How can a foreigner extend their stay in Ukraine?

Who can extend their stay

Any foreigner who is in Ukraine without a residence permit, that is visa-free or on a visa, can ask for their period of temporary stay to be extended. The procedure is set by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 150. Extensions are granted by the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) through its territorial offices and units. How long you may stay without an extension is explained in the guide to periods of stay for foreigners.

An extension is not a substitute for a посвідка (residence permit). It is a temporary decision that lasts only while a specific ground exists that makes leaving impossible or unreasonable.

Grounds for an extension

Paragraph 4 of Procedure No. 150 lists the well-founded grounds:

Each ground has to be backed by documents. For treatment, that means medical records. For a residence permit, it means papers proving the ground for the permit itself, for example a work permit or an invitation to study.

• medical treatment, childbirth or caring for a sick family member;
• a forced stop caused by emergency circumstances;
• formalising an inheritance;
• having grounds to apply for a temporary or permanent residence permit;
• an application for an immigration permit or for Ukrainian citizenship;
• other circumstances that make departure impossible.

When to apply

File your application no later than three working days before your permitted stay ends. An adult foreigner submits it in person, together with the receiving party, at the DMS office covering the place where they are staying.

Late applications are treated separately, and the outcome depends on whether your stay has already run out:

Documents

Paragraph 6 of the Procedure sets out what goes with the application. You need documents proving your ground, a valid passport and copies of the pages with your personal details, translated into Ukrainian with the translation certified in the prescribed way. Add the receiving party's passport, proof of funds or the receiving party's guarantees, and proof that the administrative fee has been paid.

Documents issued abroad must be legalised unless an international treaty provides otherwise, and they are filed with a notarised translation. Holders of several citizenships submit the passports of every country. How to arrange the translation is covered in the article on notarised translation.

The receiving party

The receiving party is the individual the foreigner is staying with, or the legal entity that invited them, such as an employer or a university. It files the application together with the foreigner and presents its passport or the representative's document. If the foreigner overstays, the receiving party may also be held liable.

For a company bringing in foreign staff, this means the extension is partly its own responsibility. Somebody in the organisation should know when each foreign employee's permitted stay ends.

Review and outcome

Once the documents are accepted, the DMS gives you a registration number for the application. A decision is made within three working days of the date the documents were accepted. Before deciding, the service checks your identity, your documents and whether any ground for refusal applies.

When the extension is granted, an extension mark is placed in your passport. Only that mark makes your stay officially extended. Its validity can be checked on the DMS website, including by the QR code in the mark.

Grounds for refusal

Paragraph 25 of the Procedure lists the grounds for refusal. They include insufficient funds without guarantees from the receiving party, good reason to believe that the real purpose of the stay differs from the one stated, and a ground for further stay that has not been proven. An application is also refused when register data do not confirm the information given, when false information or forged documents are submitted, when there are unenforced court decisions, or when there is a threat to security or health.

A refusal by a territorial office can be appealed to the DMS itself, or the decision can be taken to court, within 10 working days, the period set by paragraph 41 of the Procedure. Attach documents that confirm your ground for staying.

An extension as a bridge to a residence permit

Most people who need an extension are in the middle of applying for a residence permit. Having grounds for a permit is named directly among the grounds for an extension. If your residence permit papers will not be ready before your stay ends, apply for an extension well in advance.

Keep in mind that nationals of many countries can apply for a residence permit only after entering on a visa D. An extension of stay does not lift that requirement. Whether you need a visa at all is covered in the article on visa requirements for your country.

Lawyer's experience

Most requests for an extension reach me in the last days of the permitted stay. Sometimes we make it in time, but in that situation every missing certificate becomes a problem. That is why I advise starting at least a week before your stay ends, and preferably earlier.

My second piece of advice concerns the justification. The DMS assesses whether the ground is genuine and whether documents back it up. A general statement that you would like to stay longer does not work. We put the package together so that the ground is obvious from the documents themselves.

If your stay is running out and you cannot leave on time, we prepare a stay extension application and file it with the DMS together with you.

Frequently asked questions