First time across a border: preparing a group from Tajikistan for entry without questions

01 / The request

Twenty people making their first trip abroad

A greenhouse complex near Kyiv had expanded and was looking for twenty people to pick and sort vegetables. Greenhouse experience was welcome but not essential: the complex trains people itself. What mattered was willingness to work year-round and live in the complex's dormitory. The complex prepared its own documents before the interviews: a register extract, a staffing schedule with picker and sorter job titles, powers of attorney for filing and the dormitory documents. It paid the permit fees from its own account as soon as we sent the invoices.

We recruited in Tajikistan through a licensed partner. Citizens of that country enter Ukraine without a visa, and the route from recruitment to first shift takes four to seven weeks on average. Sherzod, one of our worker relations managers, speaks Tajik and held the interviews in Khujand and Dushanbe.

The interviews made it clear that the main challenge of this project wasn't skills. Fourteen of the twenty selected had never been abroad. For people like that, an airport, a connection and a conversation with a border officer are a test in themselves, and preparing for it deserves the same care as the documents.

Who we're looking for

Pickers and sorters, greenhouse experience welcome

How many

20 people plus 4 in reserve

Housing

The complex's on-site dormitory, building documents in order

What's special

14 people travelling abroad for the first time

02 / Passports

An international passport that doesn't exist yet

The first thing we checked for everyone was a passport valid for travel abroad. Without one you can neither file for a permit nor buy a ticket. Fourteen candidates had valid passports, four had none at all, and two had damaged passports: one water-stained, the other with a torn cover.

A damaged passport is a direct reason for questions at the border, and sometimes a reason to refuse entry. So both candidates replaced their passports before the permit applications. The four without passports obtained them within a few weeks, and we filed their permits as a second batch so as not to hold up the rest of the group.

We made passport page copies for the permits only from the originals, with Ukrainian translations carrying a notarised translator's signature. We checked each passport's details against the application form before translation, so that dates of birth and name spellings matched everywhere. In parallel, each candidate signed an information sheet: job, pay, working hours, dormitory and address, and which costs they cover themselves. A separate line states that the candidate was not charged for placement, and each person confirmed it with a signature.

03 / The briefing

What border officers ask, explained in Tajik before departure

Once the permits were ready, Sherzod gathered the group in Khujand for a briefing. Not to memorise answers, but so people understood what happens at the border and why they're asked questions. A border officer checks whether a person is really going where they say and has grounds for the trip. Someone who knows where they're going and why answers calmly and briefly.

Sherzod went through the questions most often asked at the border with each person and asked them to answer honestly and in their own words. If someone doesn't understand a question in Russian or Ukrainian, they can say so and show their document folder. Lying, inventing a tourist purpose or staying silent are out: those are exactly what raise suspicion. The briefing lasted two hours, and half the time people asked their own questions: will my phone be taken, can I bring home food, what if the flight is delayed and I miss the connection. We added the flight delay question to the guide as a separate point with a phone number for that situation.

• purpose of travel: work under a permit at a greenhouse complex;
• where they'll live: the dormitory address from the folder;
• who the employer is: the complex's name and HR contact;
• for how long: the term of the contract and permit;
• what documents they have: show the folder rather than listing from memory.

We also explained the rules of the journey itself: hand your passport to nobody but the border officer and airline staff, don't carry anyone else's belongings in your luggage, and keep your phone charged. For people in an airport for the first time, small things like these remove half the anxiety. We also sent everyone a link to our general guide for candidates on working in Ukraine.

04 / The folder

One document folder, the same for all twenty

Everyone received a clear folder with the same set of documents in the same order. Uniformity matters: if a border officer asks one member of the group for a document, the lead knows where it is in everyone's folder. People kept their original passports on them; the folder held copies and documents from the complex. We numbered the folders to match the lead's list, so none would go missing on the way.

The folder contents match what we recommend to all candidates on the visa-free route. More on this on our visa-free entry and documents for candidates pages.

1. 01

   Permit

   A copy of the work permit with the person's details.

2. 02

   Invitation

   A letter from the complex with its name, address, job title and HR contact.

3. 03

   Housing

   Confirmation of residence in the complex's dormitory, with the address.

4. 04

   Contacts

   Phone numbers for the group lead, Sherzod and the complex's HR.

05 / Groups

Twenty people, two groups and two leads

Twenty people on one flight and in one border queue means twenty conversations in a row, and if one drags on, everyone waits. So we split the group into two groups of ten a day apart. Each had a lead: Farhod in the first and Bakhtiyor in the second. Both had worked abroad before, speak Russian and could help others at the border.

We put those who had travelled abroad before and some first-timers in the first group. That way the second group flew already knowing from the first how it had gone. The four who got passports later flew with the second group, since their permits were issued a few days later. We chose the leads not by age but by travel experience and how they carried themselves at the interview and briefing. Each received a list of his group with photos and phone numbers. Both agreed to lead straight away.

06 / The border

Crossing day: in touch until the last person is through

On crossing day Sherzod was in touch with both leads from check-in onwards. The leads posted in the group chat at every stage, and after passport control each person sent a short message saying he was through. Once the last person had passed, Sherzod informed the complex's HR, and the bus set off to meet them.

The border officer asked one man in the first group a few extra questions: his passport had a stamp from an earlier visit to relatives in another country. The group lead helped translate, the man showed his folder, and the questions were settled in minutes. That's exactly why we split groups and prepare leads. The second group got through even faster: that evening the first group's lead recorded a short voice message in Tajik for them about how it had gone.

1. Morning

   Check-in; the lead checks the whole group's passports and folders.

2. Connection

   The lead confirms in the chat that everyone is together. Sherzod is on the line.

3. Border

   Each person clears control and messages 'through'. The lead goes last.

4. After the border

   Sherzod informs the complex, and the bus picks up the group.

5. Evening

   The group is at the dormitory, each entry date in the register.

07 / After entry

The first weeks: contracts, residence permits and registration

The 90 days of visa-free stay started on the day of entry, so we handled documents to a calendar drawn up in advance. Employment contracts were signed in the first days after arrival, with copies submitted within 10 days. People got tax numbers within a few working days, followed by bank accounts.

We split temporary residence permit filings into groups of five. We had checked the complex's dormitory before entry, so the documents for registration of residence went through without delay. Sherzod went with every group and translated if anyone had a question. Two people from the first group lost their folders in the first week, but they had their original passports, and we kept electronic copies of the documents and printed new ones within a day.

That's where our work with the group ended: greenhouse training and assignment to sections are handled by the complex. From here we handle documents through migration support, and the complex's obligations are described on the employer duties page. What a transit route through a neighbouring country's border looks like is covered in the scenario about transit through Moldova, and what to do if someone is refused entry in the scenario about a refusal at the border.

08 / Outcome

Twenty people across a border for the first time, with no delays

Passports

4 new and 2 replaced before permit filing

Briefing

In Tajik before departure: honest answers and a document folder

Groups

Two groups of ten with leads, a day apart

The border

Both groups without delays, one extra question settled on the spot

Documents

Contracts, tax numbers and residence permit filings in the first weeks

There's nothing WORKIN can't solve with groups travelling abroad for the first time: we sort out passports, explain the border in people's own language, put together identical folders and stay in touch until the last person is through. The WORKIN replacement guarantee lasts at least 6 months from the worker's first shift, provided the agreed working, pay and housing conditions are kept. The whole path from request to shift is described on how it works. More on such projects on our pages about workers for agriculture, general labourers from abroad and recruitment. How a work permit is obtained is described separately.

09 / FAQ

Questions and answers