Live in Kiev / Extended stay

If you are tempted to stay longer than 90 days in Kiev then you will first and foremost need to get yourself a visa. The most simple form is a six-month single entry visa and full details on the options open to you are available online. The process is relatively painless and the embassy in London offers the option of paying extra for express 24 hour processing of your application.

If you plan to stay longer than a few days in Kiev then you should look to rent an apartment. Most apartments are rented on a monthly basis and it is the market standard to pay a broker half of the first month’s rental as their finder’s fee. This practice can sometimes be avoided and the internet has gone some way to avoiding the added cost of these middlemen, but those looking for top end places and prepared to pay significant monthly rates may feel it worthwhile to engage the help of a professional. The Kiev market, like the Ukrainian economy in general, is full of dark corners and shadows – anyone looking for really exclusive real estate will almost inevitably have to place their hopes is the contacts which they can procure.

Apartment rental

A number of internet agencies offer competent daily, weekly and monthly apartment rental services. Fees for a one-room apartment in the downtown area should start at around USD 1000 a month. Kiev’s most expensive region is Pechersk, which encompasses the government sector, old Kiev and many of the city’s most central sectors. Beyond Perchersk there lies Podil, a riverside zone which flanks the Dnipro on the foothills beneath old Kiev and which was once the city’s Jewish quarter. Here you will find older Tsarist three- and four-storey buildings which ooze character but often lack some of the more modern conveniences which you will find in most Kiev apartments.

The main issue when choosing a location should be proximity to the Kiev metro. The Ukrainian capital is a geographically compact city but it is far too large to traverse on foot and too congested to tackle by taxi alone. The metro is the ideal form of transport at any time other than rush hour and if you are staying for a prolonged period you will find that you can get much more for you buck in the regions than you will in overpriced central Kiev.

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