Do Foreigners Need Insurance to Travel to Ukraine in 2026?

01.10.2026, 11:47 visitukraine.today

A standard travel insurance policy excludes war-related events. Discover which risks a policy for foreigners in Ukraine should cover.

Ukraine now receives six times fewer foreign visitors than before the war: 2.5 million instead of 16. One reason lies in the contract a traveler signs back home, because a standard travel policy excludes war-related events, and people usually find this out after an injury.

We look at what war risk insurance should cover, what to check when choosing a policy, and how much it costs.

The full-scale war is in its fifth year, and foreigners still travel to Lviv, the Carpathians, and Kyiv. Travelers usually sort out the route, the hotel, and the border-crossing rules first. The question of who pays for treatment after an injury from shelling comes later, even though the answer is written in the contract signed at home. A policy that worked in Poland or Czechia may not work in Ukraine.

Read also: How much foreigners spent in Poland in 2026: GUS data

Taras Lozynskyi, First Deputy Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, told Dilo that before the full-scale invasion Ukraine was visited by 16 million foreign tourists a year. Today the figure is 2.5 million. According to him, a significant share of them are foreign delegations, volunteers, and journalists, whom he does not count as classic tourists.

Lozynskyi names domestic tourism as the foundation of the industry. In the first half of 2026, the most overnight stays with the tourist tax were recorded in the regions of the Carpathians, as well as in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast. The Hilton and InterContinental chains did not leave the market, and ibis in Lviv and Radisson in Odesa opened new hotels during the full-scale invasion.

Poles who traveled to Truskavets and Skhidnytsia for wellness stays before the war keep coming, though in smaller numbers. They make up 10% of hotel guests. Visitors from Romania and Moldova come to Bukovel in winter, but their share is very small.

The Carpathian ski resorts are far from the front, and their service level matches that of Slovakia and Poland, yet foreigners are still few. Asked whether the war alone scares them off, Lozynskyi answered that there are several reasons. He linked the first to insurance: according to him, insurance companies do not insure tourists against war risks. The second reason is alternatives. For skiing, Europeans have Zakopane, Slovakia, and the Alps, and for wellness stays, Karlovy Vary.

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Travel or medical insurance pays out only for events written into the contract: a doctor's visit, emergency care, treatment, hospitalization. Military action usually lands on the list of exclusions. A person buys a policy before the trip and considers themselves insured, then after an injury from shrapnel or a blast wave learns that no insured event occurred under the contract. The hospital bill then falls on them.

So the first step before the trip is to read the exclusions section of the policy you already have. If war events are listed there as excluded, you need a separate product for a trip to Ukraine.

Planning a trip to Ukraine? Order war risk insurance for foreigners on the Visit Ukraine website before you buy your tickets.

A solution exists: war risk policies are created for people who are temporarily in Ukraine. They are taken out by journalists, volunteers, employees of international organizations, businesspeople, and tourists. Below we describe which risks such a contract should include and why each one matters specifically in Ukraine.

The basic risk of a war risk policy is death resulting from an accident linked to passive war risks. This term means the insured person does not take part in combat but is hit by chance: during the shelling of a city, falling debris, or a missile or drone attack. In Ukraine such events occur not only near the front, so a line on death should be in every contract for a foreigner.

Read also: Power outage schedules have returned to Ukraine: what you need to know

If a foreigner dies abroad, the body must be transported home. This requires paperwork, transport, and funds that a family is usually not ready to find within a few days. Look for post-mortem medical repatriation as a separate line in the coverage list.

War risks show up most often here, so the list of injuries in the contract should be detailed. A quality policy distinguishes:

The payout amount depends on severity, and the contract itself defines the boundaries between degrees of concussion. Read these definitions before paying, because they determine which line the insurer will use to consider your case.

After an injury you need a doctor, an ambulance, and a hospital bed, so a one-time payout is not enough. The contract should cover emergency care, outpatient and polyclinic care, inpatient treatment including day hospital, and transportation to a medical facility. The last item is critical in Ukraine: a casualty may be taken to a hospital in another city, and that trip costs extra. Emergency dental care should also be on the list, since acute toothache can strike on a trip regardless of the war.

A specialized policy can also cover illnesses that may catch a traveler in any city. These include acute pancreatitis, thyroid crises, meningococcal infection, and acute inflammatory processes or injuries of the eye, ear, throat, and nose. Diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 belong to the same block. Without an insurance contract, a hospital will bill the foreigner directly, so such lines save money even on a trip with no war event at all.

A deductible is the amount the insured person pays out of pocket before the insurer starts paying. In specialized products for foreigners, its size should be checked separately. A zero deductible means payment from the first hryvnia or the first euro, and that is what you should look for in a contract.

First, determine the length of your trip. For a one-week assignment for a journalist or volunteer, a daily rate will do, while a businessperson who visits Ukraine regularly may find an annual policy more cost-effective.

Next, open the terms of the offer and find five points:

If your route covers several cities, check the coverage territory for each. Journalists and employees of international organizations should check whether their professional activity fits the policy terms. Amounts in hryvnias and euros relate to different risks, so you cannot compare products by a single number: look at each coverage line.

Compare the terms on the Visit Ukraine pages and order the war risk insurance that fits the purpose of your trip.

The price depends on the trip length and the chosen product. Policies with war risk coverage cost from €3.56 to €4.4 per day. For frequent visits to Ukraine, travelers can consider an annual policy.

For a short trip the math is simple. A week at €3.56 a day comes to €24.92, and two weeks to €49.84. An annual policy becomes cheaper than the daily rate from the 57th day of stay in a year. Coverage differs between products, so compare the price with the list of risks.

You can buy a policy online on the Visit Ukraine website. Payment is by Visa card or Google Pay.

There are no completely safe regions in Ukraine. Missile and drone attacks happen far from the front line, so risk depends on the city and on the road between cities. Particular attention is needed in frontline areas, territories where fighting continues, border zones, and places with mine danger. Access to some territories is restricted by military administrations, and an insurance policy does not lift these restrictions.

Before the trip, check the current situation in the region, the location of shelters, and the rules of conduct during an air raid alert. Insurance reduces the financial consequences of events provided for in the contract, but the risks themselves remain, and the authorities' recommendations apply regardless of whether you have a policy.

Order war risk insurance for foreigners on Visit Ukraine and set off knowing exactly what your contract covers.

Ukraine welcomes guests even during the war. Most overnight stays with the tourist tax fall on the Carpathians, Kyiv, and Kyiv Oblast, Poles keep traveling to Truskavets and Skhidnytsia, and visitors from Romania and Moldova come to Bukovel. At the same time, there are many times fewer foreigners than before the full-scale invasion, and Lozynskyi names the lack of war risk insurance as one of the reasons.

Standard travel policies exclude such events, while a specialized product covers the main risks: death, injury, concussion, emergency care, transportation, and repatriation. If you plan to visit Ukraine, remember that danger exists in every region, and a war risk policy lets you know in advance which costs the insurer will take on.

We remind you! We also prepared a detailed overview of what you need to know for a trip to Ukraine in autumn 2026. Learn what a tourist should know for a safe stay in the country.

Source: Dilo

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We recommend purchasing it for a safe and comfortable trip to Ukraine:

Visit Ukraine Insurance – insurance covering military risks for entry and travel in Ukraine;

Visit Ukraine Car Insurance – car insurance with extended coverage in Ukraine;

Visit Ukraine Legal Advice – comprehensive legal support on entry to Ukraine;

Visit Ukraine Tickets – tickets to/from Ukraine;

Visit Ukraine Tours – the largest online database of tours to Ukraine for every taste;

Visit Ukraine Hotels – hotels for a comfortable stay in Ukraine;

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