Before you start

A ground under Article 4 — the permit is a consequence of your employment, study, project, family or investment, not a category you choose
A type D long-term visa if your nationality needs one; it is a multiple-entry visa valid 90 days, purely a window in which to apply to ДМС inside Ukraine
Valid medical insurance covering the entire permit period — a listed document, and in Kharkiv the exclusions matter more than the premium
A notarised Ukrainian translation of the personal-data page of your passport
For employment: an employer willing to obtain the work permit and pay at least 10 minimum wages, or 5 for public associations, charities and educational institutions

Step-by-step

1
Establish the ground before you travel
For sponsored employment your employer applies to the Kharkiv oblast employment centre for the дозвіл на застосування праці іноземців. For humanitarian and reconstruction work it is usually an international technical assistance project registration or NGO employment; for media it is accreditation; for study or research it is the institution's invitation. Settle this first — the D visa and the permit both hang off it, and there is no generic 'move to Ukraine' route.
Via employerWho: Your employer, project or institutionWeeks; the employment centre notifies the employer within two working days of its decisionWork permit paid by the employer: ₴9,984 up to 6 months, ₴16,640 for 6-12 months, ₴26,624 for 1-2 years, ₴33,280 for 2-3 years (2026 scale). The NGO and educational floor of 5 minimum wages matters here — a large share of Kharkiv's foreign hires are on it
2
Get the type D visa, then travel overland — and expect the last leg to be rail
Citizens of the EU, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United States among others may enter visa-free for 90 days in any 180, but that window is not a residence right; the D visa is built for the purpose. Ukrainian airspace has been closed to civil aviation since February 2022, so every arrival is overland: a flight to Poland, then rail across Ukraine. Kharkiv is served by Ukrzaliznytsia sleepers from Kyiv and from the west, and rail is the only sensible way in — the road approaches from the north and east do not exist as civilian routes.
In personWho: You, at a Ukrainian consulateConsular processing varies; allow two travel days from an EU airportConsular fee per the MFA tariff — we do not quote a figure because the MFA's own pages block automated access; confirm with the consulate
3
File at the State Migration Service in Kharkiv
Documents go to the ДМС territorial unit or a ЦНАП administrative service centre covering your Kharkiv address, and must be lodged NO LATER THAN 15 WORKING DAYS before your permitted stay expires. Bring the passport, the notarised Ukrainian translation of its data page, the medical insurance policy, the ground documents and the fee receipts; photographs and biometrics are taken on site. Call or check online the day before — Kharkiv's service points have relocated and changed hours more than once, and an alert during your slot means the counter stops until the all-clear.
In personWho: You, in personPermit issued within 15 working days of the documents being accepted₴1,140 in total — ₴34 state duty, ₴452 administrative service, ₴654 for the card blank
4
Collect the card and register your place of residence
The permit is collected in person. Then declare and register your place of residence: Cabinet Resolution No. 648 of 13 May 2026, in force since 30 May 2026, governs the procedure, which runs through the Diia portal and the ЦНАП centres. A foreigner additionally produces the passport and the certified Ukrainian translation of its data page — and needs the landlord's written consent, which in a market with a lot of informal letting is the step that most often stalls.
Mobile appWho: You, via Diia or a ЦНАПSame day at a ЦНАП in most cases
5
Then get the tax number, the bank account and the SIM — in that order
The permit unlocks the rest. The РНОКПП tax number comes next because the bank will ask for it; a bank account follows; a registered SIM after that. Doing them out of order is the most common way to lose a fortnight, and in Kharkiv a lost fortnight is a lot of counter hours.
In personWho: YouAbout a week to ten days for all three if the permit is in hand

Documents you’ll need

Passport, plus a notarised Ukrainian translation of the personal-data page
Type D visa where your nationality requires one, and the entry stamp
Medical insurance covering the whole permit period — check the hostilities exclusion, not just the sum insured
Ground documents — work permit and employment contract, project registration, media accreditation, enrolment or research invitation, marriage certificate
The landlord's written consent to register your place of residence at the address
Proof of the administrative fee, and your tax registration document where you already have one

Things most newcomers don’t know

The 5-minimum-wage salary floor for NGOs, charities and educational institutions is disproportionately relevant here.

Kharkiv's foreign-hire population skews heavily towards humanitarian, reconstruction and academic work rather than corporate employment. The reduced floor is what makes those roles possible at all, and it is the first thing to check when an employer says the salary threshold is impossible.

Source: Державна служба зайнятості / Law of Ukraine 'On Employment of the Population'

Time on a temporary permit converts into nothing. There is no five-year settlement rule in Ukraine.

Permanent residence comes from an immigration permit granted by CATEGORY — spouse of a Ukrainian citizen married more than two years, child or parent of a citizen, foreign Ukrainian, or a small annual quota. Ten years on a work permit leaves you exactly where you started.

Source: ДМС / Law of Ukraine 'On Immigration' No. 2491-III

Confirm the office is open and where before every appointment.

This is the practical Kharkiv difference. Service points have relocated, hours are shorter than published pre-2022 schedules, and counters suspend during alerts. The statutory fifteen working days do not move; your ability to reach a counter does.

Source: community-reported

File 15 working days before your stay expires, not on the day it does.

ДМС's own rule. Miss it and you are out of status, which blocks the tax number and therefore the bank account — a cascade that is much harder to unpick from Kharkiv than from Kyiv.

Source: ДМС service page

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a 90-day visa-free stay can roll into residence. It cannot, and an overstay also blocks the issue of a tax number.
Planning to fly. There are no civil flights anywhere in Ukraine, and Kharkiv's approaches by road from the north and east are not civilian routes. Rail from Kyiv is the way in.
Buying insurance without reading the hostilities exclusion. In Kharkiv this is the single most consequential line in the policy.
Reading a pre-2022 guide, or a Kyiv-specific one, for opening hours and office addresses.
For anyone with a Ukrainian parent or birthplace: treating a second passport as protection. Ukraine treats a person it regards as its citizen as a citizen only, with mobilisation and exit restrictions applying to men aged 18-60.

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