First let’s define terms. A travel visa is a document granted by a foreign government which gives someone permission to travel into its country and stay there for a set period of time. A passport is a document, issued by someone’s own government, which certifies the identity of its holder for the purpose of international travel.

There are four indispensible documents employed in the process of obtaining legal entry into Ukraine as a “religious worker.”

1)      It starts with a Letter of Request from a Ukrainian religious organization.

• A registered national organization in Ukraine must request the State Committee of Ukraine on Religious Matters to invite the missionary
• It costs $100 to process this letter of request

2)     Next, the State Committee will issue an official Letter of Invitation to the missionary.

• It takes about two weeks for issuance
• It costs $70 to send it securely to the USA

3)     Then, the missionary applies for a Multiple-Entry Visa* from one of the Ukrainian consulates in the USA

• Only a multiple-entry visa will do, since a single or double-entry visa will not allow a stay beyond three or six months, respectively
• They costs $160 each for U.S. citizens, $200 each for others or $400 each for “rapid processing”

4)     The last document needed is the missionary’s up-to-date U.S. Passport.  He or she must send this to the Ukrainian consul along with the official letter of invitation, two passport-type photos, cashier’s check and a return envelope.

• The passport must be valid for at least 90 days following the departure date from Ukraine, and have at least two un-used pages for  immigration stamps
• Allowing for the time it takes to mail documents back and forth, it takes at least eight weeks to get all of this done

After arrival in Ukraine, the missionary will need to get several other documents, but that’s another story. As you can see, there is a world of difference between traveling as a tourist (who, by the way, doesn’t need a visa if visiting 90 days or less) and living long-term in Ukraine.

*A multiple-entry visa allows someone to enter and leave the country as often as you need to within the visa’s time period. Other types do not.