17-Year Entry Ban: Pilgrim with a Forged Passport Caught in Uman

Hasidic pilgrims continue to arrive in Uman for the Jewish New Year celebrations. At the same time, immigration officials are conducting enhanced checks on foreigners and stateless persons. This was reported by the Migration Service of the Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions.

Since September 4, employees of the Uman Department of the Central-Southern Interregional Directorate of the State Migration Service have been working in an enhanced mode and monitoring foreigners’ compliance with Ukrainian law.

On September 7, during a joint operation to check the locations where Hasidic pilgrims were staying, officers from the Uman Division of the Central-Southern Interregional Directorate of the State Migration Service, together with the Strategic Investigations Department in Cherkasy Oblast, identified a 23-year-old Israeli citizen.

During a document check, the man presented a foreign passport with signs of forgery. It later emerged that he was already subject to a valid three-year ban on entry into Ukraine, which had previously been imposed by the Uman Department of the State Migration Service.

Despite the ban, the man traveled to Israel, where he stayed for about a year, and then decided to return to Uman for the holidays. To circumvent the restriction, he used another person’s passport, into which his own photograph had been pasted.

Immigration officials issued a decision on the compulsory deportation of the Israeli citizen. During the night, the man was taken to the state border and deported from Ukraine.

In addition, he was banned from entering Ukraine for five years. A further 10-year ban was imposed for failure to comply with a previously issued decision. At the same time, a previous two-year ban remains in effect.

Thus, the total duration of the ban on entry into Ukraine for the 23-year-old foreign national will be 17 years.