How to Apply for State Support for a Child Under Guardianship in Ukraine

Who qualifies for the payment?

This state assistance is intended for people appointed in accordance with Ukrainian law as guardians or custodians of children deprived of parental care. The assistance belongs to the child and supports the child's maintenance while under guardianship or custody.

The child must have the relevant legal status. The benefit is not granted if the child is on full state maintenance.

How much is paid in 2026?

The statutory amount is 2.5 times the subsistence minimum for a child of the relevant age. For a child with a disability under guardianship or custody, it is 3.5 times the relevant subsistence minimum.

Ukraine's 2026 State Budget sets the monthly subsistence minimum at UAH 2,817 for a child under 6 and UAH 3,512 for a child aged 6 to 18. Before adjustments for other payments, this produces the following 2026 reference amounts:

• child under 6: UAH 7,042.50;
• child aged 6 to 18: UAH 8,780;
• child with a disability under 6: UAH 9,859.50;
• child with a disability aged 6 to 18: UAH 12,292.

These figures are not necessarily the amount actually paid. From 1 January 2026, where a pension, child support, scholarship or relevant state assistance is assigned for the child, the guardianship payment is calculated as the difference between the applicable 2.5 or 3.5 subsistence-minimum amount and those payments. State social assistance paid for a child with a disability is excluded from this deduction rule.

If no pension, child support, state assistance or scholarship was accrued for the child during the previous 12 calendar months, the assistance is set at the full 2.5-times rate, or 3.5-times rate for a child with a disability.

What documents do you need?

The Pension Fund's current 2026 service card requires the prescribed application, proof of the applicant's identity and RNOKPP information, a copy of the child's birth certificate and a copy of the guardianship authority or court decision establishing guardianship or custody.

You may also need evidence concerning child-support arrears or the amount of child support and scholarship. For a child with a disability, the applicable medical conclusion, form No. 080/o, is required where necessary. Information that a public authority can obtain or verify through connected government registers does not need to be submitted again.

If you need a replacement because the child's original civil-status document is unavailable, do not confuse this payment application with the separate process for obtaining civil registry documents. For adoption cases, use the separate procedure for state adoption assistance.

Where can you apply?

The responsible authority is the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Official submission routes include Pension Fund service centres, CNAP administrative service centres, authorised executive bodies of local councils and postal submission to the relevant Pension Fund main office.

The Pension Fund also identifies electronic submission through official electronic services, including the Diia portal, where the relevant technical functionality is available. Electronic routes should therefore be checked at the time of application rather than assuming that every channel is available for every applicant.

How much does the application cost and how long does it take?

The administrative service is free. The Pension Fund must consider an application no later than 10 days after receiving it with all required documents and information.

If something is missing, the Pension Fund must tell the applicant what additional documents or information are required. If the missing material is supplied within one month after that notification, the original day and month when the application was accepted or sent remain the application date for benefit purposes.

When does assistance start and how long is it awarded?

Assistance is assigned from the month in which the application and necessary documents or information are submitted. Under the current rules it is awarded for 12 months and is paid monthly, subject to continuing eligibility, up to and including the month in which the child turns 18.

Continuation after the award period is determined using the documents required under the current procedure. Special rules allow the authorities to consider late continuation applications where the guardian or custodian had a valid reason, such as treatment, physical inability to apply or another objectively justified circumstance considered under the child-protection procedure.

What changes must you report?

The payment can end if the guardian or custodian is released from their duties, the child is adopted or returned to their parents, turns 18, enters full state maintenance, or another statutory termination condition applies. The rules also identify employment or marriage of the child before age 18 and acquisition of full civil capacity in the specified circumstances as termination grounds.

Recipients and the relevant child-protection or local authority must notify the Pension Fund within 10 days when circumstances arise that may terminate the payment. There is a more specific rule for child support: if payment of child support resumes, the guardian or custodian must notify the Pension Fund in writing within 3 days so the assistance can be recalculated.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying before guardianship or custody has formally been established.
• Confusing guardianship assistance with adoption assistance or another family benefit.
• Failing to provide the guardianship authority or court decision when it cannot be verified electronically.
• Omitting information about child support, scholarship or other relevant payments received for the child.
• Missing the one-month period for supplying documents requested after an incomplete application.
• Failing to report resumed child-support payments or another circumstance that changes entitlement.

What happens after you apply?

The Pension Fund issues a decision granting or refusing the assistance. It must notify the applicant of its decision without delay or, where there are justified reasons, no later than three working days after the decision. If the application was submitted through a CNAP, the Pension Fund informs that centre of the decision within three working days.

If the payment is granted, keep the Pension Fund informed about circumstances that affect eligibility or the calculation. Families whose financial situation also meets the separate criteria may want to review low-income family assistance in Ukraine; that is a separate benefit with its own eligibility rules.