Categories exempted from visa fee payment

(a) for close relatives - spouses, children (including adopted) parents (including custodians), grandparents and grandchildren - of citizens of Ukraine legally residing in the territory of the Member States; this does not apply to in-laws or family by marriage;

(b) for members of official delegations who, following an official invitation addressed to Ukraine, shall participate in meetings, consultations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as in events held in the territory of one of the Member States by intergovernmental organisations;

On governmental level; persons listed in the official invitation addressed to Ukraine. In case, that in the official invitation invited persons are not listed, then the official delegation should be the persons listed in the letter or verbal note of the Ukrainian institution or organ to which the official invitation is addressed;

(c) members of national and regional Governments and Parliaments, Constitutional Courts and Supreme Courts, in case they are not exempted from the visa requirement by the present Agreement;this also applies to the city councils of Kyiv and Sevastopol as they are equal in status to provincial administrations;

(d) pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purpose of study or educational training;

(e) disabled persons (proven by a certificate issued by a local social security body) and maximum one person accompanying them, if necessary;

(f) persons who have presented documents proving the necessity of their travel on humanitarian grounds, including to receive urgent medical treatment and the person accompanying such person, or to attend a funeral of a close relative, or to visit a close relative seriously ill; this includes drivers transporting humanitarian goods;

(g) participants in international sports events and persons accompanying them.
An international sports event should be proven with a letter of the organising sports federations of both countries. The group members 'accompanying' the sportsmen should only be issued visa free of charge if they accompany the sportsmen in their professional capacity: coaches, masseurs, manager, medical staff and head of the sports club (not being supporters);

(h) persons participating in scientific, cultural and artistic activities including university and other exchange programmes;

(i) participants in official exchange programmes organised by twin cities;

(j) officially employed journalists (not freelancers) presenting an original certificate or other document issued by a professional organisation (National Union of Journalists of Ukraine) proving that the person concerned is a qualified journalist and a document issued by his/her employer stating that the purpose of the journey is to carry out journalistic work;

(k) pensioners proving their pensioner status with a pension book;

(l) drivers conducting international cargo and passenger transportation services to the territories of the Member States in vehicles registered in Ukraine;

(m) members of train, refrigerator and locomotive crews in international trains, travelling to the territories of the Member States;

(n) children under the age of 18 and dependant children under the age of 21. 'Dependant' children under 21 years of age are generally considered financially dependant children who do not work.

Please note that visa applicants must prove they belong to one of the above mentioned visa fee exemption categories by submitting all required documents (see visa requirements). In case of doubt because not all required documents are presented upon submission, the visa applicant will be charged the applicable visa fee. Once the visa fee has been paid, it is not possible to receive a visa refund for example if in a later stage the visa applicant proves to belong to a visa fee exemption category.