Establish the legal ground first
A Ukrainian temporary residence permit documents a foreign national's or stateless person's qualifying ground for residence, subject to lawful-stay requirements. Grounds include employment, study, family reunification and specified volunteering or other statutory categories. Renting accommodation or registering an address does not itself create a permit entitlement.
Identify the category using the State Migration Service's official service card. Employment, education and family cases require different supporting evidence. A document suitable for one category cannot simply be substituted for another category's evidence.
Documents and applicant-specific exceptions
The core documents generally include a passport, a properly certified Ukrainian translation of the personal-details page, evidence of the ground and payment evidence or an exemption document. A long-stay visa is required unless a statutory exemption applies. Medical-insurance requirements also have exceptions. Representative documents apply where representation is permitted.
Applicants normally submit personal applications from age 16. Younger applicants have specific representation rules, with a separate provision for those who independently entered for study. Check the complete category-specific list, including certification requirements for foreign documents.
For exchange, also supply the existing permit and, where required, evidence of the event prompting its replacement. Expiry exchange requires checking that the residence ground continues.
First issue and exchange have different deadlines
For first issue, documents must be submitted at least 15 working days before the permitted stay expires. For exchange because a permit is expiring, current Migration Service guidance permits submission up to its final day of validity. If fewer than 15 working days remain, only a territorial Migration Service authority or unit accepts the exchange application.
Other exchange events, including personal-detail changes, have a separate one-month deadline. Where a new passport must first be obtained, specified cases calculate the deadline from its receipt. These are different rules and should not be reduced to one universal filing deadline.
The 2026 transitional window has closed
Resolution No. 141 entered into force on 7 May 2026. For covered permits whose exchange deadline arose after 24 February 2022, it established a 90-day window ending on 4 August 2026 inclusive. Russian citizens were excluded from that concession. As of 24 October, the window has ended. An older wartime announcement is not permission to postpone exchange indefinitely. If a document is overdue, ask the Migration Service to determine the lawful next steps for the actual case.
Where to apply
The Migration Service is the primary route. A CNAP or state-enterprise centre can accept applications only where it has the required technical capability. Permit validity depends on the statutory ground; a standard one-year validity promise would be wrong for several categories.
Common questions
Is the existing card simply extended?
Procedure No. 322 provides for exchange rather than automatic extension of the card's validity. A qualifying lawful residence ground is still required.
Can residence-address registration replace the permit?
No. Address registration is a separate procedure and does not resolve the legality of a person's stay or replace a residence permit.