Ukrainian capital’s international community. 

“Honestly there’s no other place I’d rather be,” Jones said, “there’s more support (from the expat community), more awareness.”

However, the vacation he planned with his girlfriend to Ireland, Scotland and Hungary was canceled due to the global shutdown. After numerous attempts to get a refund from Hungarian low-cost airline Ryanair for his $120 tickets, he gave up.

“Eventually I had to bite the bullet and not get my money back,” he said. He feels the bigger concern will be the locals and businesses who – unlike him – will face much bigger challenges from the coronavirus pandemic.

“When people can’t afford to pay rent or buy food, that’s going to be the bigger concern,” he said. 

Lack of information

As a foreigner, Jones acknowledged a certain lack of information about the coronavirus crisis in Ukraine.

“We don’t know what’s going on outside… we can only look online,” he said.

A student from India said he felt similarly. The student, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of being expelled from his university, said that a lack of information surrounding the coronavirus crisis had left him and his classmates confused.

He lives with up over 70 other students from his country in a dormitory in Kyiv. Three students live in each room and there are common kitchens and bathrooms, he said.

He said his living conditions are good in Ukraine, but that he is worried about the risk of coronavirus living in communal housing. He wants to return to India if the quarantine is extended, despite the risks of traveling and the higher number of COVID-19 cases in India.

Students contacted the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to request evacuation, and top officials said they were “thinking about it,” he said.

If traveling back to India is not an option, he asked that the dormitory be regularly disinfected and medics conduct regular checkups for the students. He and his classmates want the Indian Embassy and the Ukrainian government to take their situation into consideration and act.

“What are they waiting for?” he said. “They should do something!”

Indian students also face financial issues: they have to pay $1,000 a year for the dormitory, and have little money, as their relatives are also under the quarantine put in place on March 23 in India until April 2.

Visa concerns

Due to the wide-reaching COVID-19 law signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 18, foreigners need not be afraid of overstaying their visas due to the quarantine.

They will not be fined for overstaying, provided that it is the result of the quarantine. Instead, all administrative deadlines – both visa expiration dates and residency permit renewal deadlines – have been extended by the length of the quarantine, according to the State Migration Service. However, foreigners whose deadline passed before the quarantine began, are considered in violation and will be subject to a fine. 

According to Vasyl Cherednichenko, a partner with law firm Expatpro, which specializes in migration and citizenship, the amount of the fine depends on multiple factors, including the length of the overstay and the reasons behind it.

Cherednichenko said that foreigners whose overstay was extended by the quarantine may have legitimate grounds to receive smaller fines. 

Foreigners whose legal time in Ukraine was running out before the quarantine began may have a very small window to leave the country once the quarantine ends. The migration service did not confirm that any grace period will be provided, nor is a grace period mentioned in the March 18 law.

Each case will be handled separately by the State Border Service.

Tasos Tsiamis, a Greek national whose company provides accounting services, was told by the migration service that anyone who was legal in Ukraine by March 16, would get a pass under the new law.

Foreigners who have a permanent or temporary residence permit are still allowed to enter the country.

However, many foreigners who were in the process of applying for or restoring their residency permits were caught outside Ukraine when the quarantine started. They remain stranded outside the country, separated from their Ukrainian homes, work and significant others, unsure of when they will be allowed to return. Some have their permit documents waiting for them in the closed offices of the migration service – in Ukraine.