Hi, when my parents visited the Ukraine a few years back they did need a visa but I think that, as you suggest, this requirement must have been dropped for EU passport holders sometime around 2005/6 because colleagues travelling to an academic conference in Kiev around that time didn't. And as far as I know as an EU passport holder, even if flying in from outside of the EU, you don't need a visa to enter Spain either.

However, the Spanish consulate web pages seems to indicate that Ukrainian citizens or those with permanent resident status in Ukraine do need a visa for entry into Spain and I wonder whether the source of the confusion stems from the fact that as far as Whizzair are concerned, you have only bought a one-way ticket from Kiev? And hence because they have no proof that you are only a visitor to the Ukraine they have assumed that you are resident in the Ukraine as opposed to a tourist? UK law (and perhaps EU law?) makes airlines responsible for returning to their country of embarkation any passengers who are refused entry into the UK at the airlines cost and this might be what Whizzair are concerned about. If this is the case, providing them with evidence that you are a UK passport holder should sort the problem out. If you've tried this line with them already and they are still insisting that you need a visa, then I don't know what to suggest.

SM

SM

Thanks SM, my thoughts too, I know citizens of the Ukraine need visa's to travel nearly anywhere outside their own country.
As I said I know we do not need a visa from the UK, I am waiting to hear from Wizz air in Kiev, but apparently they are not the fastest to reply to emails. Kiev is a place we have thought about on a number of occasions so we decided why not have a long weekend in Kiev then onto Valencia for a week.
I will let you know what Wizz air say.

Thanks again.
Alan

Hi everyone.
We arrived back from our holiday last week, we had five days in Kyiv and WOW what a place, we used BA for our flight which was brilliant, on arrival at Boryspil Airport we was sent by bus to the terminal, we went straight through customs with the passports having their first ever stamps in them, then to baggage reclaim where it took about 15 - 20 minutes for our cases to arrive after that it was straight out to the transfer car which sped us straight to our apartment overlooking Independence square, Kyiv is just magnificent, nothing really prepared us for it, the guide books do not give the place credit, after five days we still had so much to see but that will wait for another time, Our flight from Ukraine was with Wizzair (Ukraine) to Valencia from Kyiv's Zhulyany airport which is very basic indeed. On arrival you enter the terminal building with four check in desks, your case is weighed on very basic scales, then the check in attendant calls and a man carries your case to a luggage truck (no baggage belts here), you then leave the terminal and can either go straight through security or I suppose if you have a few hours you can go to the outdoor aviation museum just down the road, we opted to go straight to security which was a room with one scanning machine, no problems here, it was then into the departure lounge which is basically a room with a few seats, a small bar and a small duty free shop, the lounge over looks the airport where to the left a new terminal is being built, it is strictly forbidden to take photographs here as I found out when a young security guard asked me to kindly put your camera away before the general confiscates it thank you. Again when departure time is close you are bussed to the aircraft and that was Kyiv in a few days. To answer my own question British or European passport holders do not need a visa, as long as you do not stay more than 90 days in any 180 days.

Anyone who is thinking about visiting Kyiv, stop thinking and go it is truly a beautiful city.

Alan

Very interesting, I'm planning a trip to Ukraine to visit a friend in January. How much were your flights and from where?