Ten Russians applied for visas to enter Ukraine. But they wonʼt be able to get them in 10 days

As of July 11, ten Russians applied for visas to enter Ukraine. Six of them applied for short-term visas, four more citizens of the Russian Federation wanted to be reunited with their families.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleh Nikolenko, told Suspilne about this.

According to him, during the first week, there were no Russians willing to come to Ukraine. But in the second week, 10 questionnaires were submitted. All documents were sent from outside Russia because it is not possible to apply for a visa in the Russian Federation — the relevant centers have not yet been opened. People sent documents from Germany, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, and Hungary.

"In the second week, ten visa forms appeared. As of July 11, ten Russian citizens applied for Ukrainian visas, submitting the relevant documents. We are talking about 6 short-term visas for people who want to visit Ukraine for private purposes, as well as four long-term visas for reunification with family," said Nikolenko.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that it will take longer than 10 days to review the documents and make a decision on granting visas, and it is currently unknown how long this process will take.

"If we take the standard visa procedure, it is 10 days. But taking into account the fact that the visa seekers are citizens of the aggressor state, a more thorough check will be carried out here, so the visa processing period will be longer than 10 days. We understand that the decision on the visa regime is designed to guarantee our national security, therefore, applicants will be subject to enhanced verification, so that other competent authorities of Ukraine can also participate in the review of information submitted by Russian citizens, in order to accurately verify that the person does not pose a threat for our security," the diplomat noted.

• On February 11, a petition on the introduction of a visa regime with Russia appeared on the website of the Office of the President. It scored 25,000 votes, necessary for its consideration by the president. Volodymyr Zelensky supported this idea and instructed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to develop it.
• From July 1, the visa regime with Russia became operational in Ukraine.