Can a foreigner use the Diia app in Ukraine, and what is available there?

What Diia offers a foreigner

Дія (Diia), the Ukrainian state app, was built for Ukrainian citizens, but since 2022 foreigners can use it too. The main things it gives them are an electronic посвідка (temporary or permanent residence permit) and the option to create Дія.Підпис (Diia.Signature). With the signature a foreigner signs documents electronically and gets some public services online.

Diia only works for a foreigner under certain conditions, though. Without a biometric residence permit and a tax number the app offers almost nothing. Other first steps in Ukraine are covered in the guide to first steps.

What you need

The ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) and the Ministry of Digital Transformation name four conditions. The first is a biometric residence permit, a plastic card with a contactless chip issued since April 2018. The second is a податковий номер (individual tax number, IPN). The third is a smartphone with NFC to read the data from the card. The fourth is a bank account in Ukraine, through which you log in to Diia with BankID.

How to add your residence permit to Diia

The sequence is short:

If reading fails, check that NFC is switched on and that your residence permit really is biometric. Old paper residence permits and cards without a chip cannot be added to Diia.

1. 1Log in to the app, scroll to the end of your documents and tap «Додати документ» (Add document).
2. 2Choose the permanent or temporary residence permit.
3. 3Tap «Зчитати» (Read) and hold your smartphone to the card to scan the code on its back.
4. 4Confirm your identity with a photo, and the residence permit appears among your documents.

Diia.Signature

Once the residence permit is in Diia, a foreigner can create Diia.Signature. It is a Ukrainian electronic signature used to sign documents and applications in public online services. In business, for example for a director or founder of a limited liability company (TOV), it makes dealing with state registrars and the tax authority much easier.

Which services are available

Foreigners get a smaller set of services than citizens, and the set is gradually changing. Here is what already works for holders of a biometric residence permit with a tax number:

It is best to check the list of services in the app itself, because it keeps growing.

• an e-residence permit that you can show in the app for services within Ukraine;
• Diia.Signature for signing documents and logging in to public services;
• ordering a criminal record extract, as described in the article on the [criminal record certificate](/knowledge/documents/criminal-record-certificate);
• showing the e-residence permit at service centres of the МВС (Ministry of Internal Affairs, MVS) for driving licence services.

Declaring your place of residence through Diia

The law on declaring and registering place of residence allows an address to be declared electronically, through the Diia portal. For a foreigner this route is technically possible, but it requires a qualified electronic signature and complete records about the person in state registers. On top of that, the owner of the home has to give consent in electronic form.

In practice most foreigners register their place of residence on paper at a ЦНАП (administrative service centre, TsNAP). If you already have Diia.Signature and everything works, try the electronic route. If not, do not spend time on it. How registration at a TsNAP works is explained in the article on residence registration.

The e-residence permit and the plastic card

The electronic residence permit is convenient, and for many services inside Ukraine it is enough. At the border, though, and wherever the original may be required, it is safer to carry the plastic card as well. Exchange, extension and revocation of the residence permit also happen with the card, not with its electronic version.

Lawyer's experience

When a foreigner asks why Diia is not working, the cause is usually one of two things. Either the residence permit is not biometric, or a tax number or a Ukrainian account for BankID login is missing. Both problems can be spotted before you even install the app, so check the conditions in advance.

I advise foreigners to take three steps in a row right after receiving a residence permit. Get a tax number, open an account and add the residence permit to Diia. After that many procedures, from certificates to registering a business, can be done online.

If you do not have a tax number yet, we take care of obtaining a tax number for you.

Frequently asked questions