"Quest" with housing payment abroad may be canceled: Ukrainians want to allow direct SWIFT payments

As reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", as of mid-2026, millions of Ukrainians are residing in EU countries. Their number is increasing. A significant portion of them consciously refuse social assistance, preferring to work remotely for Ukrainian employers and pay taxes at home. However, for over four years, the Ukrainian financial system continues to operate in a "special period" mode, regulated by Resolution No. 18.

For millions of Ukrainians working remotely for the Ukrainian economy and paying taxes as individual entrepreneurs, the current currency limits have turned payments for essential living needs into a real quest. Today we will talk about how to legally manage your own funds when your monthly limit is "eaten up" by just one transaction for housing.

While the National Bank of Ukraine prioritizes reserve stability, citizens are forced to seek ways to diversify accounts and accumulate currency. Legal analysis shows that current limits increasingly contradict economic realities: over the past four years, due to inflationary processes in eurozone countries, the cost of housing rent and services has increased on average by 20–40%.

At the same time, the government may initiate changes before the National Bank of Ukraine to the NBU Board Resolution No. 18 dated February 24, 2022, regarding cross-border transfers of individuals.

On the electronic petition website to the Cabinet of Ministers, petition No. 41/010112-26ep was registered calling to allow Ukrainians to make direct SWIFT transfers abroad to pay for housing rent, utilities, and other vital expenses within the current currency limits.

The petition states that millions of Ukrainians are currently abroad but continue to receive income in Ukrainian accounts and pay taxes in Ukraine. At the same time, to pay for housing rent and utilities abroad, it is often necessary to make transfers directly to legal entities' accounts using international IBAN/SWIFT details.

Although current regulations allow Ukrainians to make transfers between individuals' cards (P2P), foreign landlords, utility companies, and other institutions usually do not accept such payments.

Due to SWIFT transfer restrictions, citizens, according to the petition authors, are forced to use more complicated payment mechanisms, including quasi-cash operations or carrying cash abroad.

The petition proposes to allow resident individuals to make SWIFT transfers abroad within the already established monthly limits for P2P transfers — up to 100 thousand hryvnias equivalent per month.

At the same time, transfers should be made only to accounts of legal entities — landlord companies, real estate agencies, municipal and utility enterprises, educational institutions, etc.

It is proposed to allow such payments for:

• payment for rent of own housing or housing rent for first-degree family members;
• payment of utilities (electricity, water supply, gas, building maintenance, etc.);
• other vital non-commercial payments (medicine, education).

The mechanism for confirming such payments will be electronic copies of documents — lease agreements, bills, or invoices from utility services.

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