Routes into university for applicants from occupied territories
The simplified procedure through the “Crimea–Ukraine” / “Donbas–Ukraine” education centres.
This is the main preferential route for school leavers from temporarily occupied territories. Admission happens without sitting the NMT or ZNO — instead the applicant takes entrance examinations (interviews, creative entrance exams) at the higher education institution. Special education centres called “Crimea–Ukraine” and “Donbas–Ukraine” have been set up at universities for this, and the whole process runs through them, from submitting documents to enrollment.
An applicant may approach any such centre, regardless of the region they come from. Not every institution has a centre, so it is worth checking in advance that the university you have chosen has one (the Ministry of Education and Science publishes the list). The simplified system takes account of the fact that the child has no Ukrainian documents and guarantees anonymity and support at every stage of admission.
Admission on the general terms (through the NMT/ZNO).
Alternatively, an applicant from an occupied territory can apply as an ordinary candidate, if they have the necessary Ukrainian documents (passport, school certificate) and NMT or ZNO results. In that case applications go through the general electronic system (the applicant’s account) on the same dates as for everyone else.
That route, however, requires leaving the occupied territory in advance to sit the NMT or ZNO and obtain a Ukrainian school certificate. Bear in mind that the general competition does not carry the benefits and simplifications that the education centres provide. In particular, general admission means registering for the NMT/ZNO and submitting documents within set deadlines (unlike the simplified procedure, which has no hard registration dates). So if a school leaver is physically in an occupied territory or does not have the full set of documents, the best solution is to use the simplified procedure through an education centre.
Remote admission.
Importantly, online admission is available to children from occupied territories: every stage can be completed remotely. Through the education centres you may send scans of the application and the documents by email, without being there in person. The entrance examinations (interviews) can also be held online (by agreement with the university). So a child can enter a Ukrainian university without leaving occupation, if leaving is dangerous or impossible. Confidentiality of the applicant’s data is guaranteed at every stage (benefit categories are coded in the ranking lists) so as not to harm a family that remains in occupied territory. Once recommended for enrollment, the applicant can submit original documents and sign the contract after their studies have already begun (within a few months) — which also allows the need to leave occupied territory to be postponed a little.
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03.07.2026 · 5 min
05.03.2026 · 5 min
Who is entitled to preferential admission (the categories)
Applicants from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The simplified procedure is available to all school leavers who live in a temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine or left one during the year of admission (2025). Temporarily occupied territories means all the regions occupied by the Russian Federation at the time of the admission campaign: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and the territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts occupied in 2022–2025. Living in or being displaced from an occupied territory is proved by registration of place of residence, a certificate of internally displaced person status, or other documents. If, at the time of admission, the settlement is on the List of occupied territories or territories of active hostilities, it falls under the preferential conditions. (The current list of such territories is maintained by the Ministry of Reintegration; you can check it on the official website or via the link.) It also counts if the territory was de-occupied in 2025 — what matters is that at some point between 1 June and 30 September 2025 it had the status of occupied territory or combat zone for at least one day.
Applicants from front-line territories (combat zones). School leavers who live in settlements included in the list of territories of active hostilities (so-called front-line territories) are entitled to the same simplified conditions. You can check the status of your settlement (whether it is front-line) in the same official list mentioned above. The rules for this category are the same as for residents of occupied territories: remote admission without the NMT, using the education centres and quota 2.
Graduates of schools in occupied territories (of any year). Simplified admission extends to people who obtained their secondary education in occupied territory in any year from 2014 to 2024. So even if an applicant finished school in an occupied territory in a previous year and holds a school certificate issued by the occupation authorities, they can still be admitted under the preferential procedure. Important: education documents issued in occupied territory are not officially recognised in Ukraine. But having them does not remove the right to be admitted — such an applicant simply has to pass state final attestation in Ukraine to obtain a document of the state standard (more on this below). The absence of a Ukrainian passport or ID card is not an obstacle either — a Ukrainian birth certificate is enough. So all children from occupied territories fall into the preferential category, regardless of whether they managed to leave for government-controlled territory before applying and whether they hold Ukrainian education documents.
Note: if an applicant from occupied territory has the full set of Ukrainian documents (a school certificate and NMT/ZNO results), they can choose: either the simplified procedure through an education centre, or the general terms. For such people there are no restrictions on the number of applications or the choice of universities. Applicants who hold only documents issued in occupied territory, however, and who therefore have to obtain a Ukrainian school certificate through an education centre, may submit documents to only one institution (but up to 5 applications to different specialties within it). This follows from how the education centre procedure works — in practice one university and its partner school take on issuing your certificate and running your exams, so applying to other institutions under the simplified system at the same time is not permitted.
The benefits and conditions of simplified admission
Applicants from occupied territories enjoy a number of special conditions intended to compensate for the difficult circumstances of life under occupation. The main benefits guaranteed when applying through an education centre are listed below:
Remote submission of documents. The applicant may submit the application and copies of the necessary documents to the education centre online (by email) or through an authorised representative, without being present in person. All communication with the admissions committee can happen by phone, email or video call.
Admission without the NMT (ZNO). For children from occupied territories the requirement to sit the National Multi-Subject Test is waived. External independent evaluation results from previous years are not needed either. Instead the university arranges internal entrance examinations for the applicant — usually an interview (an oral exam) on the core subjects, and for creative specialties a creative entrance exam. The results of those examinations are the basis for enrollment.
No Ukrainian passport needed. If the applicant has not obtained a Ukrainian passport or ID card (because there are no Ukrainian authorities in occupied territory), they can still apply. A copy of a Ukrainian birth certificate is enough to identify them. Getting a passport can wait: the education centres help applicants obtain identity documents if needed.
No Ukrainian school certificate needed. The biggest problem for children from occupied territories is the absence of a Ukrainian secondary school certificate. The simplified procedure solves it: the applicant can apply without a certificate, and instead takes state final attestation at one of the designated schools in government-controlled territory, after which they receive a document of the state standard (the procedure is described below). So even if the child only holds a certificate issued by the occupation administration, its non-recognition will not block admission.
Anonymity and safety. Confidentiality of the applicant’s data is ensured at every stage of simplified admission. Under the rules, the names and origin of such applicants are not made public: in orders and lists they are coded or marked in a special way. Where needed, the education centres also help with accommodation in a dormitory while the applicant sits exams or attestation, and provide advice and psychological support.
State-funded study under quota 2 + a stipend. Applicants from occupied territories are enrolled on state-funded places within the special quota 2 (more on it below). They study free of charge and, like other state-funded students, receive an academic stipend (based on their results) or a social stipend if they meet the criteria. In effect the state guarantees to cover the cost of these children’s education.
Remote exams. Entrance examinations at the university can be held remotely for applicants from occupied territories. Many universities run online interviews by video call, or tests on an educational platform. This matters for anyone who cannot travel to sit exams.
Deferred submission of original documents. Once enrolled, a student can begin studying without being physically present at the university — the original documents and the signed study contract may be provided within 3 months of the start of studies. In other words, by the end of autumn 2025 a student from occupied territory must come to the institution in person and complete the paperwork. If they do not, they may be expelled. But such a long window makes it possible to be admitted and even start studying first, and to deal with leaving and transporting documents a little later (waiting for a safer moment, for example).
Quota 2: state-funded places for applicants from occupied territories
Quota 2 is a special share of state-funded places reserved exclusively for applicants from occupied and front-line territories. The 2025 admission rules set quota 2 at 10% of the total volume of state-funded places on a specialty (but no fewer than 1 place) at every higher education institution. For institutions located in front-line oblasts, or relocated from occupied territories, the quota can be as much as 40% of the state-funded places. Quota 2 is available to applicants whose connection to an occupied territory or combat zone is confirmed as of the year of admission. Specifically, free study under quota 2 is available to applicants who as of 2025 live in occupied territory or left occupied territory after 1 January 2025 (this also applies to front-line territories). Important: if the applicant’s settlement was occupied or saw hostilities between June and September 2025, they also fall under the quota.
Quota 2 offers a real chance of a state-funded place even with modest exam results, because the competition among applicants from occupied territories runs separately from the general competition. In effect you compete only against each other for these reserved places. And if quota 2 at a particular institution is under-filled (places remain vacant), applicants from occupied territories who were initially enrolled on a fee-paying basis can be moved onto them. Admission under quota 2 does not require NMT/ZNO results — passing the entrance examinations at your university is enough. A student studying under this quota gets all the benefits of a state-funded place: a stipend (academic, or social if needed), a dormitory place on preferential terms, and so on.
Step-by-step guide: how to apply through an education centre
Below is the admission algorithm for a school leaver from occupied territory under the simplified procedure (through an education centre) — from gathering documents to enrollment:
Step 1. Choose an education centre and submit an application.
The applicant needs to decide where they want to study — choose a higher education institution (university or college) and find the “Crimea–Ukraine” or “Donbas–Ukraine” education centre based there.
You may approach any of the centres, regardless of the region you come from. Contact details for a centre (address, phone, email of the responsible person) are available on the university’s own website or on the official Ministry of Education and Science website, which publishes a consolidated list of every education centre in Ukraine each year.
The centres have been accepting enquiries since 1 June (and many advise applicants even earlier by phone). You can submit the application in person (by coming to the centre) or remotely — by sending a scanned application by email to the responsible person.
You can get the application form from the centre or download it from the Ministry website or from applicant portals.
When submitting the application, the applicant also fills in an education declaration — a document stating that they obtained their secondary education in occupied territory and therefore hold no documents of the state standard (this is completed at the education centre on a standard form).
Step 2. Submit the necessary documents.
Along with the application, the applicant submits a package of documents through the centre; if applying remotely, send scanned copies to the centre’s email address.
The documents required to apply through an education centre in 2025:
1) a copy of your Ukrainian passport or birth certificate (if you have no passport);
2) a certificate of registration as an internally displaced person — if you have one;
3) 4 photographs, 3×4 cm (the same as for ordinary applicants);
4) an education document of the state standard (a Ukrainian secondary school certificate or a basic secondary education certificate) with its supplement, or a certificate from the designated school confirming that you passed the annual assessment and state final attestation;
5) ZNO certificates from 2019–2021 or NMT results — at the applicant’s discretion (not mandatory, but if you have such results and want to use them, you may add them);
6) for entry to a college after 9 years of school — a basic education certificate (if you have one) or other documents that can confirm your schooling. All of these documents may be submitted electronically, without originals. If something is missing, it is not a problem — the education centre will help you obtain it. For example, if you have no Ukrainian school certificate, the next step applies.
Step 3. Obtaining a Ukrainian school certificate (state final attestation as an external candidate).
If a school leaver has no state-standard document of complete general secondary education (a school certificate), they need to pass state final attestation on the school curriculum and so obtain a Ukrainian certificate.
The education centre organises this: it refers the applicant to an affiliated school (a general secondary education institution) where they sit the necessary exams.
Usually you have to pass 2 state final attestation subjects as an external candidate: Ukrainian language and history of Ukraine. These exams can be taken very quickly — even the day after submitting your application, or on other agreed dates. The exams are run by the designated school (usually a partner lyceum or external-studies school attached to that education centre). In Kyiv, for example, this is the “School for External Students” lyceum; other regions have their own designated lyceums or advisory centres.
After you pass, the school issues a certificate of the annual assessment and state final attestation in the two subjects. A temporary certificate is issued first, and a few weeks later the school orders and issues the full school certificate (a document of the state standard).
For admission purposes, though, the temporary certificate is enough — on its basis the education centre admits you to the university examinations and later exchanges it for the original certificate. Note that sitting state final attestation at a designated school is free, and the education centre can help the applicant with accommodation during the exams (providing a dormitory place if needed).
Step 4. Entrance examinations at the higher education institution.
Alongside or after obtaining the attestation certificate, the education centre agrees the schedule of entrance examinations at the university with the applicant. Depending on the specialty chosen, this may be an interview (an oral exam) on one or several subjects and/or a creative entrance exam (for creative specialties).
For example, an applicant who chose philology will have an interview on language and literature; one who chose design will have to present a portfolio, and so on. The schedule of such exams within quota 2 is approved by each institution separately, and they usually take place in July.
Importantly, preferential applicants face no hard deadlines for registering for exams — they can register and sit them on any day the education centre is open, by agreement (unlike the NMT, which has strictly fixed dates).
The exams may be held in person at the university or remotely (online), which is agreed individually. The education centre helps with the arrangements and communicates the results. Once the examinations are over, the admissions committee assesses the results and draws up the ranking list of applicants under quota 2.
Step 5. Ranking lists and enrollment.
By the end of the admission campaign, the university publishes the list of applicants recommended for enrollment under quota 2 (state-funded).
Under the 2025 admission rules, 6 August 2025 is the deadline for drawing up the ranking lists of applicants for state-funded places. Next to the applicant’s surname (or code), the list shows whether they are recommended for enrollment (that is, whether they made it onto a state-funded place).
The applicant then confirms that they wish to study (usually a phone call or email saying they agree is enough) — and the enrollment order for state-funded places is expected on 11–13 August (the exact date depends on the institution, but no later than 11–15 August).
Applicants who did not get a place within the quota (or who missed the main stage) may be enrolled on a fee-paying basis. After 6 August the education centres go on accepting documents until September for fee-paying study (with the possibility of transfer to a state-funded place if places become free). The admission campaign through the education centres finally closes on 30 September 2025; enrollment orders for fee-paying places can be issued up to that date.
Step 6. Submitting original documents and starting your studies.
After the enrollment order, the student begins studying on 1 September (even if remotely).
They have up to 3 months from the start of studies to submit all the original documents to the university in person and sign the study contract. Specifically, you have to provide:
the original school certificate (which you receive from the designated school in September);
the original birth certificate/passport once obtained;
and sign the paper contract.
If the student does not do this within three months, they are expelled for failing to confirm their studies. In practice, however, universities are accommodating: where there are objective reasons, the deadline can be extended on a case-by-case basis. The main thing is to stay in touch with the education centre and explain your circumstances. Once all the formalities are done, a student from occupied territory continues their studies on equal terms with everyone else and enjoys all the same rights (a stipend, a dormitory place and so on).
Important dates of the 2025 admission campaign for applicants from occupied territories
1 June 2025 — the “Crimea–Ukraine” and “Donbas–Ukraine” education centres open across Ukraine. From this date you can submit applications through a centre. (Advice for applicants from occupied territories is also available earlier, before the centres officially open.)
By the end of July 2025 — the main stage of submitting documents and sitting exams for a state-funded place. To be in time for a state-funded place, you need to submit your application and pass all the entrance examinations by 31 July 2025. The education centres can get very busy towards the end of July, so do not leave it to the last days.
6 August 2025 — the ranking lists and recommendations for state-funded places (quota 2) are drawn up. Applicants find out whether they have a state-funded place. Those recommended have a few days to confirm that they agree to study.
by 11–15 August 2025 — enrollment orders for state-funded places are issued. After this, applicants officially become students and can start their studies.
1 September 2025 — the academic year begins. Students from occupied territories enrolled on state-funded or fee-paying places start studying (possibly remotely). They have student status even if they have not yet submitted original documents.
1 August – 17 September 2025 — additional intake for fee-paying places. The education centres go on accepting applications from applicants from occupied territories who did not get in during the main round. 17 September is the last day on which documents for fee-paying study can be submitted through a centre.
by 19 September 2025 — the final entrance examinations for fee-paying applicants (the additional session).
22 September 2025 — the ranking lists for fee-paying places are published (the additional wave).
by 30 September 2025 — enrollment on fee-paying places (the additional intake closes). 30 September — the education centres finish their work and the 2025 admission campaign for people from occupied territories officially ends.
A note on deadlines: unlike ordinary applicants, candidates from occupied territories are not tied to NMT registration dates or fixed deadlines for applying through the electronic account. In practice the whole period from 1 June to 30 September is a flexible window during which you can approach an education centre and go through the procedure. But to win a state-funded place you should be done by the end of July, because state-funded places are allocated after 6 August. Children from occupied territories are still enrolled in August and September, but on a fee-paying basis (with the option of transfer to a state-funded place if any fall vacant).
Sources and useful links
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine: the official page for applicants from occupied territories, video explainers and contact details for the centres.
Ministry order on the 2025 Admission Rules: contains the updated provisions on quotas and simplified admission (quota 2, the list of benefit categories).
The “Donbas SOS” NGO: a detailed 2025 guide to applying from occupied and front-line territories (legal explanations).
The “Almenda” Centre for Civic Education: an analytical article on the changes to the admission campaign for young people from occupied territories.
The “Admission from Occupied Territories” portal: a joint information resource run by charitable foundations and the Ministry, gathering all the step-by-step guides, document templates and useful contacts for applicants from occupied territories.
The “Donbas SOS” hotline: 0-800-309-110 — advice on admission, leaving occupied territory and obtaining documents (free, Mon–Fri 9:00–21:00).
