Establishing a Disability Group

Contents

Foreign military personnel have the right to undergo an assessment of their daily functioning on general terms.

Purpose of the assessment

• to determine the percentage of loss of working capacity/disability group and its cause;

• to determine the need for prosthetics and other rehabilitation aids;

• to obtain recommendations for an individual rehabilitation programme for a person with disability;

• to obtain medical indications for the right to receive a car with manual control or an adapted car;

• to establish the need for permanent care;

• to receive a one-off financial allowance, a pension, and to arrange other benefits.

An extract from the conclusion of the Expert Team for the Assessment of Daily Functioning (Expert Team) serves as the basis for granting a one-off allowance and other social benefits.

Principal mechanism

1. The medical institution or the head of the MMC issues an electronic referral for the assessment.

2. The military unit may also issue its own referral requesting an Expert Team assessment for the personnel.

3. The personnel attend the hospital to undergo the assessment.

If you are in service:

1. You must submit a report requesting a referral for assessment of daily functioning.

2. You must obtain permission from the unit commander to leave the unit in order to undergo the Expert Team assessment.

It should be emphasised that permission to leave the unit for the Expert Team assessment is distinct from the referral. A doctor issues the referral.

When military personnel may request a referral to the Expert Team

• after wounds, concussions, if certain operations were performed, or certain diagnoses established;

• after the rehabilitation period is completed, if further assessment of the condition is needed or if there are signs of loss of working capacity/restrictions in daily functioning;

• if disability/percentage of loss of working capacity had already been established earlier, and there are grounds for changing them or their cause (after receiving a new MMC conclusion with the correct causal link of the injury or illness).

Foreigners and stateless persons submit the same documents as Ukrainian citizens, with certain particularities.

To receive a referral to the Expert Team, the personnel must collect

• passport and taxpayer registration card (tax ID),

• identity document (military ID/officer’s ID/service ID),

• military registration documents (certificate of service, extract from service record) or their copies,

• certificate of illness, MMC certificate, or extract from the minutes of the regular MMC meeting establishing the causal link of illness, wounds (injuries, concussions, mutilations),

• medical documents, originals.

Specifics of referrals for foreigners:

• surname and first name are entered into the electronic referral in Ukrainian, according to transliteration rules,

• the referral includes passport details and the tax ID (if available),

• scanned copies of documents confirming the legality of stay in Ukraine must be attached.

The primary challenge in this process is registering foreigners in the medical information system of Ukrainian healthcare institutions. The Expert Team referral must be issued by a family doctor, with whom a declaration must be signed in the system. For registration, the system requires a Ukrainian passport or the number of a residence permit. Neither the foreign passport number nor the contract number with the Defence Forces of Ukraine (which serves as a residence permit equivalent) is accepted by the system. Each case must be resolved individually.

How the Expert Team Assessment Takes Place

• The personnel receive notification of the date, time, and form of the Expert Team examination. Notifications are usually sent by text message or e-mail, but may also come in writing or by phone. The examination date may be postponed.

• The personnel arrive at the medical institution where the assessment will take place. It is important to arrive on time. It is advised to bring an identity document, as well as originals and copies of medical documents.

• The team analyses the documents and determines the disability group/percentage of loss of working capacity, as well as the cause of these conditions.

• The team may examine the patient (for example, ask them to perform certain exercises or movements), ask clarifying questions, and, if necessary, refer them for additional medical tests.

• The team makes a decision based on the examination, prepares and issues a conclusion. The conclusion is entered into the electronic system. The personnel receive: 1) an extract from the conclusion of the Expert Team. It specifies whether disability is established (yes/no), the disability group and subgroup (for Group I), whether the diagnosis is indefinite or with a review date, the cause of disability, the need for permanent care, or the degree of loss of professional capacity; 2) recommendations forming part of the individual rehabilitation program for a person with a disability (if the disability has been established).

The patient may receive these documents in printed form, or by electronic or regular mail. An electronic extract in PDF format, bearing the official stamp of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, has the same legal force as a paper document.

Rights to Rehabilitation

Foreigners and stateless persons who permanently reside in Ukraine have the same rights to rehabilitation and social assistance as Ukrainian citizens. After receiving an extract from the Expert Team decision, a person may:

• apply to the Social Protection Fund of Persons with Disabilities for rehabilitation aids,

• apply to the Pension Fund of Ukraine to arrange or extend pension payments (if entitled),

• apply to the social protection office for state social assistance if there is no pension entitlement.

According to the Procedure for the appointment and payment of state social assistance to persons not entitled to a pension (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 02.04.2005 No. 261), such assistance may be provided to:

• foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in Ukraine,

• persons granted refugee status or additional protection in Ukraine,

• citizens of the Republic of Poland residing in Ukraine under conditions prescribed by law.

If a foreigner is temporarily residing in Ukraine, they may be eligible to receive rehabilitation and social assistance under international treaties concluded between Ukraine and their country of citizenship.

One-Off Financial Assistance

Wounded military personnel who are assigned a disability group or a percentage of loss of working capacity due to an injury or illness sustained in the defence of Ukraine, in the performance of military duties, are entitled to a one-off financial allowance. In the case of the most severe injuries and assignment of Group I disability, the amount of the one-off payment may exceed UAH 1 million.

To receive a one-off financial allowance, the personnel must:

1. During service, undergo the MMC to establish the causal link between the injury and the defence of Ukraine, and obtain the corresponding MMC conclusion.

2. Undergo the Expert Team assessment and obtain an extract from its decision establishing the disability group or percentage of loss of working capacity.

3. If still in service, submit an application for one-off financial assistance to the military unit.

4. If discharged, submit an application for one-off financial assistance to the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre at the place of residence.

Applications for one-off financial allowance may be submitted within three years from the date the right arises (i.e., the establishment of a disability group or the percentage of loss of working capacity).

The application must be accompanied by copies of:

• the certificate on the circumstances of the injury, confirming its causes and circumstances,

• the MMC certificate establishing the causal link of the injury or illness,

• extract from the Expert Team conclusion establishing the disability group or percentage of loss of working capacity, indicating the causal link of disability or incapacity,

• passport and tax ID,

• certificate with bank account details (can be downloaded from online banking),

• consent to the processing of personal data (provided on site).