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, results and civil-defence notifications all 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. Check specifically whether the policy covers injury arising from war, hostilities, blast or shrapnel — many standard international policies do not, and in this oblast that carve-out removes most of what you are buying. Organisations that post staff here normally carry a specialist policy; if yours offers a standard one, ask them to check the wording in writing.
OnlineWho: You or your employerDaysVaries widely; the war-risk wording is what you are actually buying
2
Read the official radiological guidance once, properly
The oblast administration and the city publish civil-defence guidance covering the nuclear plant scenario. Learn three things and then stop revisiting it: the difference between an air-raid alert (go to the shelter) and a radiation instruction (shelter in place, close windows, shut off ventilation); where your building's shelter is; and that potassium iodide is taken ONLY on official instruction, never pre-emptively and never because a message is circulating. Iodine prophylaxis taken at the wrong time is itself a health risk.
OnlineWho: YouHalf an hour, onceFree; tablets are distributed through official channels
3
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
4
Register with a clinic and ask about its shelter and its power
Private clinics handle routine care and prices are low by Western standards, though the private sector here is smaller than in Dnipro or Odesa. When you register, ask whether the clinic has a shelter, whether it continues treating during an alert, and what its backup power arrangement is. For anything serious, the state hospital network in a front-line oblast capital carries a heavy trauma load and is correspondingly experienced.
In personWho: YouSame or next day for most appointmentsA specialist consultation typically ₴700-1,800
5
Know what to dial, and carry a paper card
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.
In personWho: 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
Potassium iodide, held per official guidance and taken only on instruction

Things most newcomers don’t know

Potassium iodide is taken on instruction, not on rumour — and the wrong time is worse than never.

This is the one piece of health advice unique to Zaporizhzhia in this whole app. Iodine prophylaxis is protective only in a specific scenario and within a specific window; taking it because a message circulated is a genuine health risk and it wastes the dose. Official channels issue the instruction; nothing else does.

Source: Запорізька ОВА civil-defence guidance / IAEA

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

Many off-the-shelf international policies cover accident and illness and carve out war. In a front-line oblast capital 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.

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

Buying an international policy without reading the hostilities and war-risk exclusions.
Taking iodine tablets pre-emptively or on the strength of a social-media message.
Assuming a temporary residence permit brings you into the state programme. It does not.
Relying on a phone for medical or civil-defence information during a blackout. Keep a paper card and a radio.
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.

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