many questions! - my trip to ukraine

[goedendag]

Hello, everybody!
I and my friend are planning to go to Ukraine for a few months. we are both from Belgium.
I have few questions here, hope someone could help.....
1. is it possible to drive with our car to cross the land border? our car has a belgian number plate. do we need some extra documents to pass the land customs?
2. as I know we can stay in Ukraine for 3 months without a visa. but we certainly want to stay for more than 3 months there. is there any ways to perlong our visa?
3. we are not so rich, we have saved some money for this trip, but not much. can someone tell me the general living cost in Ukraine? how much we may need per month. ( house rent, food, transport and so on )
4. Is it easy to find some jobs over there if we only speak English, ( and we also speak Dutch, but I think it is not really useful in Ukraine.... )

I hope someone could give me an answer on those questions.......Thank u in advance !

[Gotno Gizmo]

If you look at the entry by car posts within this site's travel section you will see that it is possible to enter Ukraine with your own motor car. You will need to demonstrate ownership of the motor vehicle and have all existing documentaion (originals) that you would need to present at your own country police station station for example if requested. You may find that your own insurers will not give you an international green card motor insurance cerificate, as I believe that Ukraine is not part of this protocol. You will need to purchase insurance at the border (probably minimum legal third party risk). There is a time limit you can remain with the car in the Ukraine (I believe it's one year) before it must be taken out of Ukraine or import taxes and re-registration is required. Although I believe Ukraine recognises the EU driving licence, I would recommend getting an international driver's licence from the issuing Belgian motoring organisation as it will have the Russian interpretation, and is required in Russia. Be aware that many roads are not to western Europe standards and require careful negociation.

EU citizens do not require a visa to enter Ukraine. You simply get your entry stamp in your passport on arrival at the border. However, this visa free facility permits you to stay in the Ukraine for up to 90 days, but cannot work legally. Furthermore if you come and go, you must not stay in Ukraine during any period of more than 90 days during any rolling period of 180 days. The alternative is to secure a business visa available from intermediaries at a cost of around $450 USD. It will be valid for one year but does not entitle you to gain employment. Your best bet is to find a business that will sponsor you to come under some trade development programme, but I think this may be difficult. Alternatively, if you can find some Christian organisation to sponsor you as some form of missionary! Coming here to teach English is another possibility, but I think a native English speaker would have advantage, and I'm not sure that French or Dutch is as popular here. Be aware that there are many English speaking Ukrainian young people fresh from university looking for jobs who have to accept low paid jobs not commensurate with their education because of unemployment.

I cannot speak about Kiev, but here in Lugansk the starting rent for a modest (Soviet construction) appartment is around 1500 UAH per month. The starting rate for non qualification work is 1500 UAH and fore more qualified positions starting at 2000 to 2500 UAH per month depending.

If you eat bread, local vegatables, chicken,and many other locally produced foods, you can eat cheaper here than in the west. If you buy the kind of food you regularly eat in your home country (mostly available) you will pay western prices plus the additional transportation costs. Red meat that lacks quality (for stewing) is cheaper, but better quality can be more expensive than in the west. Fish, particularly coming from the Sea of Asov is cheaper than western prices. Eggs are also much cheaper (7 UAH for 10). Ham which is not mostly fat will also cost much the same as the west. Yummy cakes are much cheaper!

I don't know your background, but I'll say the same to you as I have to others who have no previous experience of eastern Europe, Ukraine has much to offer but be prepared for a culture shock.

[goedendag]

Thank you so so much for those helpful information. you are so friendly! anyway, we will go and see how everything goes. but certainly we will not join in any christian missionary works....
any further information will be appreciated....

[AkMike]

You'll find alot of great information at lonelyplanet.com also. If all else fails it's great reading fthe travelogs from all parts of the world.

[bm-21Lemko]

Originally Posted by AkMike

You'll find alot of great information at lonelyplanet.com also. If all else fails it's great reading fthe travelogs from all parts of the world.

lonely planet is the way to go.

It lists hotels and restaraunts for most major cities. I don't have the Ukraine one but the Central Asia one has lots of information in it.

[Serhii]

I think it depends on where you are going to stay ( Ukraine is very large and has many regional

differences ) , and what are planning to do . All Christian missionaries are very well organized

and for sure will help you.

To Gonto Gizmo

Seems to me you pay too much in that poor Lugansk …

[Gotno Gizmo]

I confess I'm disadvantaged by linguistic inability, but I do most of my shopping accompanied by my Ukrainian girlfriend an I'm sure she would not allow me to pay excessive amounts for provisions. I shop in supermarkets and study the prices. Out of interest I look for comparison between Mandarin and Absolute supermarket prices and I find, like in England some products a few Kopeks higher whilst others may be slightly lower. The market (bazaar) is better for fruit and vegetables, but some of the meat can be tough, requiring much tenderising. Metro cash & carry can be competetive, but one needs to buy larger quantities as a rule.

Please consider that because of my cultural background, although I'm fairly flexible about food, the kind of dishes many Ukrainians eat daily are not my favourite choice. But then the food is not the main reason why I'm here.

Finally, regarding your impression that I'm saying Lugansk is poor....well yes on average working people are poorer here than comparable people in England. However, I see more expensive luxury type cars daily (usually parked outside banks) than I do daily back in England. So I guess it says much about the inequality of Ukraine socirty. But then of course it is now a capitalist country, so I shoudn't be surprised should I?