How do you fill in the Ukrainian MFA online visa application form?

Why the online form matters

A completed and signed visa application form is on the list of documents for any visa. This is set by paragraph 5 of the Rules for issuing visas, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 118. Today the form is filled in online on the website of the МЗС (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MFA) at visa.mfa.gov.ua, registered in the system and only then taken to the consulate. Documents are not accepted without a registered form.

The form is only one part of the package. How the whole procedure works is explained in the guide to getting a Ukrainian visa.

What to prepare in advance

Gathering the data beforehand lets you complete the form in one sitting. You will need your passport, a photo on a white background, a postal address in your country of residence in Latin script, an email address and a phone number with the country code. Separately, have your employment details, the planned travel dates and the host's details to hand.

Think ahead about whether you have ever changed your surname or citizenship and whether you have held Ukrainian visas before. The form asks about all of this, and "I don't remember" is not an acceptable answer.

Sections of the form

The form runs over several steps, and it will not let you move on until the mandatory fields are filled in. Here is what goes into each step:

• general information, meaning surname, surname at birth, first name, date and place of birth, citizenship, sex, marital status and a photo;
• passport and contacts, meaning document type, number, issue and expiry dates, issuing authority, address, email, phone, job title and employer;
• trip details, meaning visa type, purpose, number of entries, previous Ukrainian visas and planned dates;
• the inviting party, if there is one, with the organisation's name, address and code in the ЄДР (Unified State Register, EDR), or the details of a private person;
• who covers the costs, whether the applicant, the host or the sending party;
• the place and date of completing the form.

Visa type and purpose of travel

In the trip section you choose the visa type and the purpose. For work this is a visa D with the purpose of employment, and for tourism a visa C with the purpose of tourism. The purpose in the form must match the documents you submit, otherwise the consulate will see a contradiction. What each type and code means is explained in the article on types of Ukrainian visa.

Planned dates of entry and departure should be realistic. For a visa D they cover the period for which the visa is issued. For a visa C they cannot go beyond the permitted stay.

Inviting party details

If the trip is based on an invitation, choose a private person or an organisation in the relevant section. Take the organisation's details from the register so that its name and code match the invitation exactly. Enter the name of the head or contact person in Latin script. How to arrange the invitation itself is explained in the article on invitations for a Ukrainian visa.

Getting the name right

Write your surname and first name in Latin script exactly as they appear in your passport. If you already hold Ukrainian documents, the name in the form must also be consistent with them. A discrepancy carries over into the visa, and from the visa into the residence permit. Why this is risky is explained in the article on name spelling discrepancies.

Technical details

Where a field is mandatory and you have no data for it, the usual practice is to enter a hyphen, otherwise the form will not let you continue. Dates are entered as day, month, year. The photo is uploaded on a white background, and the photo is what gets sent back for rework most often.

When the button for the next step does not respond, the usual reason is a skipped mandatory field. Check the page again, paying special attention to drop-down lists. Save the login and password for your account so you can return to the draft.

After you complete it

After the last step you submit the form, and it is registered in the system. Download the PDF, print it and sign it. Keep a copy of the file, because you will need it if the consulate asks for corrections or if you apply for a visa again.

For a minor, one parent or the legal representative signs the form. Each person entered in the passport submits a separate form.

With the signed form you go to the consulate or the visa centre. Together with it you submit your passport, photo, medical insurance policy, proof of funds and the document confirming the ground for the trip. Biometric data are given in person at submission, so you will have to come yourself even if a representative filled in the form.

Lawyer's experience

Most often a form has to be redone because of the photo or the name. A photo that is not on a white background gets returned by the system or the consulate, and a name with one wrong letter then carries into every document. That is why we check the form against the passport field by field before submitting it.

My second piece of advice concerns the questions about previous visas and trips. Answer them truthfully. The Rules name false information in the application form as a separate ground for refusal, and the consulate can check it against its own databases.

If you would rather not deal with the form yourself, our visa support includes filling in the form from your documents.

Frequently asked questions