British passport holders will be able to continue visiting or transiting Ukraine without a visa for another year after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree 12/2025 extending the country’s visa-free regime to 30 January 2026. Announced on 28 December and confirmed on 29 December, the measure allows UK nationals to stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
The extension preserves friction-free travel for an estimated 150,000 British visitors who used the regime in 2025, including engineers, NGO personnel and investors supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction plans. Kyiv hopes that maintaining open doors for the UK—its second-largest bilateral donor—will encourage stronger commercial ties ahead of a March 2026 investment summit.
![Ukraine Extends Visa-Free Entry for British Travellers Until January 2026]()
If you’re unsure whether you need supporting documents for land transits through neighbouring states or plan to combine your Ukraine trip with onward travel, VisaHQ’s UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can quickly confirm current entry rules and process any required visas online. Their advisers also monitor real-time changes to Ukrainian regulations, giving businesses and individual travellers an extra layer of assurance.
Security conditions remain volatile in eastern regions, but Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reports that business-focused arrivals now outnumber leisure travellers. Employers sending staff should continue to conduct robust risk assessments and register personnel with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The visa-free window also provides flexibility for rotational assignments, allowing contractors to work in 90-day blocks without navigating Ukraine’s still-backlogged work-permit system.
For UK mobility programmes, the announcement removes immediate uncertainty over Q1 travel, simplifies per-diem budgeting and avoids extra processing costs. Travel managers should, however, remind assignees that overstays attract fines and possible entry bans, and that separate permits are still required for employment beyond 90 days.
The extension preserves friction-free travel for an estimated 150,000 British visitors who used the regime in 2025, including engineers, NGO personnel and investors supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction plans. Kyiv hopes that maintaining open doors for the UK—its second-largest bilateral donor—will encourage stronger commercial ties ahead of a March 2026 investment summit.
If you’re unsure whether you need supporting documents for land transits through neighbouring states or plan to combine your Ukraine trip with onward travel, VisaHQ’s UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can quickly confirm current entry rules and process any required visas online. Their advisers also monitor real-time changes to Ukrainian regulations, giving businesses and individual travellers an extra layer of assurance.
Security conditions remain volatile in eastern regions, but Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reports that business-focused arrivals now outnumber leisure travellers. Employers sending staff should continue to conduct robust risk assessments and register personnel with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. The visa-free window also provides flexibility for rotational assignments, allowing contractors to work in 90-day blocks without navigating Ukraine’s still-backlogged work-permit system.
For UK mobility programmes, the announcement removes immediate uncertainty over Q1 travel, simplifies per-diem budgeting and avoids extra processing costs. Travel managers should, however, remind assignees that overstays attract fines and possible entry bans, and that separate permits are still required for employment beyond 90 days.
