Getting Married in Ukraine? We’re here to help.

Some background about us

In 2007, we met on an online forum for computer programming geeks. Shortly after, we became addicted to each other via online chat and from there, the grace of God had guided us. We fell in love.

After a few years of spending time together in Ukraine, while exploring our ancestral roots, we decided to get married. We started gathering information and began planning how to turn our dream into a reality. We quickly learned that getting married was not going to be easy. Getting prepared was difficult as most Ukraine marriage websites that we found were based on selling wild adventure with miracles of the perfect dream girl.

Nowhere could you find simple answers to basic questions that were important. Even the government sites had incomplete or outdated information. So who or what can you trust? It seemed that every source we contacted was more interested in forming a scheme that allowed them to profit from our questions and hardship. We felt that this experience was immoral and unjust, so we decided to do something about it.

We created this website.

Our goal was to help others in genuine need and to help shine a light on the positive aspects of Ukrainian culture and society. For the past 5 years, we’ve helped thousands of couples get the information they need about marriage in Ukraine for foreigners. We’ve consulted hundreds of couples*, answered endless questions and listened to stories and experiences of so many people from many different countries.

So what’s the problem with marriage in Ukraine?

Ok, here goes... imagine a culture of widespread corruption, streets with public protests and roadblocks causing stalemates, hyperinflation that destroyed the middle class overnight, a shadow economy that rivals the legal system all within a country condemned and bankrupt from a bloody civil-war. Now imagine arriving to your destination in Ukraine and going to your assigned government office to process legal proceedings within a system that is still stuck in the bureaucracy from soviet times.

You get the idea. Although I will say that some regions obviously have more problems than others.

Moreso, the legal marriage process can be very troublesome for foreigners. From beginning to end, the system is set up to get foreigners to spend money - as much as possible. Yes, it is true that the application fees are very low compared to other countries. Yet the problems begin when RAGS and other public officials begin to instruct foreigners to provide additional forms of supporting evidence all provided within a specific format. Repeated trips back and forth to RAGS / ZAGS will waste your precious time, travel budget and make for an overall unpleasant experience.

Why does this happen?

There are many reasons. Local salaries are too low to support quality service. Different regions throughout Ukraine have varied standards of operation, as well as operating hours. And very often foreigners are thought to be extremely wealthy in comparison to locals, thus they are often forced to pay... perhaps, an inconvenience tax!

The most difficult problems occur when foreigners begin to realize that they do not have enough time to fulfill the requirements during their stay in Ukraine. Airfare, flats, hotels and other travel expenses can become very expensive - especially for foreigners!

What’s the answer?

The answer is to support local businesses in Ukraine the best you can during your stay, but prepare a solid plan before your trip in order to make your time spent toward legal marriage as trouble-free as possible. 

Where to begin?  

If you are reading this, then you already know you struck gold! Ukraine Marriage Guide Premium members get access to tons of great information that helps foreigners reach their goals of getting married in Ukraine. 

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Premium members help us build and maintain a trustworthy information source that defies corruption and helps people make their dreams of international marriage come true.

* consultation services are no longer available

What?!  No sexy agency ads? So, what’s this website really all about?