Well, I am back. I got in late Friday night from Budapest. I wanted to update you on what happened, but just haven't had the time. 
Thank you for your prayers. It is always hard having to be away from my family and it was really hard this time with all of us being sick. Thank God, everyone is starting to feel better. It was a long train trip down to Budapest. It's a 24 hour ride. I was glad to make the trip with my good friend Paul Fournier. He also needed visa's for him and his son. Once in Budapest we managed to make our way over to the Ukrainian Embassy, where they told us that they would not be granting us any visa's. We were told that they no longer give out religious, cultural, or private visa's to Americans with or without an invitation letter. As Americans we can be in Ukraine without a visa for 90 days. After 90 days we must leave and re-enter Ukraine. So, for now our whole family is required to leave Ukraine every 3 months. This news was quite a shock to us because we were told by the same embassy, only a month before, that coming and obtaining a religious visa would be no
problem. It was definitely hard to receive this news after being on a hot train for 24 hours, knowing it was going to be just as long of a trip returning home, empty handed. Praise the Lord this only means we need to leave the country every 90 days. It could be a lot worse! It is going to be a hassle, but a very little thing to be able to still serve the Lord in Ukraine. Please be praying that we would be able to buy a car soon. With this new turn of events and others, the need for our family to have a car for ministry and for our sanity is becoming greater and greater.
Thank you for your prayers. It is always hard having to be away from my family and it was really hard this time with all of us being sick. Thank God, everyone is starting to feel better. It was a long train trip down to Budapest. It's a 24 hour ride. I was glad to make the trip with my good friend Paul Fournier. He also needed visa's for him and his son. Once in Budapest we managed to make our way over to the Ukrainian Embassy, where they told us that they would not be granting us any visa's. We were told that they no longer give out religious, cultural, or private visa's to Americans with or without an invitation letter. As Americans we can be in Ukraine without a visa for 90 days. After 90 days we must leave and re-enter Ukraine. So, for now our whole family is required to leave Ukraine every 3 months. This news was quite a shock to us because we were told by the same embassy, only a month before, that coming and obtaining a religious visa would be no
problem. It was definitely hard to receive this news after being on a hot train for 24 hours, knowing it was going to be just as long of a trip returning home, empty handed. Praise the Lord this only means we need to leave the country every 90 days. It could be a lot worse! It is going to be a hassle, but a very little thing to be able to still serve the Lord in Ukraine. Please be praying that we would be able to buy a car soon. With this new turn of events and others, the need for our family to have a car for ministry and for our sanity is becoming greater and greater. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for us and supporting us. It was great to get your comments and emails of encouragement. We love you and are very thankful for you.
8 comments:
that stinks about the visa's. I take it you guys found a train back and didn't do the dumb&dumber cross country scooter journey.
danny
No Danny, unfortunately not. Boy, you don't know how bad we wanted to.
I'm sorry to hear about the whole visa trip. We will be praying that they change their policy. As for the train ride, I can sympathize with you there. That's a horrible trip. You should do a blog just about the train. I'm sure other people have some exciting train tales as well.
-Greg
No worries mate! Like I told Paul, if you guys ever need a place to stay overnight, our place is always open to you. We may not be quite to the border, but at least we are close.
My name is Kelly and I met you at Lyosha and Olya's wedding in May. I work with YWAM and Kyiv. As a staff we were just notified of a change in Ukrainian policy. That without a visa one can only stay in country for 90 days out of 180 days. That would mean a 90 day stay in Ukraine and then a 90 out of country stay. This change was made in July of 2007. Several staff members here in Kyiv are now scrambling to get visas to continue their work here in Ukraine. I hope this information is helpful.
Here is the information that we received from YWAM. It came from a lawyer here in Kyiv that works with YWAM.
Dear Sir/Madam,
NEW UKRAINIAN REGULATIONS ON THE ENTRY AND STAY OF FOREIGN NATIONALS
On 11 July 2007 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued the Decree №917 on the Changes to the Regulations on the Entry of Foreign Nationals and Stateless Persons into Ukraine, Their Exit from Ukraine and Transit Through the Territory of Ukraine. The Decree came into power after its publication in the official journal of the Ukrainian government "Uryadovyy Kuryer" on 26 July 2007.
The Decree has changed the regulations on the entry and stay of foreign nationals who are citizens of the countries with no visa requirement for Ukraine, including citizens of the European Union.
In the past, citizens were allowed to enter Ukraine without a visa for a visit of up to 90 days and had to leave Ukraine before the expiration of the 90-day term. It was possible to re-enter Ukraine on the following day and stay for another 90-day period without a visa. The overall duration of the stay per calendar year was not restricted and could amount to more than 90 days.
Since the Decree came into power, the overall duration of the stay without a visa must not exceed 90 calendar days per 180 calendar days from the date of arrival.
An appropriate visa will be required for a longer stay or if you are coming to Ukraine for the purpose of employment, study, family reunion, immigration etc. Information about applying for a visa and application forms are available on the Ukrainian Embassy website at www.ukremb.org.uk
Thank you everyone for all the new info. If anyone as anymore info on this subject I would love to see it. Thanks again and thanks for praying.
Kelly
Thank you! That info was very helpful! Thank you. If you could keep me up todate. We are going to have to get visa or something pretty soon. Could you tell me how your freinds are getting the visa's and what kind they are trying to get? You can email me at conorkoren@gmail.com Again thank you!
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