What you need to enter Ukraine with a Swiss passport

Authorization system

Ukraine e-Visa

The electronic visa is applied for on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal. The decision arrives by email as a PDF, whether it is granted or refused. There is an urgent procedure for which the fee doubles.

Fee

USD 65.00

Basic consular fee for nationalities that DO need a visa (per Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs): US$65 for regular processing, double for urgent processing. The e-Visa (electronic visa, where the nationality qualifies) costs US$85, paid online. Non-refundable if refused. Visa-exempt nationalities pay no entry fee.

Processing time

An e-Visa is decided within nine working days under the standard procedure. Within that period you receive a PDF by email with either the visa granted or the refusal decision. There is a faster urgent procedure for which the fee doubles; its exact timeframe is not given here because the sources consulted do not agree.

Required documents

• Passport valid for the whole stay.
• Travel medical insurance valid in Ukraine, with a minimum coverage of €30,000, from an insurer registered in Ukraine or with an agreement with one (Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Standard travel policies usually exclude armed-conflict-related events — consider one with war-risk coverage if you're going to travel.
• Proof of the purpose of the trip and, depending on the border post, accommodation booking and a return ticket or onward ticket to a third country (checks reinforced under martial law).

Vaccinations

• No mandatory vaccines for entry: no international certificate of vaccination (yellow fever included) is required under the International Health Regulations.

Health insurance

Mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

Visa-free stay of up to 90 days for exempt nationalities (figure from the base dataset; the exact reference period hasn't been independently confirmed). Entry is by land only: civilian airspace has been closed since February 2022 due to the war, there are no commercial flights to or from Ukraine. Under martial law, border checks are more thorough than before the conflict.

Customs limits

Cash

Up to €10,000 (or equivalent) in cash or bank metals can be declared orally; above that figure the declaration must be in writing and accompanied by documentation proving the money's lawful origin.

Alcohol

Could not be confirmed via direct fetch to Ukrainian customs (customs.gov.ua blocks access); several secondary travel sources converge on: 1 liter of spirits, 2 liters of wine and 5 liters of beer duty-free for adults 18+. Treat as indicative, not an officially verified figure.

Tobacco

Same caveat as alcohol (source not directly confirmed): 40 cigarettes or 50 grams of tobacco duty-free, per several converging secondary sources.

Overstay penalties

Article 203 of Ukraine's Code of Administrative Violations penalizes a stay beyond the authorized period with a fine (exact amount not confirmed against the legal text; specialized migration sources converge on a range of roughly €51-154 for under 30 days of overstay, higher for repeat offenses). Beyond the fine, the State Migration Service can order forced return, with a 3-year re-entry ban to Ukraine, or forced expulsion, with a 5-year ban.

Common reasons for denial

• Giving inaccurate data on the application form: beyond refusal of the electronic visa, it can bring a ban on entering Ukraine. It is the ground the official source names most explicitly.
• Two safeguards worth knowing: a refusal is notified in writing with its reasons, and you have the right to appeal it to the head of the diplomatic mission or consular post that decided, by letter filed within two months of receiving the decision.