Israel and Ukraine suspend visa-free travel

Israel will soon impose new travel restrictions on Ukrainians, and Ukraine will respond with similar restrictions, the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel said on June 20.

Starting July 1, Ukrainians wishing to enter Israel visa-free must first apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).

“The latest requirement effectively ends the visa-free regime” that had been in force since 2010, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel said.

“In response, Ukraine will introduce similar pre-approval requirements for Israeli citizens.”

The new rules will affect the thousands of Hasidic Jews who travel to Uman in Cherkasy Oblast, ​​a major pilgrimage site, for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

“Ukraine remains open to dialogue with Israel to discuss and negotiate these travel policy changes for the benefit of both nations,” the embassy said. However, it also noted that “recent Israeli measures, such as restricting Ukrainian refugees and denying entry to many Ukrainians,” had strained relations.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in September 2023 that he raised the issue of denying Ukrainians entry to Israel in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Zelensky stressed that there were “numerous refusals for Ukrainian citizens to enter Israel under the visa-free regime.”

In the summer, reports emerged that around 10 percent of Ukrainians were denied entry to Israel despite visa-free travel.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Kornichuk, said on August 21 that Kyiv was considering suspending visa-free travel in response.

There is a large Ukrainian community in Israel, estimated by the Foreign Ministry at around 500,000 people. Most of them left Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of them are Jews from Ukraine.

In addition, since the start of the large-scale invasion, approximately 15,000 to 40,000 Ukrainian refugees have come to Israel. Their status and how many have remained in the country is unclear.

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