Before you start

For the НСЗУ programme: permanent residence, Ukrainian citizenship, or refugee/complementary-protection status
For a declaration: a РНОКПП tax number and an identity document, signed in person with the chosen doctor
For everyone else: a medical insurance policy valid for the whole period of your residence permit — a condition of the permit itself
A Ukrainian phone number, since clinic booking and results run through apps and SMS

Step-by-step

1
Buy insurance before the permit, because the permit requires it
ДМС lists a valid medical insurance policy covering the full permit period among the required documents. Employers hiring internationally usually provide one; if yours does not, buy either a Ukrainian policy for foreigners or an international policy that explicitly covers Ukraine. Read the war-risk and hostilities exclusions rather than the brochure — many standard international policies carve out active conflict zones entirely.
OnlineWho: You or your employerDaysVaries widely; the exclusions are what you are actually buying
2
If you hold permanent residence, sign a declaration with a family doctor
The declaration is the contract between you and a primary-care doctor and routes НСЗУ funding to them for your care. You choose the doctor rather than the district and sign in person at the practice with your identity document and tax number. No fee, no address restriction.
In personWho: You, at the chosen practiceHalf an hourFree
3
Use private clinics for routine care
Same-week appointments, some English-speaking doctors at the larger networks, and prices low by Western European standards. Pay per visit or take an annual programme if you expect regular use. Ask what the clinic does during an alert and what its backup power arrangement is; in Dnipro the good ones answer without hesitating.
In personWho: YouSame or next day for most appointmentsA specialist consultation typically ₴800-2,000
4
Understand where the ambulance takes you, and why that is reassuring here
103 for an ambulance, 112 for the unified emergency number, 101 for fire and rescue, which also responds after a strike. Emergency care is provided regardless of status or declaration. For serious trauma, Dnipro's system routes to the regional hospital, which handles the most severe cases from a very wide area and does so at volume — this is one of the few places in Europe where 'the local hospital' means something close to a major-incident trauma centre by default.
In personWho: YouImmediate
5
Get your prescriptions through the electronic system
Ukraine runs electronic prescriptions: the doctor issues an e-prescription and you collect at any pharmacy with the code sent to your phone. Pharmacies are dense and open late, and many drugs that are prescription-only elsewhere are available over the counter — convenient, and a reason to bring your own regular medication rather than improvising a local equivalent.
Mobile appWho: YouImmediate

Documents you’ll need

Identity document and residence permit
РНОКПП tax number (needed for a declaration)
Medical insurance policy valid for the full permit period
Vaccination and medical history, translated if you want it usable
An emergency card on paper with blood group, allergies and contacts

Things most newcomers don’t know

Dnipro is the one Ukrainian city where the state hospital is the better answer for serious trauma.

Everywhere else in this app the advice is to use private clinics and treat the state sector as the emergency backstop. Here the regional hospital handles the most severe cases in the country at volume, with intensive care expanded from roughly 60 to about 200 beds. For anything major, the ambulance is taking you to the right place.

Source: Дніпропетровська обласна клінічна лікарня ім. І. І. Мечникова

Temporary residence does not get you into the Programme of Medical Guarantees — permanent residence does.

The insured population under Law No. 2168-VIII is citizens, permanent residents and refugees. A work-permit holder on a one-year temporary permit is outside it, which is exactly why ДМС makes insurance a condition of that permit.

Source: Law of Ukraine No. 2168-VIII / НСЗУ

Check your international policy for a Ukraine war-risk exclusion.

Many global expatriate policies carve out active conflict zones. A policy that looks comprehensive and excludes Ukraine is worse than no policy, because you will not discover it until you need it.

Source: community-reported

Emergency care does not check your status.

Ambulances and emergency departments treat first. Whatever your paperwork situation, 103 or 112 is always the right call.

Source: МОЗ / НСЗУ

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a temporary residence permit brings you into the state programme. It does not.
Buying the cheapest policy without reading the territorial and hostilities exclusions.
Waiting to sign a declaration until you are ill.
Relying on a phone for medical information during a blackout. Keep a paper card.
Self-prescribing because pharmacies will sell you almost anything.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.