Visa overstayers will be able to return from U.S. to Ukraine after border closure – ambassador

17.03.2020 16:48

Ukrinform

Ukrainians who overstay their visas will be able to return from the United States to their homeland without any problems after the closure of borders, Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA Volodymyr Yelchenko has said.

“We have already received such messages. People ask what they should do if their visa expires and they can’t leave the country. The U.S. Department of State assured us that these people would not have any problems. This will not be considered as a breach of conditions of stay, given the exceptional circumstances,” the ambassador said in comments to the Voice of America.

According to Yelchenko, visa overstayers will not be punished with fines or visa cancellation.

The ambassador added that it would take about one to two days to evacuate people from the country.

He recalled that about 250 people had already applied to the Ukrainian Embassy in the USA with a request for evacuation.

As Ukrinform reported, Ukraine decided to cancel all international scheduled flights from 00:00 on March 17, 2020 in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.

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