Do I Need a Visa to Travel from Austria to Ukraine?
This is the primary question arising when an Austrian citizen prepares to pay a visit to Ukraine for the first time. Luckily, the answer is no – like all the other residents of the EU, Austrians can enter Ukraine and stay in the country for a period of up to 90 days within 180 days without any kind of visa. All they need to do is to show a valid international passport at the border of Ukraine and to get a stamp from a customs officer. In the case when an Austrian resident needs to stay in Ukraine for a period that exceeds above-mentioned limit, he/she will have to apply for D category visa. To get D category visa for entering Ukraine for the period of more than 90 days within 180 days, the citizens of Austria require one of the following documents:
- work permit;
- residence permit;
- invitation to study in Ukrainian educational institution;
- invitation of a foreign mission.
If you want to see the whole list of documents and to get detailed information about obtaining a long-term Ukrainian visa, please contact the Embassy of Ukraine in Austria. The address of the Embassy is Naaffgasse 23, Wien, Austria; telephone (+43) (1) 479 71 72 11, e-mail: emb_at@mfa.gov.ua, info@ukremb.at.
Ways to Travel from Austria to Ukraine
Airplane is, of course, the fastest way to travel from Austria to Ukraine. The direct flight from Wien to Kyiv will take only 2 hours. Such flights are offered by Wizz Air, Ukrainian International Airlines and Austrian airlines. There are also many flights from Austria to Ukraine that include one or more transfers. These flights connect not only the capitals (Wien and Kyiv), but also other Austrian cities (Salzburg, Innsbruck) with Ukrainian ones (Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro etc). A flight from Austria to Kyiv with one transfer usually takes around 4-5 hours. Apart from above-mentioned airline companies, it is also possible to buy tickets from Lufthansa, KLM, LOT and numerous other operators. As for the prices, the cost of a direct flight from Wien to Kyiv starts from around EUR 100.
If for some reason you do not want to go by airplane, bus can become a reasonable alternative. However, bus journey from Austria to Ukraine is quite long: it makes around 25 hours, so be prepared for a whole day spent on a bus seat. There are many bus routes from Austria to Ukraine, for example, the popular bus route connecting Wien with Uzhgorod, Lviv, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kyiv subsequently. The price of tickets for this bus depends on your final destination in Ukraine. In any case, it will not exceed EUR 80.
And what about the trains from Austria to Ukraine? That question definitely worries those who do not want to fly but find a bus journey way too exhausting. Luckily, in 2017 a new train route connecting Wien and Kyiv was opened. The daily train leaves Wien at 4.42 PM and arrives in Kyiv at 5.11 PM. The ticket price for Wien – Kyiv train trip is around EUR 85.
Custom Rules
As any other state, Ukraine has particular rules about items that travelers are allowed or prohibited to carry to the territory of the country. Austrian citizens travelling to Ukraine must know in advance that the list of items that are strictly prohibited to be taken across Ukrainian borders includes the following: drugs, poisons, explosive matters, weapons, materials that contain propaganda of violence, war, racism or pornography. It is also not allowed to enter the country with the amount of money exceeding EUR 10 000 without declaration. Talking about alcohol, tobacco and medication, the restrictions are 1 liter of strong alcohol, 2 liters of wine, 5 liters of beer, 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 250 grams of tobacco and 5 packs of medicinal drugs per person. If you want to take more of these items, you will have to declare them. There are also some other items that require declaration on the border, particularly valuable art objects and gems.
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Tips about Staying in Ukraine
Austrians coming to Ukraine should not worry about the necessity of acclimatization and significant change of time zones. The climates of Austria and Ukraine do not differ dramatically, and time difference is only 1 hour (Ukrainian time is 1 hour ahead).
Few words about accommodation in Ukraine. To avoid overpaying for a room or an apartment, it is reasonable to search for accommodation options using world-wide known online services like booking.com or Airbnb. These services allow finding accommodation of any class from a hostel dorm to a luxury suit in a 5-star hotel. If you want to know prices for accommodation in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in advance, you can use numbeo online platform or similar services. Just enter the name of the city, and the website will show you average prices for accommodation along with the costs for public transport, restaurants, shopping etc.
How to stay safe in Ukraine? This question is also very common. The main recommendations are the following:
- do not make close contact with suspiciously looking strangers;
- keep your values such as wallet, smartphone, laptop and jewelry out of other people`s sight, especially in public places;
do not walk alone around the cities` suburbs in late hours; - in the case of serious problems arising while your stay in Ukraine, it is necessary to have contacts of Austria Embassy in Kyiv at hand. The address is 33, Ivana Franka street; telephone is +380/44 - 277 27 90.
As for communication, we should admit that unfortunately not many Ukrainians speak English language fluently. However, if you need someone to ask for help and look for an English-speaking person, better choose the younger generation. They are more likely to speak some English than the older citizens of Ukraine.
We hope you enjoy your stay in Ukraine! Welcome!
Photo source: unsplash.com, depositphotos.com. All photos belong to their rightful owners.
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