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I am considering going to Ukraine sometime in the future. I am a dual national, Russian and French; male, aged about 30.

European Union citizens are currently allowed to enter Ukraine visa-free (for 90 days).

Russian men aged from 16 to 60, on the other hand, are routinely turned away at the border. Since the latest incident, they have been banned from entering the country altogether, for an indefinite amount of time.

In these circumstances, would I be able to enter?

Of course my plan is to show my French passport first. However I may raise suspicions, since I have a Russian name and (if arriving from Russia) my French passport does not contain a Russian visa. Is it likely that the border guard could ask me if I have any other citizenship, then turn me away?

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    I can't find anything about the entry ban not applying to dual citizens.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Dec 10, 2018 at 13:10
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    Pure conjecture, but given the reasons why the Ukrainian ban is in place, leaving a back-door bypass to dual nationals would seem to defeat the purpose of it, as it would open up the doors to dual nationality mercenaries.
    – Peter M
    Dec 10, 2018 at 15:18
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    @bytebuster Some people have families. Others have business interests. Still others are just ordinary tourists.
    – Michael Hampton
    Dec 10, 2018 at 22:29
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    @bytebuster given that right here we have a Russian citizen wanting to travel to Ukraine, declaring that "there are no travel targets for russian citizens in Ukraine" is demonstrably nonsense. That you "don't understand why" doesn't make it not so, and "am I allowed to travel?" couldn't be more obviously an on-topic question for a travel site.
    – Chris H
    Dec 11, 2018 at 7:21
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    @jpatokal How many Russian spies exist in the world? A country with the resources of Russia has the capability of real or fake dual national forces and Ukraine (rightly) has the paranoia
    – Peter M
    Dec 11, 2018 at 12:29

2 Answers 2

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UPDATE: Just received information from the Ukrainian border agency that the ban does not apply if you fly to Ukraine. Of course, Russians may still be subject to additional scrutiny.

So just present your French passport as usual, and if they ask any questions, co-operate and be honest.

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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Dec 15, 2018 at 3:10
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I will recommend flying. There are no direct flights so you will be flying through another country. In such case, there will be no suspicious about you being in Russia.

Russian name is not an issue. A huge number of people worldwide have them.

Update: the border official has the right to deny anybody entering the country. According to the law, Russian male citizens will not be allowed. So the answer is simple you are not allowed entering the country as a Russian citizen. If you follow my advice you will be able to enter the country without issues.

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    This does not answer the question about whether the ban applies.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Dec 11, 2018 at 3:32
  • @NateEldredge Actually it does, because Ukraine has no way of knowing who's a Russian dual national if you a) don't tell them and b) don't raise suspicion by (say) coming in from Russia by land.
    – lambshaanxy
    Dec 11, 2018 at 6:16
  • I have updated answer to make it clear
    – Seagull
    Dec 11, 2018 at 19:31

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