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, and read the hostilities exclusion before the price
ДМС lists a valid medical insurance policy covering the full permit period among the required documents. In Kharkiv, check specifically whether the policy covers injury arising from war, hostilities, blast or shrapnel — many standard international policies do not, and a policy that covers a broken ankle but not the reason most people go to hospital here is close to worthless. Employers hiring internationally into Kharkiv usually carry a specialist policy; if yours offers a standard one, ask them to check the wording.
OnlineWho: You or your employerDaysVaries widely; the war-risk wording is 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
Register with a private clinic and ask about its shelter
Private clinics remain the practical route for routine care and prices are low by Western standards. When you register, ask two Kharkiv questions: does the clinic have a shelter and does it continue treating during an alert, and what is its backup power arrangement. The good clinics answer both immediately, which is itself the signal.
In personWho: YouSame or next day for most appointmentsA specialist consultation typically ₴800-2,000
4
Know what to dial — and that trauma care here is genuinely expert
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. Keep blood group, allergies and an emergency contact on paper in your wallet as well as in your phone; phones die in blackouts and the paper card is standard practice here rather than an eccentricity.
In personWho: YouImmediate
5
Get your prescriptions through the electronic system, and carry a reserve
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. Keep a month's reserve of anything you take regularly — supply is generally fine, but a bad week for the city is not the moment to discover you have two days left.
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, with the hostilities wording checked
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

In Kharkiv, a policy that excludes injury from hostilities excludes the main risk.

This is the single most important sentence in this file for anyone arriving with an off-the-shelf international policy. Many of them cover accident and illness and carve out war. In a city subject to guided-bomb strikes that carve-out is not a technicality — it is most of the reason you bought cover.

Source: community-reported / standard expatriate policy wordings

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

Emergency care does not check your status, and the trauma system is practised.

Ambulances and emergency departments treat first. Kharkiv's hospitals have run mass-casualty responses repeatedly since 2022; whatever your paperwork situation, 103 or 112 is always the right call.

Source: МОЗ / НСЗУ

You choose the family doctor, not the catchment area.

The declaration broke the old address-based assignment. With permanent residence you can pick a doctor across the city and the funding follows you — useful in a city where facilities have relocated.

Source: МОЗ

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying an international policy without reading the hostilities and war-risk exclusions. The most expensive mistake on this page.
Assuming a temporary residence permit brings you into the state programme. It does not.
Waiting to register with a clinic until you need one.
Relying on a phone for medical information during a blackout. Keep a paper card.
Running your regular medication down to a few days' supply.

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