How to Apply for IDP Status After Being Displaced Within Ukraine

Who qualifies for IDP status?

An internally displaced person, or IDP, is a person who remains within Ukraine but was forced to leave or abandon their place of residence because of circumstances such as armed conflict, temporary occupation, widespread violence, human-rights violations or a natural or technological emergency.

The legal definition covers Ukrainian citizens and also foreign nationals or stateless persons who are lawfully in Ukraine and have the right to permanent residence.

For the current wartime registration procedure, the main practical route applies to people who moved from territories identified in Ukraine's official list of territories where hostilities are ongoing or possible or that are temporarily occupied, where the relevant end date has not been established under the registration rules.

Does your former community have to be on an official list?

For the principal wartime registration route, yes. Cabinet Resolution No. 509 links eligibility to the official list of territories where hostilities are ongoing or possible or that are temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.

The current list is approved by the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine under Order No. 376 of 28 February 2025 and is amended as conditions change.

Do not rely on an old list copied from a news article or social-media post. The applicable territorial status should be checked against the current official legal list at the time you apply.

Can you qualify because your home was destroyed?

Yes. Resolution No. 509 separately allows registration where a person's residential premises were destroyed or damaged to the point of being uninhabitable because of hostilities, terrorist acts or sabotage caused by Russia's armed aggression.

The authorities must be able to confirm the relevant damage. Lack of facts or documents establishing qualifying damaged or destroyed housing is an official ground for refusal.

If your property was damaged or destroyed by Russian aggression, that damage also has its own separate reporting procedure. See how to report damaged or destroyed housing.

Can a child apply for IDP status?

A person aged 14 or older may generally apply personally for IDP registration.

For a young child, an application can be made by a parent or adoptive parent and, in situations covered by the procedure, by other relatives, a guardian, a child-protection authority or an authorized representative of an institution caring for the child.

If an adult is legally incapable or has restricted legal capacity, the application is submitted by the person's legal representative.

What documents do you need?

The basic document package is intentionally limited. You need:

• an application for registration as an internally displaced person;
• a document proving identity and Ukrainian citizenship or qualifying special status, as applicable;
• a birth certificate for a child where required;
• documents proving representation where someone else applies for you.

If your identity document or official electronic records already establish that you lived in the qualifying displacement territory, extra residence evidence may not be necessary.

What if your passport does not show your former address?

You can still apply. If your registered or declared residence in the displacement area cannot be established from the identity document, you may submit other evidence that you lived there when the circumstances causing displacement arose.

The official service guide gives examples including:

• military-service records;
• employment records;
• documents confirming ownership of movable or immovable property;
• school, vocational or higher-education documents;
• a certificate from an educational institution;
• medical documents;
• community-register information or other documents containing residence information;
• photographs or video recordings;
• other evidence capable of establishing actual residence.

The authority evaluates whether the evidence genuinely confirms that you lived in the relevant territory. Simply submitting one of these document types does not guarantee approval if it does not establish the required fact.

What if you lost your passport while being displaced?

The current wartime rules provide alternatives. If you do not have the normal document proving identity and citizenship or special status, you may present qualifying information in electronic form through Diia or єДокумент.

The procedure also recognizes a certificate showing that you submitted documents to obtain a Ukrainian passport where you have already been identified through the relevant State Migration Service records.

If your Ukrainian ID card was lost or stolen and you need a replacement, that is a separate document procedure. You can use Helpydo's guide on replacing a lost or stolen Ukrainian ID card.

Where can you apply offline?

You can apply at:

• a CNAP administrative service center providing the service;
• the competent local social protection authority;
• an authorized executive body of a village, settlement or city council.

The application is handled based on your actual place of residence or stay after displacement rather than requiring you to return to the territory you left.

Can you apply for IDP status online through Diia?

Yes. Current 2026 Diia guidance continues to provide the service through the Diia mobile application.

In the app, open the services for internally displaced persons and choose the option to obtain IDP status. Complete the application and confirm it using the Diia process shown in the app.

Diia's current instructions require the technical identity data needed for the electronic process. Official guidance has stated that a qualifying biometric passport or ID card and the taxpayer card information displayed in Diia are needed for this route. If the required digital information is unavailable, use an offline application instead.

When should you use a CNAP instead of Diia?

An offline application is appropriate where Diia cannot establish your identity, residence or displacement circumstances electronically, where you need to submit supporting evidence, or where the particular displacement situation is not supported by the mobile workflow.

Official Diia guidance also states that a person displaced only within the same populated locality may need to apply offline rather than through the standard mobile process.

How long does IDP registration take?

Where the applicant's qualifying former residence and displacement circumstances are clear from the documents or official systems, an offline certificate is usually issued on the day the application is submitted.

If the identity document does not establish residence in the territory from which you were displaced and the authority must assess additional evidence, consideration can take up to 15 working days.

The official Diia administrative-service guide therefore lists the service period as 15 working days, while its practical guidance explains the same-day outcome for straightforward applications.

Is there a fee for IDP status?

No. Registration as an internally displaced person and issuance of the certificate are free of charge.

You should not be charged an administrative fee by a CNAP or social protection authority for issuing the IDP certificate.

What does the IDP certificate confirm?

The certificate confirms the fact of internal displacement and that the person has been entered into the official IDP information system.

The certificate can be issued or displayed electronically. The current Diia rules recognize the electronic IDP certificate in the Diia app as a legally valid digital document.

Obtaining the certificate does not automatically mean that every IDP cash payment, housing programme or other benefit will be granted. Those programmes have their own additional eligibility rules.

Does IDP registration automatically guarantee monthly payments?

No. IDP registration establishes your status. Monthly living assistance is a separate social-support programme with its own income, asset, residence and vulnerability criteria.

Current 2026 Diia guidance distinguishes between obtaining IDP status and applying for or reviewing financial assistance. Do not assume that receiving the certificate by itself guarantees a particular payment.

Why can an IDP application be refused?

The official administrative-service guide identifies several grounds for refusal, including:

• the circumstances required by the Law on Internally Displaced Persons are not present;
• your former residence in the qualifying territory is not shown in the identity or residence data and you provide no sufficient alternative evidence;
• the evidence submitted does not actually confirm residence in the displacement territory;
• the claimed destroyed or uninhabitable housing cannot be confirmed;
• state authorities have information that knowingly false information was submitted to obtain the certificate.

Can you challenge a refusal?

Yes. The official Diia service guide provides for judicial challenge before the competent administrative court.

The general administrative-court time limit stated in the service guide is six months from the day you learned or should have learned of the violation of your rights, unless another rule applies. Where a legally available pre-trial complaint procedure has been used, a different three-month court period can apply from receipt of the complaint decision.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using an outdated territorial list instead of checking the current list approved under Ministry Order No. 376.
• Assuming that any move inside Ukraine automatically creates IDP status without a qualifying displacement circumstance.
• Failing to provide evidence of former residence when it cannot be confirmed from your identity document or official registers.
• Submitting documents that mention the territory but do not actually establish that you lived there when the displacement circumstances arose.
• Confusing the IDP certificate with automatic entitlement to monthly IDP cash assistance.
• Waiting for an online workflow when your case requires documentary evidence that is better submitted through a CNAP or social protection authority.
• Assuming that a destroyed home automatically appears in the necessary state records without ensuring the damage has been properly documented.