Green Card insurance policy
This page is about motor insurance, not immigration. The Green Card is the international motor insurance card that proves your vehicle is insured for third-party liability when you drive it outside Ukraine — nothing to do with the United States residence permit of the same name. If you have arrived here looking for that, this is not the right page. The international Green Card policy is compulsory for anyone taking a vehicle into Europe or the CIS. It covers material damage and injury caused to other people outside Ukraine. You can buy Green Card insurance online here, quickly and at a discount.
Green Card
This page is about motor insurance, not immigration. The Green Card is the international motor insurance card that proves your vehicle is insured for third-party liability when you drive it outside Ukraine — nothing to do with the United States residence permit of the same name. If you have arrived here looking for that, this is not the right page. The international Green Card policy is compulsory for anyone taking a vehicle into Europe or the CIS. It covers material damage and injury caused to other people outside Ukraine. You can buy Green Card insurance online here, quickly and at a discount.
What is a Green Card?
The Green Card exists because you are crossing a border by car. It is the type of cover required to take a vehicle abroad. The countries of Europe are joined in a single insurance system, built to keep traffic moving, cut legal costs and guarantee that damage gets paid for. The green insurance card is a contract recognised by every participating state and valid across all of them.
In Ukraine you can only buy one from an insurer belonging to the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine, which is based in Kyiv. The Green Card insurance price depends on two things. First, the hryvnia's rate against the euro — because the contract is international, settlements between countries are made in a single currency, so movements in the euro move the price. Second, the direction you are travelling. There is a Green Card for the EU — Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and the rest — and a separate one for the CIS zone.
Issuing the card electronically is straightforward and takes up to 15 minutes. The data goes into the Motor Bureau's central database. We need the information on the vehicle registration document — the policy can be written for a car, a lorry, a motorcycle, a trailer or a bus — plus the policyholder's address and name, or the name of the organisation. Buying Green Card car insurance online is available at a discounted price for Kyiv and the rest of the country alike.
One clarification worth repeating: people regularly confuse the motor policy with the American green card, which is an identity document confirming a foreign national's right of permanent residence in the United States. The two have nothing in common but the name.
Green Card by destination and city
We issue Green Cards for every country in the system, from every region of Ukraine — the whole process is remote, so where you are does not affect what you pay.
Frequently asked questions about the Green Card
What should I do if I have an accident abroad? How do I use the Green Card?
Call the emergency services and the police — 112 is the single emergency number across the European Union. You may only move the vehicles after an accident if it is necessary to protect the injured or to keep the road safe. Without the police’s agreement, those involved — passengers included — may leave the scene only to get first aid or to call the police.
Photograph the scene from several angles so that the damage to every vehicle can be made out. Photograph the registration plates and makes of all vehicles involved.
If you believe you are at fault, hand over one copy of your Green Card, or a copy of it. Be aware that handing over the Green Card is treated as an admission of fault. Get contact details for any witnesses before they leave. The injured parties will then approach the motor insurance bureau in their own country, which will settle the loss itself or through its representatives and afterwards recover the money from the Ukrainian insurer that issued the card.
If you are not at fault, take — or photograph — the at-fault driver’s policy details, and photograph the scene and the vehicles as described above. Again: handing over your Green Card, or information about it, is treated as admitting fault. In a disputed case, most European legal systems allow ten days to appeal a decision, and after that it becomes very hard to establish your position. Read every document carefully before you sign it.
Once back in Ukraine, report the accident to your insurer and give them everything you have, including the photographs and your own written account. State in that account that you consider yourself not at fault, and why.
Where the accident is settled without the police, the procedure differs only in that a joint two-party accident statement is drawn up and signed by both drivers. The statement records the circumstances and does not require the parties to agree on who was at fault; it may include a sketch of the scene. If you accept fault, you must show the other driver your documents and a copy of your Green Card — the Highway Code requires you to confirm your identity.
Can I buy a Green Card from any insurance company?
No. Only insurers belonging to the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine may issue them. Any other seller is either an intermediary for one of those insurers, or is selling you something that will not be recognised at the border. Check that the policy is entered in the MTSBU database before you travel.
Can I buy one just before the border, or in the customs zone?
You can, but it is the most expensive and least reliable way to do it. Prices at the border are higher, the choice of insurer is whoever happens to be there, and forged documents have historically been a problem in that setting. Buying green card insurance online before you set off takes 15 minutes and costs less.
Does driving experience affect the price of a Green Card?
No. Unlike CASCO, the price is not rated on the driver. It depends on the vehicle category, the zone you are travelling to, the term, and the euro exchange rate. This is why quotes for the same trip are similar across insurers — and why the sensible thing is to check that the seller is genuine rather than to hunt for a bargain.
How long does it take to buy a Green Card?
Around 15 minutes online. The policy is sent to your email as a PDF and registered in the Motor Bureau database at the same time. You can buy it the night before you travel, provided the start date on the policy covers your crossing.
What documents do I need to buy a Green Card?
The vehicle registration document (technical passport), and the policyholder’s name and address — or the company’s name, if the vehicle belongs to a business. That is all. No inspection and no photographs of the car are required.
How is a claim paid under a Green Card?
The injured party abroad claims from the motor insurance bureau of the country where the accident happened. That bureau, or its appointed representative, assesses and settles the claim locally under that country’s rules, and then recovers the amount from the Ukrainian insurer that issued your card. You do not pay the injured party yourself, and you do not deal with a foreign insurer directly. Your part is to report the accident to your own insurer on your return and hand over the documents.
