First steps for foreigners in Ukraine, which documents to arrange and in what order?

Start with your ground for stay

A foreigner moving to Ukraine for the long term deals with several state bodies at once, and each of them is responsible for its own document:

The type D visa and who can do without it

A type D visa is meant for people who come to live in Ukraine. Only Ukrainian consulates abroad issue it, on the basis of a document confirming the purpose of the trip, such as a work permit, an enrolment order or an invitation. With a type D visa, the foreigner enters Ukraine and applies for a TRP within the visa's term. The step-by-step visa process is covered in the visa application guide.

Some foreigners do not need a type D visa for a TRP, because laws or international treaties say so. They apply for the TRP without leaving Ukraine, except for citizens of the aggressor state. A separate exception applies under martial law to volunteers and staff of humanitarian representative offices, as explained in the article on a TRP through volunteering.

Most important of all, keep visa-free entry and visa-free access to a TRP apart. A citizen of an EU country or the United States enters Ukraine without a visa but, as a rule, still needs a type D visa for a TRP. This confusion is what most often forces people to leave the country and come back with a visa.

Temporary residence permit

With a TRP you have confirmed the right to live in Ukraine for longer than a visa or visa-free stay allows. The DMS issues it on a specific ground, and the law gives an exhaustive list of such grounds. The most common are work under a permit, marriage to a Ukrainian citizen, study, volunteering and taking part in a business. All grounds are compared in the article on grounds for a TRP.

Applications for a TRP are filed with the DMS, a TsNAP or a DMS state enterprise at your place of residence. The basic package is the same for everyone:

On top of that come the documents confirming your ground. The package is explained in detail in the article on documents for a TRP, and the whole process in the guide to the temporary residence permit.

Your filing deadline is tied to the end of your permitted stay, not to your date of entry, so start collecting documents as soon as you arrive. The mistakes that most often lead to delays or refusals are listed in the article on mistakes in a TRP package.

• your passport;
• a translation of the personal data page;
• a medical insurance policy covering the whole term of the TRP;
• proof of payment of the administrative fee;
• a document confirming your tax number, if you have one.

The host party

Almost every ground for a TRP has a host party:

Tax number

Officially called the реєстраційний номер облікової картки платника податків (taxpayer registration number), the tax number is needed for formal employment, a bank account, a lease and registering a business. The tax service assigns it to a foreigner who is lawfully in Ukraine.

You can also get the number before the TRP. In that case you need a passport translation certified by a translation agency. If you already hold a TRP, no passport translation is needed, because the TRP identifies you in Ukrainian. How to get the number is described in the article on the tax number for foreigners.

Registering your place of residence

Once you have the TRP, you register your place of residence. The deadline for this is counted from the day you receive the card, not from the day you entered. Registration is done at a TsNAP for your home address, and in practice the owner of the flat has to be present or give consent. Late registration is fined under Article 203 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

You will need the certificate showing your address to sign up with a family doctor, enrol a child at school, get a driving licence and use many administrative services. All the details of the procedure are in the article on registering your place of residence.

Work and the work permit

A TRP does not give you the right to work. To employ you, the employer first obtains a work permit from the employment centre, and only then signs an employment contract with you. The employer, not the foreigner, files the documents for the permit, as explained in the article on documents for a work permit.

Only categories expressly named in the law may work without a permit, among them permanent residents, refugees, staff of branches of foreign companies, accredited journalists and university lecturers. The full list is in the article on exemptions from the work permit. If you have come to Ukraine to work, the shortest route to a TRP runs through the permit, as described in the article on a TRP based on employment.

Documents from abroad

Almost every foreigner brings documents issued at home. That may be a marriage certificate for a marriage-based TRP, children's birth certificates for family reunification, or a diploma for work or study. In Ukraine these documents only take effect after legalisation.

What you need depends on the country that issued the document:

Bank, electronic signature and driving licence

A TRP and a tax number open up everyday services. With them a foreigner can open an account with a Ukrainian bank, although each bank sets its own requirements for foreign clients and may ask for additional documents. For online public services you will need an electronic signature. Дія.Підпис (Diia.Signature) is available to foreigners who hold a biometric TRP and a tax number, and a qualified electronic signature can be obtained from the tax service.

Holders of a TRP can get a driving licence in Ukraine, and for that you need the certificate of your registered place of residence. Close your address registration as early as possible, because several further steps depend on it.

If you are a student, founder or volunteer

For some foreigners the first steps look slightly different. Students get a TRP on the basis of study, and the supporting document comes from the educational institution, as described in the article on a TRP for students. Someone who founds their own company chooses between an investor TRP and a work permit as director, and the two routes are compared in the article on the investor TRP.

Under martial law, volunteers do not need a type D visa for a TRP if they are engaged by an organisation on the list of the National Social Service of Ukraine, unless they are Russian citizens. Their first step is to check the organisation itself.

Medical insurance

A medical insurance policy is part of the mandatory TRP package and must be valid for the whole term of the TRP. A policy with a shorter term makes the package incomplete, which is a ground for refusal. The requirements for the policy are described in the article on insurance for a TRP.

In practice, buy the policy once you know the term of your TRP. For a work-based TRP that is the term of the work permit, and for a student permit it is the period of study under the institution's order.

Family

If you are moving with your family, each family member will have their own TRP. The spouse and children of a foreigner with a TRP get their permits through family reunification. This requires documents proving the family relationship, proof of sufficient funds and your own TRP. How it works is described in the article on a TRP for a family member.

Marriage to a Ukrainian citizen is a separate ground with its own package, and it opens the way to permanent residence. Details are in the article on a TRP through marriage.

Martial law

Ukraine's martial law is extended every few months, and it affects foreigners differently from citizens. Exit restrictions apply to Ukrainian citizens, while a foreigner leaves and enters on general terms. During an air raid alert the DMS suspends appointments, so do not plan your filing for the last possible day.

The most important change of 2026 concerns residence permits. Since 7 May 2026 an expired temporary residence permit no longer confirms either the right to live in Ukraine or the right to enter it. Check your card's expiry date before every trip abroad. This is covered in detail in the article on travelling abroad with a TRP.

Check yourself in the register of debtors

An unenforced decision on a fine, or another debt to the state or to private persons, is a separate ground for refusing a TRP. Such debts are entered in the Unified Register of Debtors kept by the Ministry of Justice. Foreigners are often unaware of their debts, for example a fine imposed during an earlier stay.

Look yourself up in the register before you start collecting documents for the TRP, not on the day of filing. If there is a debt, settle it in advance. A paid fine stops being a problem, while an unpaid one can halt the whole case however good the package is.

What to carry with you

A foreigner in Ukraine has to be able to show that their stay is lawful. In practice, always carry your passport and TRP, and until you have the TRP, your passport with the visa or entry stamp. It helps to keep a photo or scan of the document behind your ground, such as the work permit, and of the residence registration certificate.

Keep copies of all documents separately from the originals, in the cloud or with someone close to you. If your wallet with the documents goes missing, the copies let you notify the DMS quickly and start the replacement. What to do in that case is described in the article on a lost TRP.

A typical sequence

For a foreigner coming to work, the sequence in most cases looks like this:

Other grounds follow a similar order, and only the supporting document and the party that provides it change. What to do once you have the card is collected in the article on steps after getting a TRP.

1. 1While still at home, apostille or legalise the documents your ground will need.
2. 2The employer obtains a work permit from the employment centre.
3. 3You get a type D visa at a consulate, if your nationality needs one, and enter Ukraine.
4. 4Get a tax number.
5. 5Have your passport translated and buy an insurance policy.
6. 6File for a TRP with the DMS before your permitted stay ends.
7. 7Once you have the TRP, register your place of residence.
8. 8Open a bank account, sign up with a family doctor and, if needed, arrange TRPs for your family.

Common mistakes

• Coming visa-free with a plan to get a TRP on the spot when your nationality needs a type D visa.
• Bringing certificates without an apostille when it can only be added in the country of issue.
• Counting the address registration deadline from entry rather than from receipt of the TRP.
• Starting work before the employer has obtained the permit and signed the employment contract.
• Buying the insurance policy before the term of the TRP is known.
• Spelling your name differently in different documents.

What you can do yourself

Part of the first steps a foreigner can handle alone. A tax number, residence registration once you have a TRP and the owner's consent, and translations at a reliable agency are manageable for most people. These procedures are transparent, and a mistake in them is usually put right by a second visit.

Things get harder where several later documents depend on one, and the deadlines are strict. That covers choosing the ground for a TRP, the work permit, changing employer or ground, and refusals from the DMS or the employment centre. Here a mistake costs you not a repeat visit but your status, and you may have to leave the country or start over. In such cases we recommend at least one consultation before you file anything.

In short, the split looks like this:

Lawyer's experience

Most foreigners come to us after their first mistake. Someone entered visa-free, found a job and, a few weeks before their permitted stay ran out, learned that a TRP requires a type D visa. That is why at a first consultation I ask people not to describe their plans but to show me their passport and the entry stamp. Every deadline is counted from that stamp.

My second tip concerns documents from home. An apostille on a marriage certificate or a diploma can only be added in the country that issued it. If you are already in Ukraine, that means relatives, post and weeks of waiting. It is much simpler to do this before you move.

The third tip is about your name. Decide straight away how your name is spelled in Ukrainian and stick to that spelling in every document. A one-letter difference between the passport translation and the TRP is enough to stop the case.

If you would like a plan for your own situation, we hold a migration law consultation that goes through your documents and deadlines.

All articles on this topic

• [Registering a foreigner's place of residence](/knowledge/documents/residence-registration)
• [Tax number for foreigners](/knowledge/documents/tax-number-for-foreigner)
• [Apostille and consular legalisation](/knowledge/documents/apostille-legalization)
• [Notarised translation of documents](/knowledge/documents/notarized-translation)
• [Name spelled differently across documents](/knowledge/documents/name-discrepancy)
• [Criminal record certificate for foreigners](/knowledge/documents/criminal-record-certificate)
• [Checking whether a permit is ready](/knowledge/documents/check-document-status)
• [Opening a bank account as a foreigner](/knowledge/documents/bank-account-foreigner)
• [Diia for foreigners](/knowledge/documents/diia-for-foreigners)
• [Foreign driving licence in Ukraine](/knowledge/documents/driving-licence-exchange)

Frequently asked questions