More than half a million foreigners have visited Ukraine since the beginning of the year, and a large number of them are EU citizens. Find out how many Europeans came to the country despite the war and what they came for

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According to official statistics provided by the State Border Guard Service at the request of Visit Ukraine, more than half a million foreigners entered Ukraine in the first quarter of 2024. It should be noted that some of these citizens came from very distant and unexpected countries, which we have described in this article. What part of foreign visitors to Ukraine are citizens of the European Union and what purpose they traveled to the country for - we will tell you further in the article.

Read this article to find out how many foreigners lived in Ukraine before the war and what the current migration situation is.

How many EU citizens have entered Ukraine since the beginning of 2024?

In total, 226,164 EU citizens visited Ukraine in the first quarter of 2024. It should be noted that this is 42.14% of the total number of foreigners who have entered Ukraine since the beginning of 2024. 

Interestingly, the number of citizens from Moldova who visited Ukraine exceeds the total number of EU citizens and amounts to 233,393 (43.48% of the total number of foreigners). In 2023, the situation was similar: out of almost 2.5 million foreign nationals who entered the country during the year, just over one million were Moldovan citizens.

At the same time, the number of citizens from EU countries in the first quarter of 2024 was also unevenly distributed. For example, Romanian citizens accounted for 45.88% of all EU citizens who visited Ukraine, German citizens for 3.87%, and Maltese citizens for only 0.01%.

Thus, the ranking of EU countries by the number of citizens who have visited Ukraine is as follows:

1. Romania — 103,766 foreigners (45.88%)

2. Poland — 41,139 foreigners (18.19%)

3. Hungary — 28 431 foreigners (12.57%)

4. Slovakia — 15 336 foreigners (6.78%)

5. Germany — 8 742 foreigners (3.87%)

6. Czech Republic — 4 018 foreigners (1.78%)

7. Italy — 3,882 foreigners (1.72%)

8. Lithuania — 2 703 foreigners (1.20%)

9. France — 2 696 foreigners (1.19%)

10. Bulgaria — 2,386 foreigners (1.05%)

11. Latvia — 2 056 foreigners (0.91%)

12. Netherlands — 1 639 foreigners (0.72%)

13. Sweden — 1 197 foreigners (0.53%)

14. Austria — 1,086 foreigners (0.48%)

15. Spain — 1,021 foreigners (0.45%)

16. Portugal — 928 foreigners (0.42%)

17. Estonia — 923 foreigners (0.41%)

18. Denmark — 837 foreigners (0.37%)

19. Greece — 690 foreigners (0.31%)

20. Belgium — 659 foreigners (0.29%)

21. Ireland — 616 foreigners (0.27%)

22. Finland — 569 foreigners (0.25%)

23. Croatia — 431 foreigners (0.19%)

24. Slovenia — 234 foreigners (0.10%)

25. Cyprus — 101 foreigners (0.04%)

26. Luxembourg — 43 foreigners (0.02%)

27. Malta — 35 foreigners (0.01%)

However, this is only a part of the countries from which foreigners came to Ukraine, and the full list includes 167 countries. At the same time, the vast majority of all foreigners visited Ukraine for private purposes - 94.67% The rest: entered as vehicle service personnel (5.07%) or transited Ukraine (0.13%). It is interesting that another 0.13% of foreigners indicated that they entered Ukraine for tourism purposes.

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How to enter Ukraine in 2024: rules and convenient routes

Ukraine has a visa-free regime with the countries of the European Union, so EU citizens do not need to apply for a visa if they are planning a short trip for personal business or travel. However, it should be borne in mind that due to the martial law in Ukraine, any foreign insurance automatically terminates upon crossing the Ukrainian border. Therefore, in order to protect your life, health, and wallet, you need to take out insurance through a Ukrainian insurance company. 

You can take out such insurance on the Visit Ukraine portal. An important advantage of the policies presented on our website is that they cover not only basic medical care, diagnosis and treatment, but also direct and passive war risks. This means that the person will be insured against injuries, damages or accidents that may occur as a result of military operations or terrorist acts. You can choose a suitable package and take out insurance by following this link.

How do I get to Ukraine?

Currently, you can get to Ukraine only with transfers (flight + bus / train) or exclusively by land. For the convenience of travelers, the Visit Ukraine team has already collected the most convenient routes to get to Ukraine from around the world. To find out more, select the country of interest and follow the link:

The most convenient routes to Ukraine from:

UK — Canada — USA — Poland — Moldova — Romania — Netherlands — Italy — Slovakia — Spain — 

Lithuania — Estonia — France — Germany — Austria — Belgium — Sweden — Portugal — Turkey — 

Hungary.

If you do not find the option you are looking for in the list, enter the country you are interested in in the "search" field on the blog page.

We have previously told you whether it is safe for foreigners to travel to Ukraine now and which areas are prohibited for visiting.

Want to know more? Read the latest news and useful materials about Ukraine and the world in the News section.

Darya Rogova is the head of the Visit Ukraine insurance department

Feel confident during your stay in Ukraine. Take out an insurance policy from verified insurance agents on the Visit Ukraine portal. Reliable protection for your mail in just a few minutes.

Do you have additional questions? Contact the Visit Ukraine hotline (Telegram | WhatsApp).