EU Council eases visa rules for Ukraine

The EU Council has approved the decision to liberalize visa rules for Ukrainian citizens, European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said.

"I am pleased to see that we are reaching the end of the process and I welcome the Council's adoption of visa liberalization for Ukraine - a final step towards visa-free travel to the Schengen area for Ukrainian citizens," TASS cited him as saying.

The EU Council points out that the liberalization of visa rules envisages Ukrainians’ right to make tourist trips to the EU countries for a period of no more than 90 days and no more often than once in six months, but gives no right to employment or studies. The EU’s visa liberalization for Ukraine does not apply to Ireland and Britain. This means that Ukrainians will have to obtain visas for visiting these countries.