How to transfer money out of Ukraine legally in 2026

Under martial law money leaves Ukraine along routes set by the National Bank: card payments and transfers within monthly limits, studies and medical treatment with no limit on the sum, cash with a customs declaration and, since May 2026, salaries of foreigners working in Ukraine. On 11 August 2026 the main limits doubled to 200,000 hryvnias a month.

In detail

In 2026 a Ukrainian resident moves money abroad along several legal routes at once. Each has its own limit and its own papers, so a large sum is usually split between them. The figures below are from resolution No. 18 of the National Bank of Ukraine as amended on 15 September 2026.

Dollars are converted at the National Bank of Ukraine rate of 13 October 2026, 44.96 hryvnias per dollar, and rounded up.

What changed on 11 August 2026

National Bank resolution No. 90 of 10 August 2026 raised the main limits for individuals. They took effect on 11 August.

The 200,000-hryvnia monthly limit for buying currency now also covers bank metals and securities of foreign issuers. Since 15 September 2026 a limit of 200,000 hryvnias a month also works for payments abroad from hryvnia accounts with licensed non-bank payment providers.

Want to know how much your family can move each month? Ask a manager: they will add up the routes for your accounts.

Start with foreign currency in your own account

Most routes start the same way: the money is already in dollars or euros in your account at a Ukrainian bank.

• Currency you already hold. Dollars and euros on a foreign currency account are paid abroad by card with no limit.
• Buying currency. An individual buys up to 200,000 hryvnias' worth of foreign currency a month to their account.
• Cash currency. Cash dollars and euros are bought for cash hryvnias, and for hryvnias from your own account up to 100,000 hryvnias a day.
• A currency deposit. A bank sells up to 200,000 hryvnias' worth of currency a month for a term deposit of at least 3 months.

So the plan for a large sum is spread over several months, and the routes are combined.

Studies and medical treatment abroad: no limit on the sum

The National Bank allows these payments with no limit on the sum. The money goes straight to the account of the institution or of a company it has authorised to accept payments.

• Studies: tuition, accommodation, a student visa for the period of study, meals, insurance and emergency medical care.
• Treatment: clinics and rehabilitation, tests, a hospital stay, prostheses and their repair, transport of a patient.
• Other purposes: alimony, and costs related to the death of a relative abroad.

The bank asks for the contract or invoice of the university, school or clinic. Children studying abroad and treatment in Europe are among the most common reasons for a large transfer. A manager will check the invoice and the documents before payment.

Cash across the border: from €10,000 with a declaration

Ukrainian law sets no upper limit on cash an individual takes out of the country. The rules depend on the sum.

Cash above €10,000 is taken out by the account holder in person. The limit of 200,000 hryvnias a day on withdrawals from a foreign currency account means a large sum is withdrawn over several days, so it pays to plan the dates. How cash is declared in other countries is in the article on cash limits at the border.

If you already live abroad

Millions of Ukrainians live in the EU and keep accounts at home. For them the most convenient route is a card linked to a foreign currency account.

• Card payments abroad from a foreign currency account have no limit.
• Cash from a foreign currency account at a foreign ATM: up to 200,000 hryvnias ($4,500) a day.
• Rent abroad, paid by card or by transfer from a foreign currency account: up to 500,000 hryvnias ($12,000) a month.
• Cash from a hryvnia card abroad: up to 12,500 hryvnias ($280) every 7 days.

Hryvnias are better changed into currency in Ukraine first, within the monthly limit: then the money is spent abroad without limits.

Foreigners working in Ukraine: salary since 1 May 2026

National Bank resolution No. 43 of 23 April 2026 allowed foreigners to send home income earned in Ukraine.

• Salary. A foreign employee transfers abroad salary and other labour payments credited to a hryvnia account on or after 1 May 2026.
• Board members. Members of supervisory and management boards of Ukrainian companies receive payments under their contracts to accounts abroad.
• Foreign servicemen. Allowance credited from 1 May 2026 is transferred in full; earlier allowance, up to 400,000 hryvnias ($8,900) a month.

The transfer goes through the bank where the salary account was opened. A manager will help prepare the employer's documents for the bank.

Selling a flat and moving the proceeds

The first sale of a home in a year that you have owned for more than 3 years is tax-free under article 172 of the Tax Code of Ukraine; in other cases the notary checks that the tax is paid before the deal.

The proceeds leave the country through the same routes: currency purchases within the monthly limit, payments from a foreign currency account, cash with bank papers. For a large sum the plan covers several months, and the sale contract and the tax receipt stay with you: banks abroad ask for them when the money arrives. More on this in the article moving home sale proceeds abroad.

Taxes on the money you move

Moving your own money is not income, so there is no tax on the transfer itself.

• A Ukrainian tax resident declares foreign income in Ukraine: 18% income tax plus a 5% military levy.
• Interest on a deposit in a Ukrainian bank is taxed at 23%, and the bank withholds it itself.
• A cash gift from first- and second-degree relatives is taxed at 0%.

The rates are on the taxes in Ukraine page. Banks abroad ask where the money came from, so the papers are collected in advance: the article proof of source of funds lists them.

Which papers the bank asks for

How a large transfer is checked on both sides is in the article sending large sums abroad.

Where money from Ukraine goes most often

• Poland - a tax-free gift from family by transfer to an account
• Germany - an account for a newcomer and the rules for large sums
• Czech Republic - korunas and euros
• Moldova - euros under European rules in 1 business day
• Spain - a foreigner's number first, then an account
• Canada - no limit on the sum and no gift tax
• USA - an account with a passport and deposits insured up to $250,000

Sending money the other way is covered in the article how to send money to Ukraine. All ways of moving capital are on the capital relocation page.

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