Ukrainians have started to have work experience abroad counted: what has changed and how to process documents
Until recently, Ukrainians who worked in countries without bilateral pension agreements with Ukraine often lost the opportunity to use these years for pension entitlement. Even with official employment and payment of contributions to local social insurance systems, such experience was effectively not considered when determining pension rights in Ukraine. The situation changed after amendments were made to the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance," which came into force in June 2024.
In particular, the Law was supplemented with Articles 24-1 and 26-1, which provided for the possibility of counting certain periods of work outside Ukraine. The practical mechanism for implementing these provisions was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on May 16, 2025, Resolution No. 562 "Some Issues of Calculating Insurance Periods," which defines the Procedure for confirming and counting periods of work in another country towards the insurance period for pension entitlement by age.
The document effectively opened the possibility to consider officially confirmed foreign work experience even in cases where there is no international agreement on mutual pension provision between Ukraine and the country of employment.
Why foreign work experience is counted
The new procedure has an important feature: the experience gained abroad affects the right to retire, but not the pension amount. This means that years worked outside Ukraine can help meet the minimum insurance period required to be eligible for a pension at age 60.
For example, if a citizen has 25 years of insurance experience in Ukraine and another 7 years of official work abroad, after confirming these seven years, the total insurance period will be 32 years. In this case, the person will have the right to retire at the legally defined age. The amount of the Ukrainian pension will be calculated only from the insurance contributions paid into the Ukrainian compulsory state pension insurance system.
The exception is when there is an international agreement between Ukraine and the respective country that provides a different procedure for calculating pension payments.
Which work periods can be counted
The legislation distinguishes two categories of countries. The first category includes countries with which Ukraine has international agreements on social or pension security. In such cases, the procedure for counting insurance periods is determined by the provisions of the relevant international agreement. The second category includes countries with which no such agreements exist. The new government mechanism was approved precisely for such cases.
At the same time, the law contains certain restrictions. In particular, according to part three of Article 24-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance," certain periods of work or service cannot be counted if the individuals after February 19, 2014 served in the armed forces of the aggressor state or voluntarily worked in illegal authorities in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. These restrictions are related to national security protection and the legal regime of temporarily occupied territories.
How to confirm insurance experience gained abroad
The mere fact of working in another country is not enough. To have the Pension Fund of Ukraine consider foreign experience, it must be documented. First, an official document must be obtained in the country where the person worked. This can be an extract from a register, a certificate, confirmation of payment of insurance contributions, or another document confirming that the relevant period is counted towards the insurance period according to the legislation of that country.
The specific form of the document depends on the country. For example, in Germany, confirmation is issued by the German Pension Insurance Fund (Deutsche Rentenversicherung), and in Italy by the National Institute of Social Security (INPS).
If a person is in Ukraine and cannot independently contact the foreign pension authority, they should apply to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. According to paragraph 6 of the Procedure approved by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 562, the Pension Fund may send a request through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to the competent authority of the foreign country. However, one should be prepared for this procedure to take significantly more time, as it involves international document exchange.
Therefore, the Ministry of Social Policy recommends starting the document processing at least six months to a year before reaching retirement age to avoid delays in pension assignment.
What documents may be needed
In practice, there are cases when the pension authority of another country does not have complete information about a Ukrainian’s work activity, especially for periods before modern electronic registers existed. In such cases, insurance experience can be confirmed with additional documents. Depending on the requirements of the specific country, these may include:
- employment contracts
- employer certificates
- pay slips
- income declarations
- documents on payment of social contributions
- other official documents confirming employment.
The competent pension authority of the country where the person worked will determine which exact documents will be accepted.
Is document legalization required
Not all foreign certificates can be immediately submitted to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. In many cases, they require additional certification. Without legalization or apostille, documents are accepted if there is a legal assistance agreement between Ukraine and the respective country that waives this requirement. Such countries include Poland, Czechia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and some others.
A separate procedure currently applies to CIS countries—for the period of martial law and for six months after its termination. If a document is issued in a country that is a participant of the 1961 Hague Convention, usually an apostille is sufficient. In all other cases, consular legalization of the document is required according to the legislation of the issuing country and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Also, documents drawn up in a foreign language must be translated into Ukrainian. The translation must be notarized or executed according to the legislation of the country where it was made. If the translation was done abroad, it may also require an apostille or consular legalization. After completing all procedures, the document package must be submitted to the Pension Fund of Ukraine for a decision.
The mechanism introduced by the Cabinet of Ministers is an important step for Ukrainians who have worked abroad for years. Future pensioners need to take care in advance of obtaining confirming documents, their proper processing, translation, and, if necessary, legalization or apostille. Only after this will the Pension Fund of Ukraine be able to consider the relevant work periods when determining pension entitlement.
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