How can you obtain an internally displaced person certificate? This question is relevant for Ukrainians who are forced to leave their homes and seek new shelter.
We’ve prepared a step-by-step guide on how to register as an IDP and explained why this certificate is important — for internally displaced persons, the government, and humanitarian organizations.
Additionally, this guide answers the following questions:
- Who is eligible to receive an IDP certificate?
- What documents are required for registration?
- What types of support can IDPs receive?
We develop useful content for the affected population as part of the Supporting the Capacity of the Social Protection System to Register Internally Displaced Persons project.
The Importance of Obtaining an IDP Certificate
If you are a citizen of Ukraine or have the right to permanent residence in Ukraine and you were forced to leave or abandon your place of residence due to or to avoid armed conflict, temporary occupation, widespread violence, human rights violations, or natural or man-made emergencies, you are an internally displaced person.
The fact of internal displacement is confirmed by a certificate of registration as an internally displaced person.
Please note! As of August 1, 2023, the certificate is issued to individuals who have moved from areas where hostilities are ongoing or from territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, included in the list approved by the Ministry of Reintegration, for which no end date for hostilities or temporary occupation has been determined.
Other Persons Eligible for the Certificate:
- People whose housing has been destroyed or damaged (to the point of being uninhabitable) due to the Russian Federation’s war, provided there is documentary evidence;
- Minors who have received a Ukrainian citizen passport, regardless of residence registration, if their information is included in the Unified Information Database of Internally Displaced Persons;
- Children born to IDPs;
- Students enrolled in vocational, professional, or higher education institutions who have moved from areas with ongoing hostilities or territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, listed by the Ministry of Reintegration, where no end date for hostilities or temporary occupation has been determined;
- Students who were pursuing a certain educational qualification level and had a residence registration in dormitories, after deregistration, if they do not wish to return to their previous place of residence;
- Individuals who served (or are serving) sentences in correctional facilities and had (have) registered residence in areas affected by the circumstances described in Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” on the date of their occurrence, if they do not wish to return to their previous place of residence;
- Military personnel (excluding servicemen in conscript service and officers in conscript service) who served and had registered residence in areas affected by the circumstances described in Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” on the date of their occurrence.
Certificates Are Required For:
- Receiving assistance from public and civil society organizations;
- Considering the needs of IDPs in local and regional budgets, shaping local policies in various sectors;
- Enabling authorities to respond to the needs of IDPs according to categories (families with children, families/individuals in difficult life situations, people with disabilities, etc.);
- Data on the number of IDPs are used to distribute and provide international humanitarian aid.
Certificate Obtaining Procedure
To obtain the certificate, you need to submit an application:
- To the social protection authority;
- Or to an authorized representative of the village, town, city council, or administrative services center (during martial law).
And present:
- An identity document;
- A child’s birth certificate (if necessary).
During martial law, and in the absence of the aforementioned documents, you must present an electronic version of one of the following:
- E-passport;
- E-passport for foreign travel;
- eDocument;
- Certificate of submission of documents for obtaining a Ukrainian citizen passport.
Please note! This list is not exhaustive if you are submitting documents on behalf of minors, incapacitated individuals, or people with limited capacity. The authorized body/person may require documents confirming the applicant’s authority, etc.
If you lived and moved from a settlement that does not match your registered or declared place of residence, or if you lack a registered or declared place of residence, you need to provide evidence confirming your residence in the administrative-territorial unit from which the internal displacement occurred on the day the circumstances that caused internal displacement arose. This evidence can be one of the following documents (photos or videos of supporting documents):
- Military ID with details of military service;
- Employment record book with employment history;
- Document confirming ownership of movable or immovable property;
- Certificate of basic secondary education;
- High school diploma;
- Vocational education certificate;
- Higher education certificate (degree);
- Certificate from the place of study;
- Decision of local authorities regarding the placement of a child in a childcare institution, foster family, family-type orphanage, or guardianship;
- Medical documents;
- Copies of documents that included residence information or an extract from the territorial community register, or an E-passport/E-passport for foreign travel containing information on registered/declared place of residence (including those issued/created in the name of parents or other legal representatives), or information on studying in the respective territories;
- Photographs;
- Videos;
- Etc.
Assistance for IDPs
IDPs can receive the following types of assistance:
- State living allowance: UAH 2000 per adult and UAH 3000 per child or person with a disability*.
- International humanitarian aid (specific categories of IDPs).
- Humanitarian, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance from governmental and non-governmental organizations.
- Pensions and social benefits according to a simplified procedure.
- Legal aid from a lawyer at the government’s expense.
- Free meals for IDP children studying in preschool, general education, and vocational schools.
- State targeted support for receiving higher education in state and municipal educational institutions.
*The procedure for providing living allowance to internally displaced persons is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine’s resolution No. 332, dated March 20, 2022.
Do you provide shelter for IDPs? Submit an application and receive compensation: https://bit.ly/3I6tB6W.
Are you an entrepreneur who has employed IDPs? Submit an application and receive compensation for their employment: https://bit.ly/3Mk2A26.
Contact center of the free legal aid system: 0-800-213-103.
Hotline of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights: 0-800-50-17-20, 044-299-74-08.
UNHCR hotline for IDPs: 0-800-307-711.
CO CF SSS hotline: 0-800-33-27-40.
If you need legal consultation due to internal displacement regarding registration as an IDP or restoring/assigning social benefits and services, fill out this short form: https://bit.ly/3jHq2eg.
Consultants from the CO CF SSS will contact you and provide professional legal assistance.
This article was developed by the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” with funding from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the CO CF SSS and should not be used to reflect the views of the Agency.
Information is current as of May 30, 2024.