Foreigners' guide to emergency medical care in Ukraine

Take, for example, a reporter from Poland on the fourth night of a seven-day autumn assignment in Chernivtsi, alone in a rented flat, with a pain that has grown too strong to wait for morning. The reporter has the phone in one hand and a single question in mind: what happens now? If you are ever in that position, the answer starts with one number.

In an emergency, call 112. As of October 2026, foreigners staying temporarily in Ukraine pay for care at state and municipal facilities unless a treaty or law says otherwise, and must repay state-paid emergency care in full before leaving, except foreigners doing contract military service in Ukraine's Armed Forces, State Special Transport Service or National Guard.

Before the trip: one number, one app and a policy on the phone

Preparing for a medical emergency in Ukraine starts at home: save 112, sign in to the official "112 Ukraine" app, and keep the policy PDF where it opens offline. The reporter in this example did all three in Poland on the evening before the train, so the night in Chernivtsi starts with a plan rather than a search. You can do the same in one quiet evening of packing, whatever the purpose of your trip.

The example trip, in brief:

• Who: a reporter from Poland, traveling alone
• Purpose: a seven-day work assignment
• Place: Chernivtsi, in western Ukraine
• Season: autumn, with short days and cold evenings
• Ready before leaving: 112 saved, the "112 Ukraine" app signed in, the policy PDF downloaded

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs developed the official "112 Ukraine" app, which can reach 112 over Wi-Fi when there is no mobile signal, for example in a basement or a shelter. The app asks you to sign in before you can use it, so set it up at home rather than on the night you need it.

If you buy cover here, the policy arrives as a PDF by email after purchase. Keep one copy in your phone's files and a printed copy in your bag, so that neither depends on a signal or a charged battery alone. Keep your passport with them, so that both documents are ready if you need a hospital.

The call: 112 first, and the separate lines

The number to call is 112. As of October 2026, Ukraine's 112 service covers all regions of the country, and one call can bring medics together with any other emergency service the situation needs. For you, that means one number to remember and one conversation to have.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs describes 112 as an alternative to the separate lines 101, 102, 103 and 104, so that a caller does not have to spend time ringing each service in turn. The ministry says 112 also takes advice calls; according to the Minister of Internal Affairs, that eases the load on the operators of 101, 102, 103 and 104, so they can respond quickly to emergencies. The ministry's own description of how the single number works sets out the service in Ukrainian, with the separate lines named beside it.

If you reach for 911 out of habit, the call is not lost either: the ministry says that a call to 911 made by a foreigner in Ukraine is redirected to the 112 service.

So the choice is simple. Choose 112 if you are not sure which service you need, if more than one may be needed, or if you would rather have an operator coordinate everything. Choose one of the separate lines only when you know it is the one service you want and you know its number.

When the call connects, start with the plain facts: the address, the floor and the door, what has happened, and that you are a foreign visitor. Short, calm sentences help, one fact at a time. The reporter in the example adds one more: that no one else is in the flat.

What the operator does while you wait

Once the call connects, the 112 operator assesses the situation remotely and sends the services it needs, coordinating rescuers, police and medics rather than leaving the caller to arrange them. Your part is to answer clearly and keep the phone close.

Language may be your next worry, and here the ministry gives a dated figure rather than a promise. In February 2025, the Minister of Internal Affairs said that 65 of the more than 260 operators of the 112 service spoke foreign languages, among them English and Polish. A Polish or English speaker may therefore reach someone who can answer in that language, although the figure does not mean that every call will be answered that way.

If the operator speaks only Ukrainian, keep to short words and the address, and use a translation app if one is already open. It helps to write the address on a note by the phone early in your stay, in the form it appears on your booking, so that you can read it out at a moment like this.

While you wait, a few simple things make the arrival easier. Make sure the door can be opened from outside or have a key ready, switch on a light in the hallway, and set out your passport and the phone with the policy PDF together. Put a coat and a charger next to them, since the night may continue somewhere else. None of these steps is a rule; each one simply saves a minute when help arrives.

At the emergency department: who treats a foreign visitor

At a state or municipal hospital, the rules on medical care for foreigners staying temporarily in Ukraine are set out in Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 121 of March 19, 2014. It also sets out how the cost of that care is compensated. As of October 2026, its current edition is dated August 27, 2025.

Under it, medical care for a foreigner staying temporarily is provided for payment, unless an international treaty or a law of Ukraine provides otherwise or the foreigner is doing contract military service in Ukraine's Armed Forces, State Special Transport Service or National Guard. The full wording is on the Verkhovna Rada's legislation portal as Resolution No. 121, in Ukrainian.

At the reception desk, hand over your passport and open the policy PDF on your phone, with the printed copy at hand, so that the documents are there before anyone needs to ask. That is what the reporter in the example does on arrival.

For the wider picture, from the types of facility to who provides care, see how care is organized for foreign visitors.

What Resolution No. 121 says you pay

Emergency care can be paid from Ukraine's state budget under a state program, with the National Health Service of Ukraine paying the medical-service provider a tariff for it. If emergency care for a foreigner staying temporarily in Ukraine was paid that way, the foreigner must compensate the state for its full cost, unless doing contract military service in Ukraine's Armed Forces, State Special Transport Service or National Guard. For that foreigner, the resolution also says how and when: by the provider's invoice, paid before leaving Ukraine.

Paragraph 2-1 of the Procedure approved by Resolution No. 121, in the edition of August 27, 2025, sets the timing in one sentence, quoted here in an unofficial translation from the Ukrainian.

A foreigner or stateless person temporarily residing or staying in Ukraine, or their legal representatives, must pay this amount of compensation according to the invoice before leaving the territory of Ukraine.

For the reporter, that turns the rule into a single habit: settle any invoice of this kind before boarding the train home to Poland.

The resolution also speaks to the visitor who arrives with nothing arranged. A foreigner staying temporarily in Ukraine without an insurance contract that secures payment, and without papers showing a right to free care in Ukraine, pays for the care personally. For that foreigner, this includes emergency care.

Where an insurance policy fits in

Resolution No. 121 sets out a payment route for a foreigner staying temporarily in Ukraine who holds a qualifying insurance contract. Where such a foreigner holds a contract with an insurer resident in Ukraine that secures payment for medical care, the insurer pays the facility by transfer once the payment document is presented. The same resolution also allows a medical-assistance coordination company named in the contract and working in Ukraine to make that payment.

For you as a visitor, that is the practical value of a policy of this kind. Keep the policy PDF open on your phone at the desk. Contact the insurer's assistance service as soon as you can.

The plans sold on this site differ by their sum insured. You can compare the two plans before you travel.

A short checklist for your trip

Three habits carry you through a medical emergency in Ukraine: call 112, keep your passport and policy within reach, and, as a foreigner staying temporarily in Ukraine, settle any invoice for state-paid emergency care before you leave the country.

The reporter's list, written before the next assignment, works for any trip:

• Save 112; it covers all regions of Ukraine.
• Install the "112 Ukraine" app and sign in before the trip; it can reach 112 over Wi-Fi when there is no mobile signal.
• Keep the policy PDF and your passport together, on the phone and on paper.
• At the hospital, say early how the care will be paid.
• Before leaving Ukraine, settle any invoice for state-paid emergency care, as the resolution requires of a foreigner staying temporarily in Ukraine.

The facts about the 112 service and the edition of Resolution No. 121 were checked in October 2026. The reporter from Poland is an illustration, not a real case.

The start and end dates of a policy are printed on it; when you buy cover, choose dates for your whole stay, from the day you arrive in Ukraine to the day you leave.