Entering Ukraine from Poland: The Rules and What You Can Bring

You are leaving the EU first

Every crossing from Poland is two checks, not one. First the Polish side: you are leaving the European Union and the Schengen area, so Polish border guards stamp you out and Polish customs can inspect what you are taking out. Then the Ukrainian side: border control, and Ukrainian customs.

One rule applies on both sides of the line: cash of €10,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) must be declared in writing — when leaving the EU and when entering Ukraine.

Documents for the Ukrainian side

• Passport valid for your stay — plus a visa if your nationality needs one.
• Medical insurance for the whole stay. Foreign nationals are expected to hold it, and border officers may ask to see it.
• A clear purpose of travel — and, for work, study or volunteering, the letter or invitation that explains it.
• Means to support yourself for the stay.

The full checklist, with martial-law notes, is on our entry requirements page.

Get your medical insurance before you travel →

What you can bring without paying duty

Ukrainian customs lets a traveller bring in goods for personal use without duty up to a limit that depends on how you cross:

• By road, rail or sea — up to €500 and 50 kg per person. This is the limit for every route from Poland: car, bus or train.
• By air — up to €1,000 (not relevant from Poland while Ukrainian airspace is closed).

Personal belongings — clothes, your own phone and laptop, things that are clearly in use — are not counted toward the limit. New goods are.

Above the limit, the excess is taxed: you go through the red channel and declare. Several identical new items in factory packaging can be treated as commercial rather than personal.

Cash

There is no upper limit on how much cash you may bring into Ukraine. The rule is about declaration: amounts of €10,000 or more must be declared in writing, on both the Polish and the Ukrainian side. Below that, no declaration is needed.

Undeclared cash over the threshold can be confiscated. If you are carrying a large sum — a volunteer budget, cash for a car purchase — declare it; the form takes a few minutes, the consequences of skipping it do not.

Medicines

• Ordinary medicines for personal use: up to 5 packages of each product per person, through the green channel.
• Medicines containing narcotic or psychotropic substances — strong painkillers, some ADHD and sleep medications — must be declared through the red channel. Carry the prescription or a doctor's certificate, ideally with an English or Ukrainian translation.
• Keep medicines in their original packaging with the label readable. Loose pills in a box are what invites questions.

If you take something regularly, also check the rules of the country you came through — what is over-the-counter in one country can be controlled in another.

Food, alcohol, tobacco, pets

• Food for your own consumption: up to the equivalent of €200 per person, within quantities set by the Cabinet of Ministers.
• Alcohol (adults only): up to 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of wine duty-free, under Article 376 of the Customs Code.
• Tobacco (adults only): a limited personal quantity, also set by Article 376. Published figures differ, so check the current limit with the State Customs Service before carrying more than a few packs.
• Pets need a microchip, rabies vaccination and a pet passport or veterinary certificate. Check the requirements before travelling.

Weapons, ammunition and military equipment cannot be brought in without special permits.

Choose how to cross

• By car — nine road crossings, all open around the clock. Most flexible, but the queue is yours to sit in.
• By bus — direct routes from most large Polish cities. Cheapest, and the border takes as long as the slowest passenger.
• By train — through Przemyśl or Chełm. Usually the fastest and most predictable way across, with border control done on board.

Sources

Customs Code of Ukraine (Articles 370, 374, 376, 378); State Customs Service of Ukraine guidance for citizens; guidance published by Ukrainian embassies and consulates on importing goods; EU rules on declaring cash at the external border. Customs rules change — confirm current figures on the State Customs Service website before travelling. This is general information, not legal advice.