As it is my umteenth anniversary today, and thus via the “ball and chain” and the goodwill of Ukraine, I have permanent residency here, this entry really does not affect me in any way.
In fact it doesn’t affect anybody I know either.
It will undoubtedly affect some readers however - both currently and in the future.
It seems that the State Employment Centre has made assurances that the current (and no doubt overly bureaucratic) systems for granting work permits and temporary resident status (for the purposes of work) are going to be simplified - requiring far less documentation than currently is required - especially so as far as renewals/extensions are concerned, and which will subsequently be gratis if granted for those who have navigated the bureaucratic circus before.
They also state that consideration is being given to raise the duration of such permits from 1 year to 3 years.
A particularly good idea should the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and DCFTA actually be signed - as not only will foreign confidence increase (to a greater or lesser degree) relating to entering the Ukrainian market at an SME/entrepreneurial level, those who want to do so, may actually stand a reasonable chance of navigating the bureaucratic hurdles that prevent so many currently.
It is necessary of course, to see just how the bureaucracy will be reduced - if at all - and I suspect not at all, other than the more expedited time line requirement for the bureaucracy to function and process applications.
Which documents will be subsequently scrapped from the current list will be far more interesting, as currently some of the documentation required is the barrier to entry - rather than the business environment itself!
Best guess thus far is here.