What to expect from a trip to a notary in Ukraine?

If you want to buy an apartment in Ukraine, get an inheritance, or take part in any other deal, you will most likely have to pay a visit to a notary. It seems to be nothing complicated, but even such a small stage of the deal has a lot of nuances, and improper execution of the deal at the notary's office may entail a lot of negative consequences.

Do you think that the notary should know everything he needs to do? Unfortunately, this is not the case. The notary is responsible only in his part of the duties and is not responsible for the terms of the contract you conclude. Moreover, there is always a "human factor", the notary may just miss something and your property rights will suffer.

Related article: How to buy an apartment for a foreigner in Ukraine?

Going to the notary when purchasing an apartment, be prepared

The notary is an official person, a visit to whom you must plan in advance, and come prepared and with a full package of documents. The meeting at the notary is the very moment of the transaction, when the right of ownership of the apartment will pass from the previous owner to you.

This means that you can't forget the document, its required translation, or come to this meeting without understanding what will happen at the meeting. But first things first.

As a foreigner, you must come to the notary's office with a certain set of documents:

• valid foreign passport;

• translation of a foreign passport translated and notarized in Ukraine;

• identification code.

The code can be obtained in advance - our lawyers get it without the presence of the foreigner in Kyiv. Translation of the passport can also be arranged in advance.

But here you are at the notary with a full package of these documents. What's next?

First of all, understanding of the language. If you do not speak or understand Ukrainian at all, you will need an interpreter. And not just any translator, but a certified one, whose diploma will be checked by the notary. This is done in order to firstly protect your safety. A lot of money and the right of ownership of the estate are on the line. You should clearly understand what is going on and what you are agreeing to when you sign the contract.

When working with our clients, we provide them with reliable interpreters and accompany them to the notary.

By the way, even if an interpreter is present, the contract must still be concluded in two languages - Ukrainian and the one that is your spoken language. This is one of the requirements that the notary should not violate and that you should pay attention to.

The previous part dealt with your security in procedural terms-these are the things that the notary himself will insist on. But the actions of the notary also require verification and attention on your part. Here are a few key points that may tell you that the procedure is not going well:

• Ukrainian legislation provides for clear formulations, which should be specified in certain documents. For example, to obtain a TIN, it is required that the phrase specified in the power of attorney coincides with the one printed and posted by the tax service near the point of receiving these documents. The notary does not know such nuances and may miss this moment. 

If you do not want to know all the nuances of the procedure, but just want to quietly buy real estate in Ukraine, without any problems - we can take over the legal support of the entire deal. We will provide you with the contacts of our trusted notaries and organize the whole signing procedure ourselves.

We will also accompany you during the transaction and make sure that the purchase of the property is done with all precautions.