Ukrainians hit by increase in obstacles to EU visa applications

Ukrainian citizens say they face increasing obstacles in obtaining visas to visit the EU, despite recent promises from Brussels of closer links.

The Belgian, German and Italian embassies in Kiev are particularly criticised for making visa issue harder rather than easier. The complaints include higher costs, longer delays, more onerous paper work and arbitrary decisions.

Ukrainian businessmen and diplomats say that the situation has deteriorated further in recent weeks, with EU member states’ diplomatic missions in Ukraine diverting visa applications to intermediary companies. Since mid-February, the German embassy has been accepting visa applications exclusively through a local agency. The missions of the Netherlands and - since the beginning of March - Belgium have also introduced the option of applying through local agencies. These charge a €25 fee on top of the standard €35 fee for a Schengen visa - taking the total cost of a visa close to the average Ukrainian’s monthly salary. The Italian mission uses another local agency, which also charges an additional fee - and allegedly takes up to four months to process applications.

"The payment of the fee does not result in improved or faster visa issuance," a Ukrainian diplomat told European Voice. "And using these agencies is leading to an increase in unmotivated refusal of visas."

International lorry drivers say they have been particularly hard hit, with Italy making unnecessary demands for information already provided via TIR carnets and Germany cutting the visa validity from a year to just one month and requiring additional certification of documentation. Drivers suggest that the obstacles are being used as a disguised barrier to competition.

The timing of this tougher approach has provoked accusations of EU hypocrisy, since negotiations opened in March, with a fanfare, on a new EU-Ukraine enhanced agreement, which includes the explicit aim of strengthening people-to-people exchanges. Just last week, Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and Commission President José Manuel Barroso both assured Ukraine’s Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich - on a visit to Brussels - that they welcomed the opportunity to deepen relations. Barroso spoke optimistically about the EU’s progress in its current bid to finalise a visa facilitation deal with Kiev.

Member state diplomats are defensive of their missions in Ukraine, claiming that the use of intermediaries is intended to help, not hinder, issuing visas. The Belgian ministry of foreign affairs said that the option of paying an agency was "in the interests of all applicants" and would permit faster decisions on applications. The principal aim was to ensure that applications were duly completed before they were assessed, since many rejections result from insufficient supporting documentation, said the spokesman. But he admitted that this pilot scheme was still under evaluation: "It’s too early to say if we are satisfied."

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry on behalf of the EU presidency said: "The outsourcing policy is in line with the overall objective of the EU-Ukraine visa facilitation agreement which was initialled in October last year but which has not entered into force yet."

Tensions were raised further when a party of young Ukrainian journalists, officials, politicians and activists ran into visa difficulties in March - leading to the cancellation of their planned visit to the European Parliament at the invitation of Polish centre-right MEP Micha? Kaminski.

Ukrainian citizens say they face increasing obstacles in obtaining visas to visit the EU, despite recent promises from Brussels of closer links.