Border Guard lists documents necessary for media, culture workers to travel abroad

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) listed documents necessary for men aged 18 to 60 who work in the media or are cultural figures in order to cross Ukraine's state border, the SBGS reports on Facebook.

The list includes:

• a letter from the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications or the Ministry of Digital Affairs addressed to the Administration of the State Border Guard Service outlining the details of the trip;
• an invitation from a foreign organization (with a translation into Ukrainian);
• a military record document with the appropriate stamps by a territorial enlistment center or a military record document in digital form.

"If the purpose of the trip is not confirmed, departure will be denied. The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications and the Ministry of Digital Affairs only consider applications if all requirements are met, and letters to the Administration of the State Border Guard Service are not provided in case the submitted documents are insufficient," the State Border Guard Service explained.

The SBGS added that the amendments are regulated by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 244, paeed on March 4, 2025.

On March 5, the Cabinet of Ministers made a decision on border crossing by artists and media workers who are eligible for the draft. From now on, documents must be submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications at least 15 days before departure, and the person should stay abroad no longer than 60 calendar days from the day of crossing the border.

Moreover, the Ministry of Culture outlined a clear list of documents necessary to issue a letter of assistance for crossing the border; in particular, the applicant needs to have an invitation and a document proving they are on military record.

Another important amendment is that legal entities will have to have a critical enterprise status and individual entrepreneurs will be able to apply for travel if three years have passed since their registration as a business and their application.

It is expected that the resolution will come into force after it is published in Uryadovyi Courier on March 6.

Previously

The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications (MCSC) stopped issuing letters to the State Border Service (SBS) assisting artists and media workers eligible for the draft to travel abroad starting March 3.

According to the IMI, a few hundred artists and less than ten journalists left and did not come back over the past year.

The Director of the Institute of Mass Information, Oksana Romaniuk, believes that the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications (MCSC) suspending the issue of permits to travel abroad to media professionals risks to stigmatize the entire media community.

The Media Movement demands MCSC revoke the decision to suspend the issuance of letters for traveling abroad to journalists.

The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications said they would resume issuing letters of assistance for traveling abroad to artists and media workers immediately after the approved amendments to the government resolution are adopted.