New laws in Ukraine for 2012

Ukraine's parliament has approved draft legislation relating to the organisation and staging of UEFA EURO 2012™ in the country.

Ukraine and Poland were awarded the final tournament after a vote by the UEFA Executive Committee in Cardiff, Wales.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine wasted little time in relaxing visa, job permit and border crossing requirements. It has also simplified the ordering of foreign currency and movement of cheques and exchange during the 2012 event, and the legislation will come into force when signed by state president Viktor Yushchenko.

The parliament also accepted a number of tax advantages, and decided not to charge import duty for building equipment for sports facilities that are not produced in Ukraine, or that are produced in the country but do not correspond to international standards.

According to the legislation, foreign citizens coming to Ukraine during UEFA EURO 2012™ may bring in non-Ukrainian currency and pay cheques for amounts not greater than US$30,000. Ukraine's host cities of Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kiev and Lvov are expected to welcome 400,000 tourists.

20th April 2007