How to obtain Residency in Ukraine

Why seek to obtain residency in Ukraine?

• A huge country with mountains, beaches, and historical cities like Kyiv and Lviv.
• A low cost of living; Ukraine is competitively ranked in the Numbeo Cost of Living Index.
• Affordable, quality real estate.
• Geographic location – in Europe.
• Fun lifestyle
• Multiple international schools.
• Affordable healthcare.

1. What are the options to obtain residency in Ukraine?

1. Residency through Marriage
2. Residency through family reunification
3. Residency through investment (minimum $100,000)
4. Residency through work permit and LLC creation

 2. What is the easiest way to obtain residency in Ukraine?

The residency by investment option, though widely promoted online, is not straightforward.

1. It takes at least a year to process as it is insanely bureaucratic

2. It is promoted online as “buy $100,000 of real estate in Ukraine and get residency”. It’s not that simple, because you must hold the real estate in a Ukrainian company, which comes which a set of negative tax consequences.

The simplest way is simply to create a LLC in Ukraine, appoint yourself as the director, apply for a work permit, and then you can obtain residency. You can apply for residency for 1 or 3 years, and it is easy to obtain as it is a well-trodden path. The company does not need to be doing much at all. It can just “be”.

3. What documents are needed to obtain residency in Ukraine through LLC creation?

• Passport
• Marriage and birth certificates for your family members
• For residency through a local company – the company documents and proof you are registered as the director
• Medical insurance

All  documents needs to be translated into Ukrainian. The lawyer will take care of this. Documents from back home must be apostilled.

4. How my lawyer can help you obtain residency

My lawyer in Ukraine, Leonid, can help you jump through all the bureaucratic hoops. He speaks English, Ukrainian and Russian fluently. He’ll help you in person at the immigration department, as opposed to just handing you over the files and leaving you on your own to go deal with the bureaucracy.

Leonid has been helping foreigners conduct business in Ukraine for many years now. He can help in all matters related to immigration, business law, and real estate transactions. He can also help companies who want to create service centers in Ukraine to outsource and take advantage of its low cost, quality human capital.

In his free time, Leonid is dedicated to a charity he co-runs with other volunteers. They help the needy in Ukraine, and specialize in giving IT classes to people with disabilities so that they can earn a living online. His charity is called Philosophy of Kindness and you can access its Ukrainian language website here.

For any business that comes through The Wandering Investor, Leonid commits to give 10% back to the charity.

I interviewed Leonid on the topic of obtaining residency in Ukraine. You can watch the video here.

Click the image to watch the video

Important to understand: The residency services are performed by a lawyer. We at The Wandering Investor are just a middleman and therefore have no liability.