On 11 May, Thursday the European Parliament gave final consent to ease travel restrictions, granting Ukrainians with e-passports the right to visit most EU states for up to 90 days, for tourism, family visits and business reasons.
The only document required of Ukrainians to access the Schengen area will be a valid biometric passport. This regulation, however, does not apply to all EU states, as the United Kingdom and Ireland, both outside of the Schengen Zone, are not included in the deal and conduct entry requirements of their own national laws.
According to Kiev’s Europe Minister Ivanna Klympush Tsintsadze statement “a strong signal to the aggressor that Ukraine is on its way back to the European family.”
In the middle of clash with Russia, the deal is a show of strong & close EU-Ukraine ties.
And the other hand, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced his immense pleasure by writing “YES, we did it!” on Facebook. He further added, Ukraine is gradually “becoming part of a common European civilization”.
Under the regulation, however travellers will not be permitted to work or reside in EU member states. But, according to reports work permit will come in to force this summer.
Talks between Kiev and Brussels on loosen restrictions visa deal started in 2008 but the European Commission only considered the move in 2015. And now, EU minister approved measures but still formal approval has to be taken by EU member states and expected to come into force in June.